Spiderhead is a sci-fi thriller film on Netflix, directed by Joseph Kosinski. Based on The New Yorker short story, “Escape From Spiderhead,” by George Saunders, the screenplay is by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett, Mark Paguio, Tess Haubrich, Angie Milliken and others. The film is 1 hour and 47 minutes long.
The synopsis reads, “Two inmates (Miles Teller & Jurnee Smollett) form a connection while grappling with their pasts in a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by a brilliant visionary (Chris Hemsworth) who experiments on his subjects with mind-altering drugs.”
Netflix Film Spiderhead Review Contains Mild Spoilers
In Spiderheard, Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) runs a state-of-the-art prison where he experiments on inmates with a device and a drug called ‘Darkenfloxx’. One of the inmates named Jeff (Miles Teller) is constantly a part of this experiment. Jeff wants to redeem himself and agrees to be a part of the experiment that will “help” humankind.
The question arises – how legal and right is this drug experiment? Is Steve really trying to help humanity? We find out by the end. At least that’s what the makers have tried to do.
In one hour of the Netflix film Spiderhead, we see Steve and his work partner using the devices and drugs on several inmates, including Jeff. These inmates have willingly agreed to be a part of this scientific trial without asking what it aims to do. The makers don’t explain the intention behind the experiment. So we watch random things happen on-screen with these prison inmates.
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The drugs make people have wild sex with each other. Steve desperately wants Jeff to fall in love with one of the female inmates who is also drugged. Why? Only Steve knows. He keeps saying the drugs will help people express themselves better, build a connection and feel good about themselves. But not even once did the prison inmate feel good about anything.
The twist in the story happens when Jeff develops a connection with Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), who wasn’t a candidate for the experiment. It’s this twist that changes the entire plot of Spiderhead. Random things keep happening that leave you scratching your head. The plot heads nowhere in the first half.
Even the third act of Spiderhead doesn’t pack any unexpected moments. As a viewer, you already sense that Steve Abnesti must be some kind of crazy scientist guy who would go to any lengths to get his work done. We already saw that in Jurassic World: Dominion, which is quite forgettable.
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Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller are amazing actors. However, it’s sad to see their talents wasted in such a bizarre story that rarely makes sense. It’s disappointing because the makers had two excellent actors who would’ve amazed us all if the story had been better. I believe it was a script for the makers of Black Mirror. They would’ve done a brilliant job in grabbing our attention and leaving us startled.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who gave one of the biggest hits of 2022 so far with Top Gun: Maverick, has tried his best to add dark humour to Spiderhead. However, you only laugh while watching the film because it is weird.
Spiderhead Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Spiderhead isn’t worth the time and attention. If you want to watch Chris Hemsworth talk in a non-Australian accent, maybe watch the first few minutes. But if you watch it with the hope of being mind-blown in the end, you will only be disappointed.
The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Are you planning to watch the film? Do let us know in the comments section below.
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first of all chris and miles are good actors if the script is good, i would like to see chris in action movie or adventure movies (the other guy too), now my opinions about this movie nothing personly: FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKKK NOOOOOOOOOOO NOPE NOOOOPE AND MORE NOPE, utter boring and pointles, im very angry so bear with me, prey for for me that god and chrisus lord this pile of SHIT that is WORSE and amber THURD never happens again, netflix should delete this move this instant, thumbs down and gone from my list, verdict: 0,5 stars, dont waste your time, you like me is likely going insane by watching this.