SYNOPSICS
Exam (2009) is a English,French,Cantonese movie. Stuart Hazeldine has directed this movie. Adar Beck,Gemma Chan,Nathalie Cox,John Lloyd Fillingham are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2009. Exam (2009) is considered one of the best Mystery,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. After the initial confusion has subsided, one frustrated candidate writes 'I believe I deserve...,' and is promptly ejected for spoiling. The remaining candidates soon figure out they're permitted to talk to each other, and they agree to cooperate in order to figure out the question: then they can compete to answer it. At first they suspect the question may be hidden in their papers like a security marker in a credit card, and they figure out ways to change their environment to expose ...
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Exam (2009) Reviews
Low-budget gem
Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. Soon enough, the candidates begin to uncover each other's background, prejudices and hidden agendas. Tensions rise as the clock steadily descends towards zero, and each candidate must decide how far they are willing to go to secure the ultimate job. Exam is a gem of a film. This low budget psychological thriller is very clever, incredibly entertaining and the production values are all far better then you would expect from such an unknown film. It's tense, mysterious and has a great atmosphere, and more importantly it stimulates your brain. It's impossible to not get caught up in the story and try to figure out just what the hell is actually going on. It couldn't be more engaging. There's not one well-known actor in this cast and yet, for the most part, the acting was great. One actor, Luke Mably, really stood out though. But what really made the film work was undeniably, the impeccable direction. In conclusion, Exam is a great low-budget thriller that puts many Hollywood blockbusters to shame. Definitely worth seeing and I'll be sure to check Stuart Hazeldine's next project after such a promising debut. 7.5/10
Exciting!
What an exciting movie! I had absolutely no expectations of this film. I had never even heard of it when I came across it. Since I've seen a lot of movies lately that have most often disappointed me, I thought this would be another one. But I'm glad to say it wasn't. I have a hard time concentrating when watching movies, I often turn my attention to something else and because of that I get lost in the plot. Some movies though, manages to keep me focused on the movie the entire time and this was one of those movies. I love a good mystery, where the movie makes you really think. When you try to solve the mystery (this time, the question) yourself. So I stayed focused every minute and it never got boring. It's basically a riddle and if you think you're smart enough, watch it and see if you can come up with the right answer before the characters do! ;) I would definitely recommend this film to other people. I'd give it a 7 or an 8.
An amazingly clever psychological thriller
This film is about eight candidates who are in the final round of selection for a prestigious job. They have to answer one question in eighty minutes, but the question sheet they have is blank. The whole film has the same setting and characters throughout, but it is never boring. Not even for one minute. With every single minute, it gets more suspenseful and engaging. It is such a superb character study, focusing on what people do in stressful, confusing and even helpless situations. it really gets you to think what is the question, which is so painfully obvious once you realise what is the question. The best thing is that, there is no flaw in the plot. It is not easy to come up with such an intelligent plot. "Exam" has to be one of the most suspenseful, intriguing, clever, well written and thrilling film I have seen in a long time.
Good buildup but badly concluded
The movie was really solid in the first half but continues to try my patience the closer it gets to concluding. The plot is not entirely original but well-executed. The concept was interesting and as the story progresses, you start to care about what happens to the characters as much as what the answer to the question is. I don't know if it's because the genre is psychological thriller which made me pay more attention to the nuances or if they've failed in being subtle but I figured out the answer (and what the question is) almost immediately. Still, I did hope that the ending would prove me wrong because it couldn't really be THAT simple (but I was right). So for me, the core of the movie (what is the question?) failed to intrigue. Indeed, it only served to disappoint so that's a mark against it for me. How about the ending itself? The revelation of the magic pill was a little too scifi-y for my tastes. Also, I feel dissatisfied with how the person won since 1)the CEO cheated by messing with the timer and 2) the winner was mostly passive and in the end seem to win through sheer luck. What I do like about it are the characters and the pacing. I like the fact that you get to see layers of the characters being peeled off and revealed as the story progresses. They start off as being stereotyped (quite literally, in fact) but as the saying goes, there is more than meets the eye and you realise that as soon as you think you've got one character pegged, s/he surprises you again. The pacing was good too, since it keeps your attention even though everything happens on one location only. Overall, it was a good movie but sort of crashed and burned at the end.
Reasonably Good Psychological Mystery
Take "Saw" and remove approximately 95% of the torture element, then take 8 candidates, sit them in a room and give them an exam presided over by a security officer who oversees all, as they seek to find the answer to the question that they've been asked by the invigilator of a surreptitiously successful organization. Of course, once they actually find the question first that's easy, or... is it? To some people this movie will be an absolute bore. To others it will be an enjoyable psychological mystery - albeit more 'who wins the job?' than 'whodunnit?' Direction, screenplay and acting are all admirable. Oh and lest I forget, the Chinese girl "Gemma Chan" is mega yummy - what a stunning girl indeed!!! Overall this movie's a 7/10. Definitely worth a watch *if* you like to keep guessing... But if you like your guessing to remain on autopilot throughout a movie's duration, then I'd advise you to avoid this movie.