“Spiderhead” shows us that sometimes short and sweet is the way to go. Based on The New Yorker short story “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders, the sci-fi / psychological thriller probably should have stayed in its original format. The film centers around a private penitentiary run by Steve Abnesti. Inmates at said prison are allowed to lead relatively cushy lives. The tradeoff is they have volunteered as lab rats in mind-altering drug trials in order to be afforded such comforts.
Abnesti is played by Chris Hemsworth, and this is not to say that brilliant scientists can’t be model level good looking… but we had a very hard time believing Hemsworth in the role. His was by far the most confusing performance, because it was consistent throughout the film but we could not understand the directorial choices.
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The film is a mish mosh of what we assume was intended as ironic juxtapositions, but it just comes off poorly. Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett play the two main prisoners we follow. It’s hard when they have to be assigned backstories that are justifiable enough to land them in prison, but not so bad we can’t relate to them. The choices made in that department feel somewhere between pedestrian and sloppy.
We know everyone in the film is technically capable of giving good performances, so we have to assume that the ones they gave on screen are intentional. This all comes at the direction of Joseph Kosinski who has another film out with Teller right now…“Top Gun: Maverick.” We’re honestly somewhat relieved for Kosinski that that film came out first because if “Spiderhead” had seen the light of day first we can imagine some people being scared away from seeing his other project.
The sci-fi is gibberish, the plot is razor thin, and the acting choices are questionable at best. There’s a world in which “Spiderhead” could have become a “so bad it’s good” film, but unfortunately it can’t even give us that satisfaction.
“Spiderhead” is now streaming on Netflix.
