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Dark thriller The Belko Experiment comes to UK cinemas in April

6 March 2017

In a twisted social experiment, a group of 80 Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company’s intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed in order to survive.

Sprung from the mind of acclaimed filmmaker James Gunn and directed by Greg McLean, The Belko Experiment raises provocative questions while offering a black-humored thrill-ride that pushes ruthless corporate behavior to terrifying extremes.

When office workers arrive for work at Belko Industries’ isolated high-rise campus outside Bogotá, Colombia, the morning starts much like any other. Mike Pelk (John Gallagher, Jr.) smokes weed in the bathroom and flirts with his beautiful officemate Leandra (Adria Arjona) while new employee Dany Wilkins (Melonie Diaz) settles in for her first day on the job. Everything changes when an anonymous voice comes through the intercom speakers ordering employees to kill two of their colleagues within 30 minutes. Many of the 80 employees assume the order is a sick joke, even when steel-plated doors snap shut sealing off all windows and exits. When they fail to comply before the half hour is up, the heads of four randomly chosen office workers explode. Panic reaches a fever pitch when the disembodied voice issues his next command: thirty people must be killed within the next two hours or 60 people will die. Belko COO Barry Norris (Tony Goldwyn), a former Special Forces operative, commandeers a vault filled with guns, assembles an ad-hoc death squad and begins executing elderly and childless employees. In the ensuing melee, ordinary office workers including stoner Marty (Sean Gunn), nerdy Keith (Josh Brener), creepy Wendell (John C. McGinley) and maintenance guy Bud (Michael Rooker) reveal their true colors.

The Belko Experiment poster

Presented by Orion Pic tures, an arm of MGM, The Belko Experiment is directed by Greg McLean (The Darkness, Wolf Creek, Rogue), written by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and produced by Peter Safran (The Conjuring, Annabelle) and Gunn. The film stars John Gallagher, Jr. (The Newsroom, 10 Cloverfield Lane), Tony Goldwyn (Scandal), Adria Arjona (True Detective), John C. McGinley (Stan Against Evil, Scrubs), Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station), Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) and Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy).

Described by Matt Donato at We Got This Covered and "Office Space meet Battle Royale" (and the trailer suggests there's a lot of Battle Royale in here), The Belko Experiment comes to UK cinemas on 21 April 2017 from Orion Pictures and Vertigo Releasing.