by Jeffery Rahming, Contributing Writer
Less than a month after opening the mega-blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski has already released another project. In a complete left turn from his previous movie, Spiderhead is a slow-paced, intellectual film that tackles the corruption of the pharmaceutical industry, free will, and ethics in science. And while these are all interesting themes, the movie itself is about as entertaining as reading a research paper. Despite the best efforts of its impressive cast, the film’s underbaked, yet overstuffed plot makes it a slog to get through.
Spiderhead follows a prisoner named Jeff (Miles Teller), who participates in drug trials in exchange for more comfortable living quarters and a reduced sentence. The drugs are administered through a pack in his back that allows the lead scientist behind the operation, Steve Absenti (Chris Hemsworth), to pump the prisoners full of various drugs with different effects. The prisoners don’t know the trial’s goal, but it becomes increasingly clear that Absenti will put them through whatever psychological torture necessary to get his results.
The short story this movie is based on is a great read, but as an idea, it works better in prose rather than on screen. It just isn’t cinematic enough to carry a whole movie. At best, Spiderhead is a mediocre Black Mirror episode, and at its worst, it’s as interesting as watching actual medical trials. Even if medical trials are your thing, the experiments in this movie are mainly based on pseudoscience and technobabble that don’t make any sense if you give it a second’s thought. A key difference between this movie and the short story is that in the original text, we’re in Jeff’s point of view when the drugs are administered, so we get a firsthand account of what he’s going through. This is more immersive than what we get in the movie, where the actors are tasked with verbally explaining the effects of drugs. While I’m sure this was an interesting acting exercise for the cast, watching people give scientific monologues of their feelings isn’t that entertaining for the audience.
Stretching a 10-page story into an hour-and-45-minute movie is a recipe for disaster. The film adds a plethora of unnecessary B-plots, including a brief but odd subplot focused on the mystery of who spread poop on a bathroom wall. No, seriously. The movie feels much longer than it is, but only because half of it is inconsequential to the actual story. Even in places where the movie sticks close to the original plot, the small changes they make have significant consequences. The film takes a more optimistic approach compared to the cynical tone that made the original story such a powerful read.
As dull as the script is, the actors help make the movie at least somewhat watchable. Teller continues to prove himself as one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Seeing the ordinarily heroic Hemsworth play against type as the maniacal tech bro antagonist was a fun change of pace that shows off his range. Jurnee Smollett also does a great job as Teller’s love interest, with a standout scene in the movie’s climax.
On paper, Spiderhead had the potential to be a powerful movie. It’s a tale about a man’s search for redemption in a system that doesn’t offer him any. Plus, a commentary on the medical-industrial and the prison-industrial complexes. But interesting themes can’t overcome a weak script with a lot of padding. It’s a dull and drawn-out experience that wastes the talents of everyone involved. The fact that it’s made same director who made one of the most exhilarating movies of the last five years makes Spiderhead’s blandness even more perplexing. Maybe Kosinski should stick with blockbusters from here on out.
Score: 4/10
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