Directed by Greg McLean [Other horror films: Wolf Creek (2005), Rogue (2007), Wolf Creek 2 (2013), The Darkness (2016)]
More or less a rehash of Battle Royale in a corporate setting, The Belko Experiment isn’t really anything new or all that special. I do think it’s pretty fun, but if one is left feeling like it’s ultimately pointless and derivative, I understand that also.
For me, the set-up brought a lot of interesting possibilities to the forefront. I certainly enjoyed the social examination aspect of it, with the dog-eat-dog world of corporate America coming down to violent and gory massacres. Very fitting of a system based off competition, in my opinion. I wish a little more of the mindset behind the experiment was explained, but what we got was fine.
So many individuals in the film were, at the very least, good. Of course, John Gallagher Jr. (of The Newsroom and 10 Cloverfield Lane) did great as a character with extraordinarily difficult choices to make. Tony Goldwyn, John C. McGinley, and Owain Yeoman made for a great team of antagonists (that lobby execution sequence was brutal). I sort of appreciated what they did with Melonie Diaz’s character, but Adria Arjona’s didn’t do much for me.
Other stand-outs include Brent Sexton (loved his scene toward the end), Sean Gunn, James Earl, Michael Rooker (God, I wish he was in this movie longer), David Del Rio, and Abraham Benrudi (who I know from one of my favorite episodes of the X-Files).
The conclusion is more-or-less what I was expecting, so no big surprises, but at the same time, it was moderately satisfying. I did like the concluding shot, so no complaints there.
Obviously, The Belko Experiment doesn’t do all that much that hasn’t been done before. It wasn’t even all that gory (there were some good scenes, but overall, the violence wasn’t too noticeable to me), but at the same time, I enjoyed it. It’s one of those films you can just sit back, relax, and watch, without having to really think too much. I liked this one, and while I understand the more tepid reactions to it, I find it above average, and would generally recommend it.
8/10
Jiggy's Horror Corner 
I don’t remembet Arcadia (I did some Google searches), I need to rewatch it! Luckily the plan is to buy all the 9 seasons of The X-Files (yes, the show has nine seasons in total) for Christmas and rewatch it completely with my girlfriend… :–)
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Arcadia’s one of the many monster-of-the-week episodes, and one that I’ve always had a really fun time with. Hope that the two of you enjoy them – every time I try to rewatch the series, I get stuck somewhere in season three or four, so enjoy.
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First we have to finish our current task: watching (for the first time) Star Trek: The Original Series. We just saw episode 10 of the second season, so we’re about half way through…
Then, let’s see if we can tackle The X Files! Do you stop because of the lower quality of the episodes, or for some other reason?
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I think the series maintains a solid quality up to at least Season 6 (and I do have favorites past that season, to be sure).
It’s more that I get distracted by something else, and don’t get back to it, which I admit is a bit of a bad habit of mine, so I certainly appreciate your dedication.
Funnily enough, I also tried getting into Star Trek (I was dating a girl at the time who was a major fan), but after watching the first five or so episodes, I decided it wasn’t my think and let it go.
Still, as long as you guys are enjoying yourself, have at it. 🙂
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