Once you’re in, there’s no way out.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Role: Emily Riley
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Co-Stars: Nick Cannon, Timothy Hutton, Peter Stormare, Shea Whigham, Clea DuVall
Release Date: U.S., October 13 2009 (straight-to-DVD)
MPAA Motion Picture Rating: R

• Overview
• Memorable Emily Quotations
• The Killing Room Movie Trivia
• Critical Reception
• The Killing Room Online

More photos in our The Killing Room gallery!

Four volunteers sign up for what initially appears to be a typical paid research study, only to discover that they’ve been unwittingly drawn into a classified government program that should’ve been terminated two decades ago. As the study gets underway, the group is given a series of questions and a finite window of time in which each individual member must submit a unique numerical answer. At first, the participants all assume that the subject who gives the most obviously incorrect answer will be removed from the experiment, but it doesn’t take long for the group to realize that the correct answer isn’t always the one the researchers are looking for. Meanwhile, as the brooding Dr. Phillips (Stormare) attempts to manipulate the study to get the answers he wants, the newest member of his team, Ms. Riley, begins to question the ethics of the diabolical experiment.

Chloë Sevigny portrays Emily Riley, a highly gifted NSA behavioral analyst specialized in military psychology, who is called in by Dr. Phillips for a classified special program. Before joining Dr. Phillips’ team, however, Ms. Riley must pass an evaluation procedure in which she must analyze the behavior of a group of subjects through “pre-recorded footage”. But when Emily realizes there is nothing “pre-recorded” about the material she’s assessing, it is suddenly up to her to decide where to draw the line between the ethically acceptable and unacceptable.

“At the NSA I specialized in military psychology and was promoted to a senior position in six months. I am one of the youngest.”

“Considering the lengths you’re going to find it, what you’re looking for must be extremely rare.”
[Dr. Phillips: "Is this a problem for you?"]
“Not a problem.”

“You know who the final subject will be. You’ve known all along. The questionnaires, before you started.”

[Dr. Phillips: "You have let me down. You told me you were ready. You're not ready."]
“I am ready. Were testing the breaking points of civilians. We’re proving what they’re capable of.”

“Apoptosis. Apoptosis, that’s your objective, isn’t it?… There’s a more effective way to reach your outcome.”

[Dr. Phillips: "Tell me what you know about apoptosis."]
“It’s a mechanism in the human body where an inferior cell realizes it’s detrimental to the system.”
[Dr. Phillips: "A cell willing to sacrifice itself for the greater good."]

• Although the name of Chloë Sevigny’s character is commonly listed as “Emily Reilly” (including in the Internet Movie Database and on Wikipedia), the end credits of the film actually give her name as “Emily Riley”.

Unfortunately, The Killing Room went straight-to-DVD in most countries, including the U.S., and reviews on the film are almost none to be had, which is why it is practically impossible to summarize how the film has been generally received. Although the film has a 67% “Fresh” rating at review collection site Rotten Tomatoes, the rating is only based on six reviews, and therefore may not reflect the true quality of the film.

• Rating > Internet Movie Database: 5.7/10 (3,400 user votes counted)
• Rating > MetaCritic: No rating (professional)
• Rating > Rotten Tomatoes: 67% positive reviews, “Fresh” (professional)

Extracts from professional reviews:

“A high-concept/low-impact twist on torture porn, The Killing Room will likely do its slaying on DVD. [...] Each player in the quirky cast — including Timothy Hutton in black skullcap-and-goatee a la U2′s Edge and a slow-burning, pierced eyebrow-sporting Nick Cannon –manages a memorable moment or two, but the pic’s simplistic political message — Torture is U.S. — would’ve played far better in 9/11′s immediate aftermath, when the film is set. [...] As a conscience-plagued torturer-in-training whose own reactions are being tested by the murderous Dr. Phillips (Peter Stormare), Chloe Sevigny is forced to play out repetitive emotions that can be guessed from Liebesman’s first scene. Twenty minutes in, The Killing Room administers a promisingly nasty shock that the film’s remainder can’t sustain. Opening titles’ pretentious reference to the Rockefeller Commission, a Nixon-era mind-control lab, hardly help place the dated premise in the here and now.”
- Rob Nelson, Variety

“One feels a sense of gratitude when a horror-thriller even bothers with unexpected divergences or surprises that feel relatively satisfying. [...] Even when the flick slows down (which, to be honest, it does once in a while), the good news is that Liebesman is working with a colorful ensemble that has no trouble keeping the action interesting. Timothy Hutton, Shea Whigham, Clea Duvall, and Nick Cannon are the lab rats, and the overseers are played by a villainous Peter Stormare and an unsure Chloe Sevigny. Not a weak link among the cast, if you ask me, and they do a fine job of keeping a potentially outlandish concept grounded in a reality we can actually recognize. [...] The film’s best moments come during the opening set-up and the closing sequences, but there’s certainly enough here to warrant a look. The Killing Room feels more like a surprisingly engaging cable flick / DVD rental than it does a full-bore “Friday Night Out” sort of movie, but genre fans who like a little psychological mayhem mixed in with their more traditional carnage should find something to like in this scrappy little chiller.”
- Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

“The audience’s advantage over the “contestants” comes in the form of Peter Stormare and Chloe Sevigny, who overlook the events from behind one-way glass, studying their responses for the government. Cold, icy and mysterious, it’s the best performance I’ve seen by either in years. [...] Director Jonathan Liebesman pulls off a rare feat: Setting an entire film predominantly in one room. All focus is on the eyes, actions, and betrayals of these characters — and the finale comes out of left field, in the best way possible. It’s Cube with better actors. Reservoir Dogs without the hipness. Lifeboat with a modern spin on war-time paranoia.”
- Larry Carroll, MTV

Personal Thoughts

Sandra: To be honest, this didn’t hit home with me. Although the premise is interesting and The Killing Room does feature a couple of (very) nice surprise twists, as soon as the dust settles the film quickly slows down into an almost painfully dull study of people you don’t particularly care for, and the fateful, melancholy music really does the film no favors. Only the performances here are truly good, Nick Cannon in particular turning out a positive surprise.

As Emily Riley, Chloë Sevigny also turns out a good performance. Both her character and her tranformation are believable, but with a role as rangebound as this there isn’t really a whole lot to work with, either for me or for Chloë.

Below are some The Killing Room-related links that may be of interest to you.

• The Killing Room official site
• The Killing Room TFL-approved fanlisting
• The Killing Room TFL-approved Emily character fanlisting
• The Killing Room on IMDb.com
• The Killing Room on RottenTomatoes.com
• The Killing Room on Wikipedia.org

• Jonathan Liebesman on IMDb.com
• Jonathan Liebesman on Wikipedia.org

• Clea DuVall on Clea DuVall Fan
• Nick Cannon on NickCannon.com