The Experiment (2001)

The Experiment (Das Experiment, 2001) is a tense, gut-level drama-thriller loosely based on the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. A makeshift prison is built in a research lab and 20 male volunteers are randomly assigned to be either guards or prisoners for two weeks; the prisoners are stripped of identity and confined, while the guards are instructed to maintain order without using physical violence. What begins as a controlled social study quickly unravels as power, group dynamics and fear drive the guards to escalate their methods and the inmates to react in increasingly desperate ways. Watching the film is an intense, claustrophobic experience: the atmosphere is oppressive, scenes are charged with mounting paranoia and moral collapse, and the pacing ratchets tension from initial unease to violent, emotionally raw confrontations. The story centers on everyman participant Tarek (Prisoner #77) and the shifting alliances and abuses that expose how authority can corrupt and how ordinary people can be swept into cruelty. Expect a provocative, unsettling portrait of human behavior that raises ethical questions about conformity, control and responsibility — and lingers long after the credits. Viewer discretion is advised for strong psychological and physical violence.

Actors: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Runtime: 120 min

Genres: Drama, Thriller

7.2 /10 59 /100 7.7 /10 6.9 /10