10 Recent Sci-Fi Movies You Probably Haven't Seen
4. Level 16
Available on: Amazon
Level 16 revolves around an all-girls militaristic facility called The Vestalis Academy. All the "students" are trained by the facilitators to have feminine virtues to help them get adopted. Even though the overseers are abhorrently strict and cruel, the girls obey them without question, believing the academy is their only chance of having a real family.
But when one teenager, Vivien, suspects her mentors are hiding something from her, she does all she can to expose their true intentions.
Level 16 plays out like a much smarter version of Michael Bay's The Island. The premise may be similar but Level 16 feels more like a psychological drama akin to Black Mirror rather than a sci-fi flick. Even though the horror factor could've been ramped up, it is rarely utilised, which makes the scary parts far more disturbing.
Because the girls are meant to be emotionless and laconic, it would be easy for the characters to come across as dull. But due to the film's talented ensemble, especially the lead, Katie Douglas, the cast invoke a lot of emotion, while saying very little.