10 Recent Films That Really Deserve More Love

Anyone who accuses James Gunn of having “sold out” by hopping on the superhero bandwagon needs to see The Belko Experiment. Even though Gunn brought in Greg McLean to direct his script, he produced the movie and it’s got his fingerprints all over it, from the tongue-in-cheek soundtrack to the casting of his regulars (Michael Rooker, Greg Henry etc).

This is A Good Thing because even though Gunn didn’t direct, it’s easily in the same league as Slither and Super. The plot involves 80 employees being locked in their corporate office building and urged to kill their colleagues by a voice on the company’s intercom, but you can put the likes of Saw 3D and 31 from your mind. The Belko Experiment is less grim and more energetic, and all of the humour is intentional.

Unlike, say, Frank Darabont’s The Mist, this is less a thoughtful study of hysteria and more of a good old-fashioned bloody romp, with exploding heads and faces being bashed in every few moments once it gets rolling. The finale isn’t all that surprising, but the build-up to it makes The Belko Experiment worthwhile.