The Belko Experiment(2016)

Submitted by Evan B

Pooper:
Mike is the only employee to make it out of the experiment alive. He then abandons his pacifist morals and murders the people running the experiment. Little does Mike know that Belko Industries (an international company) has run this same experiment at all its office locations… and the experiment he survived is merely Phase 1.

Long Ending:
Belko Industries is a government-funded non-profit with offices around the world. Mike (John Gallagher, Jr.) works at their office in Colombia, where he dates one of his co-workers Leandra (Adria Arjona). One day, he finds a paramilitary group surrounding the office, claiming to be there for the “employees’ protection.” That same day, Dany (Melonie Diaz) arrives for her first day on the job. She confirms she received an implant from the company that was implanted in her skull. Belko claims the implant can be used to track them if they are kidnapped.

After everyone arrives to work, metallic shutters close and encase the entire building, locking everyone in. A voice sounds over the loudspeaker announcing that the employees are all part of an experiment. The voice demands that 2 people be killed in a half-hour, or they will be “punished.” The employees, largely believing this to be a hoax or a training exercise, don’t panic. However, when the allotted time ends, three employees are killed when their heads suddenly explode. The office staff realizes that the implants in their skulls are actually mini-bombs, which the experimenters are detonating to “punish” the employees for disobedience. The voice then announces that thirty people must die in the next 2 hours, or else they will kill 60 people.

Most of the employees rally around Mike, who says that they can’t take innocent lives and should try to escape. The experimenters thwart most of Mike’s efforts to effectuate an escape, including having the soldiers shoot at him when he tries to hang banners requesting help from the roof of the office. COOBarry (Tony Goldwyn) leads another contingent that thinks they should form a contingency plan to comply with the orders to murder their co-workers. Mike and Leandra begin arguing after Leandra seems open to considering Barry’s ideas. Barry’s small group of followers – including psychotic Wendell (John C. McGinley) and Terry (Owain Yeoman), a family man just trying to make it back to his family – kill security guard Evan (James Earl) and take the keys to the office armory so they can arm themselves. Meanwhile, one maintenance man named Lonny (David Dastmalchian) kills his boss Bud (Michael Rooker), in a panic. Lonny is then killed by Dany after he attacks her for witnessing the murder.

As the deadline nears, Barry’s goons round up all the employees (except for Dany, hiding in the basement) in the lobby. Barry lines up the elderly, troublemakers, and other expendables (including Mike) and begins executing them. To distract the killers, Dany turns off the main power, and the employees (including Mike) flee. Some of them fight back, and they kill most of Barry’s goons. Leandra uses the blade of a paper cutter to wound Terry as he pursues her but is ultimately unable to kill him. She realizes that Mike was right that they shouldn’t kill their fellow colleagues. The time runs out with only 29 dead, so the experimenters kill 31 more (including Terry, right after his life was spared by Leandra). They then announce that the person with the most kills at the end of an hour will be the only one allowed to leave the building. Wendell, Barry, and a formerly pacifist employee named Vince (Brent Saxon) begin killing indiscriminately.

Leandra joins forces with two colleagues – Marty (Sean Gunn) and Chet (Abraham Benrubi) – to collect any unexploded bombs from the skulls of corpses in hopes that they can use the bombs to blow a hole to freedom. Wendell eventually kills Marty and Chet but is killed by Leandra in turn. She reunites with Mike, and together, they collect the salvaged bombs. A firefight breaks out between Vince and Barry, during which Leandra is mortally wounded, and Dany’s luck runs out, killing her. Barry finally emerges victorious, killing Vince. In a fit of rage over Leandra’s death, Mike ambushes Barry and beats him to death. As Mike is the sole survivor, the soldiers enter the building and drag Mike to the experimenter’s headquarters.

There, the lead experimenter (Gregg Henry) explains that Belko is run by social scientists who seek to study human nature in an unconstrained way. He promises that after Mike finishes his exit interview, he will be free to go. Mike is uncooperative and then reveals that while he was struggling with the soldiers, he planted the salvaged bombs on them. Mike then jumps to the control panel and detonates the bombs, killing the guards and grievously wounding the lead experimenter. Mike then callously kills all other experimenters with a gun he retrieves from a soldier’s corpse. The wounded lead experimenter appeals to Mike’s pacifism and begs for mercy. Mike guns him down too.

As Mike thinks he can now walk away to freedom, it is revealed to the audience that Belko has been recording even these events. It’s revealed that this same experiment was conducted at every other Belko headquarters and that Mike (and the sole survivors at the other offices) merely completed Belko’s “Phase 1.”

Order of Deaths:

1. Three random employees – The experimenter detonates the bombs in their heads, blowing their heads right open. This is punishment after the employees don’t willingly kill two of their own.
2. Bud – While trying to calm Lonny down, Lonny strikes Bud in the head with an oversized wrench. Bud quickly dies from the blow.
3. Lonny – After realizing Dany saw him kill Bud. Lonny tries to kill Dany as well. During the struggle, Dany pushes Lonny into a wall with some exposed rebar. The rebar punctures Lonny’s skull.
4. Evan – The security guard has the keys to the on-site armory. After he refuses multiple times to hand the keys over to Barry, Wendell stabs him in the gut with a big butcher knife.
5. Approximately 25 employees – To comply with the experimenter’s directive to kill 30 employees, Barry and his goons round up employees in the lobby. Barry forces the elderly and others he deems expendable to kneel against the wall and shoots them execution-style. More are shot while fleeing after Dany turns off the power.
6. Some of Barry’s goons – When Dany cuts off the lights, the employees fight back. They manage to kill some of Barry’s goons by beating and stabbing them to death.
7. 31 office employees – After only 29 of the demanded 30 employees are killed when time is up, the experimenter detonates the bombs in the heads of 31 employees. This includes Peggy (Rusty Schwimmer), Leota (Gail Bean), and Keith (Josh Brener). It also includes Terry, whose head explodes moments after Leandra decides to have mercy on him.
8. Vince’s victims – To win his freedom, Vince turns to the dark side and begins murdering his colleagues. He does so using a handgun and, later, Molotov cocktails.
9. Wendell – To win his freedom, Wendell begins hacking his colleagues apart with a meat cleaver.
10. Barry – To win his freedom, Barry begins slaying everyone in sight. When one colleague tries to seduce him in exchange for his mercy, he snaps her neck to save a bullet.
11. Roberto (David Del Rio) – He and Dany try to hide from the carnage on the roof of an elevator. When Barry takes the elevator to the top floor, Dany jumps off before it reaches the top. Roberto is not so lucky and is crushed to death.
12. Chet and Marty – Wendell shoots them dead when they try and help Leandra stop his rampage.
13. Wendell – Leandra wounds him with a gun and pins him under a table. She then kills him by burying an axe into his face.
14. Vince – He is shot dead by Barry in a shootout between the two.
15. Dany – Thinking she’s survived the others, Dany takes an elevator down to the lobby. When the doors open, a still-alive Barry shoots her right in the head.
16. Leandra – She was wounded by a bullet in the crossfire between Barry and Vince. She eventually bleeds to death.
17. Barry – Incensed that Barry killed Leandra, formerly pacifist Mike ambushes him. The two get in a fight, and Mike eventually bludgeons Barry to death with office supplies.
18. Soldiers and experimenters – Mike slips the salvaged bombs into the soldiers’ clothes and manages to detonate them, killing them all. He uses a gun he gets from a dead soldier to shoot other experimenters.
19. Lead experimenter – After being wounded when Mike detonates the bombs, the lead experimenter begs for mercy. Mike shows him none, shooting the experimenter in the head.