The Subjects

Eight strangers are locked in a room as part of a clinical drug study. They soon find that the drug gives them superpowers, but all of these new "gifts" come with a sting in the tail. This Australian fantasy certainly has an intriguing set-up, which takes the superhero idea to a dark and grisly new place. It's also quite funny in places, with a musical credits sequence providing one of the highlights of the film (make of that what you will). It's a shame, then, that more was not done to flesh out the characters, all of whom are broad stereotypes - the bully, the geek, the airhead and so on. Especially as a story set in one room needs strong characters to drive the plot. Unfortunately there just isn't enough in the script or the performances to make the clever premise take flight. The Subjects may hold your attention for the swift running time, but on the whole it doesn't hold up against more mainstream genre fare.