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      The Steam Experiment

      R 2009 1h 31m Mystery & Thriller Horror List
      Reviews 5% 500+ Ratings Audience Score A crazed scientist (Val Kilmer) locks six people in a steam room and threatens to kill them. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (147) audience reviews
      Audience Member One of the most idiotic movies I've seen in recent memory, such a waste of potential! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member What the heck Val? What a piece. Annoying chronology, bizarre patriotic type classical music for a thriller with lame horror events, this is a mess. The sauna scenes are shown through an annoying blurry hazy urine colored filter. After what seems like 5 mins the characters already start to go nuts and attack each other. Then a nail gun happens, then some personal mutilation. Eric Roberts can't even be bothered to chew scenery in this embarrassing dud. Was it all in Val's head? Sometimes it's fascinating that flicks like this make it through production. The kind of film that makes you ask why bother? SKIP! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Thought provoking film. Who was using the nail-gun? Does the ending provide the viewer with three choices? 1. Choose to contemplate who was controlling whom and who did what. Much like the detective throughout the film. 2. Choose to just chill out, accept an explanation, and move on with enjoying life's pleasures. Much like the detective. 3. Choose to forget the film entirely and move on with life. Much like people who never choose to view the film. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I tried to watch this because of Val Kilmer -- well, not worth it -- Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Hard to judge this one as I was gripped for the majority of this showing, right up until the concluding part when all of a sudden the ending made no sense whatsoever. I'm a firm believer that movies should be structured in a manner that gets us fixated from the offset, continually throws in various ingredients to keep us glued, and then shocks us with an unsuspecting ending. The latter was certainly unpredictable, but it pretty much ruined what was a decent spectacle up until that point. We had the introduction of a seemingly normal human being voicing his concern of global warming to the press, and to get their full attention, he had admitted to holding 6 randoms in a steam room to demonstrate the likely effects of the increasing temperatures. The question was, was this an event from the past, was it a current situation, or was it all just a hoax?! Nevertheless we are enticed into thinking it's all occurring in the present time frame, and as such we witness the 6 individuals becoming acquainted on the initial thought they were attendees of a dating agency giveaway. That enjoyment soon turns to horror as the temperature rises, the doors are locked, and there's no escape. Turning on each other one by one, they panic at the realisation that no one may be coming for them, and there only hope is to breakout themselves, which is made all the more difficult in the blistering heat and claustrophobic conditions. At the same time, our brain is being taxed by the police investigation that runs alongside this, that looks to uncover the truth behind whether this is all really happening. In this sense it reminded me of the film Saw 2 as we switch between the hostage scenario and the police giving the accused a good grilling. I was therefore hoping that this would have the same enthralling finish too, but I couldn't have been more disappointed. Not only did it not make sense at the time, it didn't make sense after reading Wikipedia, and it was just one poorly designed conclusion. After a promising 75%, all the credible work was undone with a finale that I'm struggling to write about given that I still can't come to terms with what message was attempted to be conveyed. I think there was an overuse of twists, and as such it has made the film very twisted in itself. It's a shame because up until that point it had good characters, a good blend of action, some quite violent and gory, and was keeping the mind ticking away. Id be inclined to give this another go at some point, ideally in the company of someone who can perhaps explain the logic behind this, as it has evidently bypassed me completely. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member one of the worst movies ever Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Steam Experiment

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      Critics Reviews

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      Paul Chambers CNNRadio Got me steaming mad! Rated: D+ Jul 30, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A crazed scientist (Val Kilmer) locks six people in a steam room and threatens to kill them.
      Director
      Philippe Martinez
      Producer
      Steve Bannon, Karinne Behr, Trevor Drinkwater, Robert Malkani
      Screenwriter
      Robert Malkani
      Rating
      R (Brief Nudity|Violence|Language)
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller, Horror
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jan 1, 2012
      Runtime
      1h 31m