The Subjects

There are those who make movies and those who watch movies.

In the former group, there is a mission, a Holy Grail of moviedom if you like, to attempt to make the best movie you can with the least resources.

Imagine a movie done in on a single set with a half dozen or so unknown actors ... minimal resources ... could you make it work? Director/Writer Mond gave it a try with THE SUBJECTS and this reviewer thinks he succeeded.

The gold standard for these sorts of films -- there have been dozens -- is THE CUBE, a Canadian film done in 1999.

To make these films work you need good acting, yes, but above all you need a killer script, a script that just keeps the attention of the viewer. Keeps you glued.

I think THE SUBJECTS has such a script. I recommend the film and hope it gets the following it deserves.

And for those sincere reviewers who keep insisting this is some sort of "anti-superhero" flick, a riff off our modern obsession with superpowers, some kind of "message movie," you are missing the point entirely,

There's some fun dialogue at times. There's an interesting idea. Good casting. The basic story is, conceptually, good.

But the problem I had watching it was that I was thrown every 30 seconds between hating the script and all illogical stuff, and getting back to that it was actually quite fun and entertaining.

There's plenty of illogical stuff going on in this movie, and in that I don't even include the stuff that were meant to be illogical, or the sci-fi element.

I think my problem with The Subjects boils down to that this movie could have been good if it had focused more on one of the genres/themes it contained: comedy, a group of people stuck together, superpowers, or the clinical trial experiment. Choose one and tone the other three down. But now, the comedy comes sporadically, the group of people stuck together had to be compressed in between everything else that went down, the superpowers were too over the top, and the clinical trial was just a means for transportation to get to the scenario set up (from a scientific standpoint it was cringe worthy).

I switched back and fourth between enjoying The Subjects and finding it ridiculous.

Today I gave it 4/6 Any other day I could have given it a 6/10 depending on the mood

So I'm a little disappointed that studios feel like us IMDb users are so stupid that we would fall for reviews that are made by people who just joined IMDb and only have 1 review of said material. Please stop!

That being said, this movie wasn't too awfully bad. Yes there are a few poorly acted scenes (British guy being the worst offender) and some scenes that were unnecessary (the debate over whether to take the pill), but I still have to say that I was entertained throughout.

The movie really takes off after the first person has the first reaction to the pill (burp). While the CGI was definitely sub-par, it got the job done and I didn't laugh too much about it. We've all seen worse, believe me. Once the movie gets going it's a wild ride all the way through to the end. I do not feel anyone would be wasting their time seeing it; especially Sci-Fi/Superhero movie fans.

In conclusion, while the movie does reach the "cheesy" level quite a few times, I was left smiling and would actually recommend it to my geek friends. Totally worth a rent!

6/10

The Subjects is the type of movie that utilizes "strangers trapped on predicament" scheme, with added superpower twist. This is not the caliber of X-Men nor does it deliver a cerebral psychology commentary of the powers' repercussion. What it does decently is producing satire of sci-fi which seems bizarre at first, but might just be odd enough for a realistic display of men given extreme powers with barely any supervision.

Story revolves around this group of men and women who are willing participants in a medical experiment. Most of the narrative is presented in mock commercial and brief tapes, and the rest moves along with the group's banter. The movie, like the characters, is confined to the room, so this is not the adventure fantasy type where fireballs are thrown at constant rate.

A lot of the plot hinges on chemistry of the cast, and admittedly these are colorful characters, almost too lively in fact. Sometimes they appear far too comical or predictably mysterious. These personalities are ludicrous versions of nerd, suave gentleman and thug instigator. The movie plays around with their oddities, resulting in a mixed bag of silly antics and actual violence.

Most of the banters are rather too strange, even for satirical purpose, although this does serendipitously produce humor. Its clash between serious tone and campy delivery can be too jarring for some. Furthermore, those who are not too familiar with sci-fi might not appreciate the cumbersome amount of fictional expositions.

This movie doesn't possess narrative depth or grand special effect, although it's presentably wacky enough for a simple entertainment.

The Subjects has a good plot line, filled with humour as well as interesting concepts and drama. Although the movie is clearly not produced by a company with heaps of money, the film still offers viewers an intriguing take on superpowers in an exciting manner. The actors in the movie engaged me, and made me believe what the movie was about; which after all is the role of a good actor. Particularly I think Charlotte Nicdao was a highlight, as she makes her character easy to identify with. Particularly considering the hipster-crowd which generally populate the indie films. Overall I think the movie was a great example of films created by indie film makers, and should be seen by all :)