The Killing Room is a wonderfully chilling and solid claustrophobic thriller. Yes, it is rated on 5.7 on IMDB, voted by over 2000 people, but even the discussions on whether this is believable or even possible don’t underestimate the movie’s decent effort.  Here’s what happens:

4 subjects volunteer for a psychological experiment: 1 woman, 3 guys: Kerry (Clea DuVall), Crawford (Timothy Hutton), Paul (Nick Cannon) and Tony (Shea Whigham). These 4 strangers are in the experiment to make extra cash. Crawford is a veteran at being a lab rat and is the most comfortable of the 4.

They are in a white room with steel furniture nailed down to the floor. They are being watched and listened to by the leader of the project, a Dr. Philips (Peter Stormare), a group of other scientists who are following orders and a young psychologist called Emily (Chloe Sevigny).

At first it seems innocent and normal enough. Scientists are observing and this is a part of Emily’s recruitment, whether or not she will be a part of this project. Subjects do surveys, chat a little bit. After that Philips comes on, answers their questions and at about 17 minutes into the movie, we know for sure that this is one deadly experiment and whether any of the subjects will survive is highly questionable. But who the hell are these people? Why are they conducting a deadly experiment with 4 Americans with no criminal record? And how much can Emily take?

As I said, chilling, claustrophobic and not very predictable. The acting is just fine. I don’t want to give away spoilers but I will just hint that Timothy Hutton does have more screen time than 17 minutes. So if you don’t like psychological thrillers, it will be worth watching for him.

However, regardless of who and/or what you are watching this movie for, it is worth the time It makes you ask questions. You question how far people can go under extreme circumstances. You certainly keep writing your own explanation and script until the very end. I think the ending was just brilliant. Not the one I was guessing or hoping for, and this is a good thing. And yes, I knew almost all the actors from other films but even if you know none, it doesn’t matter. The acting is good but it is about the room, and the story rather than their faces.

It is hard to make a good thriller without much effects and constantly relying on other people’s minds working. This one pulls it off. But whether you will believe it -any part or entire movie- is possible will depend on what you think about the American government. Written by Gus Krieger and Ann Peacock. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman.

8 or 9/10 from me. You may not like it, but you won’t be bored either.

Other Posts on Timothy Hutton

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch

Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton