Year: 2015
Director(s): Aaron Haan
Mario Miscione
Fifty people wake up in a room to find themselves arranged in two concentric circles around a strange black dome. Their reasons for being there are unclear, but as the dome begins to kill people using what appears to be electrocution, it becomes clear that only a few of them will survive.
Eventually, those in the circle realise each of them is capable of casting a ‘vote’ through means of an arrow only visible to them. With this vote, they get to decide who will die next.
Circle bears similarities to other sci-fi films like Coherence and Primer in that it is relatively low on special effects but high on ideas. There are ethical dilemmas aplenty as the group breaks down into different factions with different priorities: some want to protect the most ‘innocent’ in the group, a child and a pregnant woman, while others are concerned with their own self-preservation.
As the stakes are heightened, people’s prejudices also boil to the surface and increasingly arbitrary reasons are suggested for killing people off; racism, homophobia, and classism all get a look in here.
Indeed, it is this unravelling of the darker aspects of human nature that makes Circle such a compelling watch. Although the acting is sometimes a little iffy and the ending perhaps a little too clear cut, the film is definitely recommended for those who like their sci-fi dark and thought-provoking.
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