Whether into the field of psychology or not, Dr. Philip Zimbardo's 1971 prison experiment remains a chilling, unbelievable look at the dark depths of human nature. Zimbardo, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, assigned 24 completely sane undergrads to be either prisoners or guards in a two-week-long prison simulation. But after only a few days the experiment had to end because the guards became drunk with power, giving into their sadistic urges. And these were all people who knew they were part of an experiment, and yet they were changed nonetheless. Kyle Patrick Alvarez's film The Stanford Prison Experiment tells that incredible story, and the first trailer teases just how beyond control things got.
Starring a diverse cast of indie stars like Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Olivia Thirlby, Michael Anganaro, Logan Miller, Thomas Mann, Keir Gilchrist, Johnny Simmons, Moises Arias, Jack Kilmer, Chris Sheffield, Ki Hong Lee, and James Frecheville, the film debuted to strong reviews at Sundance. I had a choice of seeing this or the similarly true psychological tale, Experimenter, and let's just say the wrong decision was made. I should have seen this instead.
The Stanford Prison Experiment opens July 17th.
