The Employer

I think this movie is severely underrated. I really enjoyed the flick. I didn't know anything about the movie except what the description was and I found it to be really good. I liked how they provided back story for each character and showed parts of their interviews and when they got abducted. I didn't know the chubby girl had all the information about the others before going in. When I found out, it made sense that she woke up 1st. Then, I was mad when she starting talking at the end and basically gave away that she knew about the interview beforehand and was going to kill him. But that's just like bad guys to want to brag a bit. I loved the dark haired smoker guy. I was really rooting for him and was glad they got the muscle guy out the way fast. I know some reviews said it wasn't believable. But the muscle guy was intentionally beat up the night before and had a broken rib and etc. With the element of surprise, I've seen a lot of smaller guys take on bigger guys and win. I didn't like the guy with the glasses. The ending I think was bad, I really wanted the dork guy to kill the employer. Because in the end even though he killed Alan. He had no choice. Kill Alan or some guys will be at your door to kill you. I really don't think he has what it takes to be a part of the company. Overall, it was a good movie. Not movie theater worthy, but Saturday night DVD worthy for sure. I have watched a ton of movies and I guess I am not a snob. I expect a B or C movie to be a B or C movie. I do not expect the acting to be superb or the set to be spectacular. It's a low budget movie and for a low budget movie it was good. I cared about each character, except the ninja girl. When muscle head talked to his mom that was touching and when the last girl to die couldn't reach her sister I felt bad for her. I recommend this movie. IMDb has a way of rating a movie lower than it should be. This is definitely one where they go it wrong.

I was tempted to watch this movie by nice and neat title and poster. And oh, God, this was terrible mistake. The plot is boring and predictable, because idea of kill-others-to-survive in this movie seen thousands and thousands times. The movie gives you almost nothing about the company, neither about the employer itself - what they're doing or why etc. So no strong background for the plot. And this is why this movie seems not as serious as others in this kill-to-survive category. Most of the flashbacks were not interesting, boring and almost unnecessary as they don't really untangle characters as much as you would want. I don't know if this supposed to be gore or psychological movie, but it really lacks both of those elements. You can't feel the intensity, suspense in this movie (like in Would You Rather, which I really liked). At all. Action in kidnap flashbacks is all the same. Well, IMHO, it could be more original than just grab-and-go. Half of the actors seems like they're don't know what they're doing here. I've seen hundreds of thriller movies, in which you can really feel what characters feel etc. Hell, even in Yotube short-movies you can see better acting. So I guess it is a one night stand movie with bad hangover. Not bad, but it could be far more intensive as it supposed to be thriller, right?

Bunch of "random" people wake up locked in a room, and they are all lying about themselves. Sound familiar? it should this movie seems to come out every few months with a different name, group of people, and relative story, but it is the same movie. Yes, I agree we are all very lucky to have Malcolm McDowell acting, and voicing everything, I just wish more of it was good is all. He plays the Devil, or God, or an omnipotent figurehead of one form, or another all of the time, and we have seen all of those characters enough I think. This movie just does nothing new, and for the most part pulls it's own punches, and comes up very short on the realism, or motive enough for most of these people to even be there. Not a good enough movie for what they had to work with. I did not Enjoy this, and I do not think most people will either. The webs are unraveled, and you no longer care.

Can someone explain to me where the thriller part was? At least I have found the fast-forward button on the remote control. Put 5 people in a closed room with the following task : who leaves that room alive gets a decent job offer. And after that you can see how creative a person can be with a belt, a stiletto heel or a piece of a mobile phone. This was an incredible empty and dismal movie. The acting was so tragically bad you could start crying. Even the crying part of Willig was so pitiful. The rest of the candidates were third-rate actors to me. Very bad performances. Worst of all, the fact that McDowell joined this made me speechless. From "A Clockwork Orange" to this monstrosity ... how low can you fall. Probably a new trend in movie land: put a known actor on the DVD box so that there is a minority who'll do the effort to watch it. I also fell for this marketing trick. Something I have learned from this film: I'll be very suspicious when I'm applying for another job. I give this one a 1/10 just for myself because I did the effort to push the "Play" button ! More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

For the biggest part of the movie i thought this was a five out of ten result at best. You have to find by yourselves why i changed my mind in the end and of course i 'll give you a clue: because of the relation between the first seconds of the movie and the movie itself. If you liked exam (2009) stop reading reviews and go watch it now. This movie has its audience. Nevertheless you can't avoid watching lots of clichés. As happens in almost every movie in the world (so why not in every review) there must be a subconscious message for you to stop watching this movie and go for a cigarette or to start smoking again if you have quit smoking. The music was fitting with the movie and i liked that there was also a low volume background music even when there were dialogs. Scenes outside the room made the film less claustrophobic. Don't expect an acting nomination.Katerina Mikailenko is mrs legs and David Dastmalchian is mr nerd face. Information for audiences with tennis knowledge : Matthew Willig ( with the bandana ) reminded me of Juan Martin del Potro which made him the funny character for me. Would you like to be in the same room with strangers? Would you like to watch others try?

Five applicants apply for a single job with a big powerful and mysterious company. On the night before the final interview, all are drugged and find themselves in a locked room with no visible means of escape. The phone rings and it's The Employer (Malcolm McDowell) who tells them the final interview will not be what they expected. Hope this is not scary. Well, it wasn't scary, but it was spooky and definitely not for everyone. All agree to work together to insure that no one kills anyone as they all believe that the company wants everyone in the room to kill one another and the last one alive will get the job. Ah, a plan! (um, that's 2-plans) We have: James: ( David Dastmalchian) who claims he is adaptable and is just out of college. Sandra: (Paige Howard) is someone running from her past and will do anything for this job. Mike: (Matthew Willig) as big as a football player and wants to be known for his brain, not muscles. Billie: (Katerina Mikailenko) she has a lot of information on the company and knows some secrets. Keith: (Michael DeLorenzo) a loud mouth who cannot keep his mouth shut, but knows how things work. The room has a door and will only open when the correct code is entered. When one person dies, a code (to open the door) is given via a cell phone. So you see where this is going? In flashbacks, we see The Employer interview each candidate with the last question always being: would you do be willing to do anything for the company? And, they all say YES except one who says it would depend on the situation. You would think that this would not be too interesting, but the pacing, the dialogues, the acting and timing of all in the room keep you wanting to know how this ends. These actors are very good. Malcolm McDowell is pure gold no matter if we see him in comedies, or in dramas. His eyes have that mysterious quality whereby you cannot take your eyes off him as we are not sure what he will say or do next. And, his quizzical facial expressions and sometime staccato deliveries keeps you attentive. Like I said: pure gold. As I said, this is not for everyone (not a family movie). Who do you think will get the job? Keep in mind the applicants are totally highly qualified. If truth be known I have already told you. (7/10) Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

Another story about a group of strangers locked together in an enclosed space, hoping for a way out. In here, these five are job applicants; in the last step to join a powerful corporation, only one can leave the room with the job... and their life. I really like this kind of film; it is always such a psychologically heavy concept, often accompanied by interesting twists and thought- provoking mindgames... Unfortunately, 'The Employer' fails in that aspect. The movie is too short and moves too fast to create the necessary tension in the room scenes, and the characters/actors are so bad they are unable to create any interest in the viewer. And it is far from just the actors' faults (though they have their share on it): the characters are horribly conceived and developed, their actions not making sense and being overly ruthless/psychopathic to the point of being unbelievable/almost cartoonish. This makes the twists almost pointless and their impact almost nonexistent. The psychological aspect the film needed ends forgotten and ignored. Malcolm McDowell is the only one to do a good job, and his character is quite fun to watch (though equally bad). A sharp contrast to the otherwise terribleness. In the end, this film is far too moronic and badly made. It can't even pass as a idiotic, semi-gory thriller, as the anti-capitalistic stance the film seems to defend (considering the way they portray the big corporations) show they tried to make this have some kind of half-assed message. In other words, they actually believed this could be good. I give it a 4 just because I love this concept, which made me try to like it, but in the end it could very well receive a lower rating. Much better choices would be 'Exam', 'La habitación de Fermat', and even the 'Cube' franchise.

This was truly a disappointing movie. When I read the description, I thought it would be something similar to that one movie about the test, where candidates compete with each other for a job position. I was expecting lots of twists and mind games that would keep me guessing who the winner will be. There was none of that. A weak plot with no explanation in the end. Characters also do not make sense. A strong muscular guy who gets choked to death with a tie who just got his head bashed in? He could have easily overpowered the strangler. Or how about a skinny girl who can easily disarm the muscle giant and pin him to the ground but cannot take on 2 defenseless person her size? Save your time and money for a better, deserving movie because there was nothing thrilling about this thriller.

I just caught this movie and it was a powerful look at capitalism. The monologue by Malcolm McDowell at the end of the movie helps to deconstruct the basic ideals of the corporate world. Endure with this murderous tale filled with hopes of a peaceful escape, where the gore is aptly used for effect, stereotypes questioned and the interview process taken to a whole new level (while still being relateable to the actual job market). The variety of roles, the differing characteristics of the main five characters; all fitted in with flashbacks to show "how they got there?" and the overlooking McDowell. With Billy Zane at the end, the use of music, good interview questions which foreshadow the coming violence and the simplicity of the characters and their lives help to fill out the 90 minutes extremely well. Watch it at night to help set the atmosphere, and for some reason reminded me of "Cube". 6/10 - got across what it set out to do with interesting shifts and entertaining, didn't try to do too much and built the characters slowly (but the interviewing flashbacks reveal future actions later in the movie).

Do you like claustrophobic horror flicks in which people's weaknesses are exploited so that the worst comes out in them, resulting in murder? If so you will like this film, I did. The Employer asks an honest question. What are you will to do for an awesome job that will allow you to get away with anything and to probably get really rich? The five contestants in this film are willing to do anything. In this case that means surviving this 5-way massacre/job interview, and more than likely killing a few people along the way. The film written and directed by Frank Merle, plays on the cold-heartedness of big business in America. I enjoy the polarities Frank draws between killing people, and killing businesses, which is what the Carcharias Corporation apparently does. I also found the death by stiletto heel to be very enjoyable, as was the performance by Michael Delorenzo, as Keith Caverns. Michael has a certain way of making you hate the character he portrays, which is exactly what the Writer/Director wants.