The film takes place in a single room with lighting that screams low-budget indie. No story buildup, no real context — they’re just stuck in this room with zero explanation of how they got there.
The main character immediately screams “I’ve had a harder life than everyone else, so I’m destined to win” Her attitude toward the first challenge is inconsistent with her prior confidence. If she truly believed she was going to win, you’d expect her to come prepared with some strategies or coping mechanisms, like breathing exercises, for example. She spends the whole time questioning the facilitator as if she didn’t voluntarily sign up for this.
The facilitator is talking to her like he’s never done this before. His tone isn’t as professional or detached as you’d expect in a high-stakes environment like this.
Throughout the challenges, she goes from tough and defiant to rude and whiny, especially when it comes to the challenges themselves. If I were participating in this type of game, I’d expect the “rat in a box” scenario to be tame compared to some of the other tasks.
The attempted sexual tension between the characters feels out of place, especially when the facilitator jokingly kisses her “boo-boo.”
After spending just 15 minutes in the room, they’re already trying to form some sort of romantic connection. It’s hard to believe, especially given the high-stress situation they’re in.
I also suspect that the facilitator may be the one truly controlling the situation. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that he’s manipulating her in subtle ways. It starts to feel like she isn’t as free to leave as she thought, and you begin to wonder if she’s even capable of leaving on her own terms.
