Spiderhead

Spiderhead is a science fiction thriller set inside a remote, highly advanced penitentiary where inmates serve their sentences as volunteers in pharmaceutical experiments. The drug trials are run by Steve Abnesti, a charismatic researcher who has developed substances capable of altering moods, feelings and behavior, and who asks the prisoners to administer them to themselves. One inmate, Jeff, follows the routine without much resistance until he starts to question what the experiments are really for and what the man in charge intends to achieve.

Joseph Kosinski directed the film, which came in his filmography between Top Gun: Maverick and F1, after earlier features including TRON: Legacy, Oblivion and Only the Brave. The screenplay was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who also produced alongside Eric Newman and Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth plays Abnesti, with Miles Teller as Jeff, Jurnee Smollett as Lizzy and supporting turns from Mark Paguio, Tess Haubrich and BeBe Bettencourt. It is based on a short story by George Saunders.

The film met with modest reception on both sides of the audience divide: on IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from around 73,000 votes and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from roughly 1,800 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 5.2 out of 10 from 155 reviews. The runtime is 107 minutes.