EXAM, out on DVD from IFC/MPI, is a slick and astute thriller that’s never dull, but never quite grips us like it should. The premise—eight strangers vying in cutthroat fashion for a high-profile corporate job offering—is intriguing. The setup—an enigmatic man known only as the “Invigilator” stepping in to brief the group on their objective in coded yet concise directions—is intriguing. The possibilities—what might happen between these candidates in what’s seemingly the most definitive 80 minutes of their lives—is damn intriguing. EXAM’s succeeding events, we learn, will revolve around the freshly introduced group’s efforts to answer one question—the catch being that they don’t know what that question is—and my head is nearly about to explode.

The film’s opening moments ooze with mystery and anticipation, so where did it lose me? Let me begin by asking my own question—and you won’t have to read this entire review to unravel what it is, I promise. What exactly are the perks of this job? After all, the description remains nothing but a vague offer of prestige. Why scheme for it? Lie for it? Kill for it? EXAM’s only answer seems to be that competition has, by nature, eroded into some perverse twist on THE APPRENTICE, though I’m not so sure I’m as convinced of that as the candidates are. Call me what you will, but unless the light at the end of the tunnel was guaranteed co-ownership of that once-rumored spanking new NFL expansion team with Mark Zuckerberg and Snoop Dogg, I think I’d pack up my things and take my résumé elsewhere.

Each person in the group is issued a blank sheet of paper. Once the games have begun, a long stretch of silence amongst the contenders is broken when one woman (Gemma Chan) begins writing on hers, and is instantly removed by an overseeing guard. She shuffles, panics, begins to weep, even cries “Mama-san!” as if to suggest her premature failure has somehow let her mother down—but we’ve seen her all of five minutes. On to the next one, I suppose… EXAM essentially lets loose of its stranglehold from the moment this woman is made an “example” of; her instant disposal plays like a forced attempt to raise the stakes of their game higher, while forgetting to provide any real reason for playing.

As viewers, we become much like lab observers overseeing seven rats in a maze, which can be amusing. The anonymity of it all is worked through by means of a RESERVOIR DOGS-style nickname-assignment exercise based on outward appearance and traits, with characters quickly dubbing one another White (Luke Mably), Blonde (Nathalie Cox), Brown (Jimi Mistry), Dark (Adar Beck), Black (Chuk Iwuji), Brunette (Pollyanna McIntosh) and Deaf (John Lloyd Fillingham). From there, EXAM relies heavily on cerebral exercises, tossing out cryptic language and strange, elaborate illusions to further uncover the hidden layers of its TWILIGHT ZONE-esque scenario—said layers being generally clever and best left unrevealed to those who’ll jump at the chance to play guessing game.

But it’s the stir-crazy/disorientation potential of being stuck in a room where you’re on a rigorous time constraint, and virtually nothing is revealed to you, that never enters the picture. EXAM has been inevitably compared to SAW for its stripped-down claustrophobia, but comparisons to anything remotely horrific remain at the surface level. Instead, we get more of an undercooked LORD OF THE FLIES-type downward spiral, where by this point, investment in the lives of these people beyond this room simply doesn’t matter.

Thankfully, EXAM never becomes dead in the water, and doesn’t overextend its welcome. It’s compellingly acted and quick on its feet. The polished cinematography, by Tim Wooster, stirs up a cold, sterile air of sinister professionalism that’s presented well in the DVD’s widescreen transfer. Its sound, though not a complex element of writer/director Stuart Hazeldine and co-writer Simon Garrity’s dialogue-heavy scenario, also serves sufficiently in its own right. No special features are included other than a trailer.

SPOILER ALERT: Once all is said and done, someone has landed a job at a pharmaceutical company. I’m curious to ask that someone if it was worth the ordeal. As for that team with Zuck and Snoop, still no word.

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