HUMAN ZOO *** USA 2020 Dir: John E. Seymore. 109 mins
A production company holds open auditions for a new reality TV show, the film starts off as the contestants are whittled down by asking questions like “Why would the audience want to watch you specifically?”, “What does solitary confinement mean to you?”, “What is your strategy for winning?” and ;”What would you spend the grand prize money on?”.
Each potential participant answers these questions in turn, the chosen contestants are told they are in the running to win 2 million US dollars if they last the longest in solitary confinement…that is the premise of the film right there!
In a nutshell each contestant has to go into solitary confinement, with only basic food rations, a bottle of water and a bucket for a toilet. The horror here is how this challenge affects them mentally.
This film is nothing new, but the way it’s compiled together is. I thought this was going to be a full on modern exploitation horror film, but it’s more like a Big Brother experiment than the extreme horror or torture porn flick that I assumed it would be, just from reading the synopsis and looking at the films packaging.
It can get a little repetitive as we see the story unfold, and this is mainly due to the gargantuan run time of the movie, coming in at 109 minutes. To be honest I did expect more twists and turns as the film progressed, but I liked how the film was executed.
The Human Zoo will be a hit with voyeurs as it does feel as if you’re watching something you shouldn’t, peeking in almost on a live stream, though don’t expect sex or nudity, but do expect people’s fears and insecurities being looked at under a microscope.
The poster art for this film is stunning, and hats off to the actors they all pulled it out the bag here!
The Human Zoo is definitely worth a watch!
I did enjoy this one!
This may make you think twice before going to your first audition!
Review by Tony Newton
