Spiderhead

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1:59

Spiderhead

R

2022

1h 47m

Sci-Fi

Action

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

30%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by brilliant visionary Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth), inmates wear a surgically attached device that administers dosages of mind-altering drugs in exchange for commuted sentences. There are no bars, no cells, or orange jumpsuits. In Spiderhead, incarcerated volunteers are free to be themselves. Until they're not. At times, they're a better version. Need to lighten up? There's a drug for that. At a loss for words? There's a drug for that, too. But when two subjects, Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), form a connection, their path to redemption take a twistier turn, as Abnesti's experiments start to push the limits of free will altogether.

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Critics Consensus

Spiderhead's top-shelf cast and well-written source material are almost enough to compensate for its frequent failure to live up to its potential.

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Audience Says

Spiderhead's strong start and big stars only deepen the disappointment after the end credits roll on this poorly written thriller.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jun 24, 2022

2.5/4

Does it work? Not really, but due to Kosinski’s skills behind the camera and Hemsworth’s smarmily sweaty paranoiac charm in front of it the thriller comes awfully close to being a success.

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Victoria Luxford

BBC.com

Jun 24, 2022

2/5

While (Teller) and Hemsworth have a lot of screen presence together, there’s only so much you can do without a decent plot or script…

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Jun 23, 2022

2.5/4

It's part comedy, part thriller, part message movie about our pill-popping culture.

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Bhuvanesh Chandar

The Hindu

Nov 21, 2023

This dystopian sci-fi thriller has everything in its arsenal to pull off something great, but doesn't.

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Lee Zumpe

Tampa Bay Newspapers

Oct 31, 2023

Where evident in the film, Saunders tone and vision stand out as highpoints in an otherwise muddled extrapolation of the intriguing concepts he explored in his short story. Sadly, not enough of his influence remains to save Kosinski’s adaptation.

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Manuel São Bento

FirstShowing.net

Jul 25, 2023

B-

Chris Hemsworth proves again that he's one of the most underrated actors working today.

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Dave D

@RT78510413 2 days ago

The acting was solid and the music enjoyable but the feasibility of the story line brings the movie down a notch. Certainly not the worst thriller I've seen but also not the best

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Ava C.

@RT21243384 Jun 17, 2026

Captivating, very interesting story line, and kept me guessing, satisfying ending

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Andi T

@RT76515237 Apr 27, 2026

Fell asleep watching it.

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Peter F

@RT28007450 Apr 19, 2026

Shut it off 15 minutes into the movie because it's just didactic and boring as hell. It's the kind of 15 minutes that tells you there's no way this is going to be a good movie.

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Rotem G

@rotemgol Apr 7, 2026

A lot of potential, strong start but as the movie goes on it gets worse and worse. a massive fail.

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Danny A

@Avilez14 Feb 7, 2026

Don't think it's as bad as most people say, good cast, some good range of acting within it and an alright plot. However it does miss that wow factor, the stakes didn't feel high enough towards the end. However, it's quite thought provoking in terms of the drug industry and the struggle of people looking for happiness/disassociation.

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Joseph Kosinski

Director

Chris Hemsworth

Steve Abnesti

Miles Teller

Jeff

Jurnee Smollett

Lizzy

Mark Paguio

Verlaine

Tess Haubrich

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Synopsis

In a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by brilliant visionary Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth), inmates wear a surgically attached device that administers dosages of mind-altering drugs in exchange for commuted sentences. There are no bars, no cells, or orange jumpsuits. In Spiderhead, incarcerated volunteers are free to be themselves. Until they're not. At times, they're a better version. Need to lighten up? There's a drug for that. At a loss for words? There's a drug for that, too. But when two subjects, Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), form a connection, their path to redemption take a twistier turn, as Abnesti's experiments start to push the limits of free will altogether.

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Producer: Eric Newman, Chris Hemsworth, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Agnes Chu, Geneva Wasserman, Tommy Harper, Jeremy Steckler
Screenwriter: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Production Co: The Rebel Fleet , Reese Wernick Productions, Conde Nast Entertainment, Grand Electric, Screen Arcade, The New Yorker
Rating: R (Violent Content|Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 17, 2022
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos

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