Spiderhead – A Unique Sci-Fi Action Film (Early Review)

Spiderhead stars Chris Hemsworth as Warden Steve Abnesti, a scientist at a penitentiary where inmates are used as lab rats for the purpose of experimental pharmaceutical trials. The drugs being tested are those with the ability to alter human emotions where they can make subjects feel a gamut of emotions and also make them laugh uncontrollably or even illicit attraction towards another person.

Firstly, it is worth mentioning that Spiderhead contains what is arguably Hemsworth’s best performance to date as Abnesti. He plays a crazy but brilliant scientist who is using the inmates for his own self-interest. Hemsworth is joined by Teller and Smollett as a pair of inmates named Jeff and Lizzy who develop a connection with one another over the course of the film. Both inmates shared troubled pasts and became resigned to the fact that they deserved whatever was happening to them while incarcerated in Abnesti’s prison.

The film’s interesting world starts with a prison that was not like most prisons and one that did not appear overly bad on paper. In this prison, inmates could travel freely within a facility offering plenty of services and entertainment options. The only tradeoff was that they were unable to go outside. Despite the option of mobility within the prison, the film still creates a real feeling of claustrophobia which reminds audiences of where the inmates really are. This unconventional system worked, however, things changed within the prison once the latest drug being tested leads to a death of someone connected with Jeff. From there, he makes it his personal mission to ensure that it would never happen to anyone else.

As a film, Spiderhead is a compelling watch thanks to an interesting plot. Boasting a running time of nearly 2 hours, its premise does feel stretched at times as it tries to get the most mileage out of the short story it’s been adapted from. This choice results in a lot of unnecessary filler to pad it which may be a point of contention for some audiences but it’s only a minor issue. Meanwhile, the performances were great across the board to go along with its unique story and characters before it ultimately devolves by the end into something much different from how it started though was still at least somewhat fun to watch.

In terms of its sci-fi elements, the film’s look is also unique, standing out from other films in the genre even though it is barely being sci-fi to begin with. Tackling so many genres, it’s hard to pin it to any one genre. On top of everything else, the film at times features a lot of gore while holding back on brutality. At other times, the film opts for satire using some dark humor rather than employing a more serious tone.

At the end of the day, Spiderhead is definitely worth a watch, offering plenty of unique elements that are sure to resonate with a lot of audiences.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Anmol Pandhi

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