The Stanford Prison Experiment

2015 • 121 minutes
4.0
561 reviews
84%
Tomatometer
R
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

What happens when a college psych study goes shockingly wrong? In this tense, psychological thriller based on the notorious true story, Billy Crudup stars as Stanford University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who, in 1971, cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days. Winner of two awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including Best Screenplay, and created with the close participation of Dr. Zimbardo himself, 'The Stanford Prison Experiment' is a chilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller about the dark side of power and the effects of imprisonment. Featuring an extraordinary cast of rising young actors, including Ezra Miller, Olivia Thirlby, Tye Sheridan, Keir Gilchrist, Michael Angarano, and Thomas Mann.
Rating
R

Ratings and reviews

4.0
561 reviews
Rob Turner
December 15, 2015
This is a really, really interesting look at what the guard/prisoner relationship can turn into in a highly stressed trap setting. This causes a psychological climax that unearths emotions and actions that the same two people wouldnt ever reach toward each other in the free world.
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Shiloh Isha
December 6, 2015
Maybe I'm desensitized from creepypastas Russian Sleep Experiment... It could have been a hell of a lot worse than seven days in a mock prison... Seriously, stranger things have happened where people come out unscathed.
1 person found this review helpful
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Ken Rossbauer
December 13, 2015
This is an excellent movie. That being said it is uniquely accurate. If not for some recognizable actors and the quality of the set you could have been watching a documentary. Normally you see "based on a true story" and often you take it with a grain of salt. Not this time. Enjoy the movie and the education.
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