Horror Movie Review: The Facility (2012)

A group of human guinea pigs enrol in a two week trial of a new drug called Pro-9 at a remote research facility. The group are all from different walks of life but the £2000 offered to them upon completion of the trial is money that many wouldn’t turn down.

The first third of the movie is character introduction plus a little backstory regarding the drug. Most of the characters have a single defining trait (cocky, quiet, no-nonsense etc.) & that is what they are remembered for. This opening is an opportunity to establish who is who within the group, who is going to be brave when the shit hits the fan, who is going to run & hide but most importantly who is going to be trouble.

These character traits are important because Pro-9, after some time in the bodies system, has some nasty side effects. As night falls those who had the earliest shots of Pro-9 begin to exhibit violent & homicidal tendencies.

Locked in the facility, those not affected by the drug are suddenly thrust into a fight for survival against foes that are almost zombie like (think 28 Day Later but nowhere as good or terrifying). Those that haven’t been affected by the drug face the horrible situation of not knowing when the side effects will hit them (those who got administered last have more time). This should create a tense atmosphere but with a cast so forgettable it doesn’t, instead you’ll end up hoping that more are affected just so something will happen.

The Facility (terrible name) is a boring movie that only has some excitingly big moments of violence to really help it stand out from the pack. The ‘infected’ are nasty & while the gore only comes in flashes it does have a realistic edge that may leave some feeling uncomfortable.

The acting isn’t bad; it’s uninspired because the characters are so undefined. It’s not possible to care about what happens to people like this & by the end it won’t actually be clear who survived & who didn’t (names are said but who cares!?)

The story is thin & stretched over a very long 80 minutes. To make matters worse most of the latter scenes are filmed in gloomy darkness making it difficult to see what’s going on let alone enjoy it.

It’s hard to say just what could have been improved here as the clinical trial gone wrong story is pretty basic. Perhaps it’s the kind of idea that would work better as a short instead of a full length movie?