The first 5 minutes was the best. From then on it was a downward roller coaster...don't waste your time with this.
7 Reviews
what a let down
williamlogan-9217115 October 2019
Ignore the Low Score. This is a great film.
vegicat15 October 2019
My guess is that the people who rated this low didn't bother to even watch the whole movie. They probably only watched 5 minutes. The acting is great, the filming was on point, and the plot was interesting. Glad I didn't see the rating until after I watched it.
General Review
dannic-7376821 July 2020
I had a very low expectation going into this film but the characters (especially Ron) I really connected too. The acting from the contestants was, in my opinion, very believable and relatable. The film as a whole is really easy to watch.
Really well done and nicely acted tense thriller.
future_release15 October 2019
I was really impressed by the whole film. It builds the tension steadily and leaves you with a nasty taste. A really uneasy film with a constant threat of foreboding.
All four of the actors play their parts exceptionally well and the sense of claustrophobia and is palpable. Nicely shot, edited and acted. What more could you ask for.
All four of the actors play their parts exceptionally well and the sense of claustrophobia and is palpable. Nicely shot, edited and acted. What more could you ask for.
Immersive, dark and intriguing twist on a reality show
adamburton-5819421 January 2019
If someone set up their own alternative, budget big brother, without a real plan for all
eventualities, Eyes and Prize is how it could well play out.
Four different personalities, who deal with the events ahead in their own ways makes for intriguing viewing.
Long single shot scenes in the small environment immerses you into the situation and as things turn, puts you on the edge of your seat.
The subtle blend of dark comedy into the tense environment, reminds me of the early works of Shane Meadows.
A must watch.
EYES AND PRIZE is darker than BLACK MIRROR in its brutal commentary on internet celebrity culture, surveillance and power dynamics.
contact-742-50083524 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Four strangers arrive one by one at an apartment, the apartment is actually a customized set fully equipped with cameras, lighting equipment and everything necessary for them to live for the next weeks. All four participants believe they have been chosen to star in a new reality online show with the promise of a prize if they make it all the way through. At first they try to ease into their roles as reality internet stars, but they begin to realize that something is off, and that the reason they may not be there for the entertainment of the masses.
With its commentary on reality TV shows, online celebrity culture, the dark web and voyeurism, Oliver Cane's EYES AND PRIZE is like the BLACK MIRROR episode that Charlie Brooker didn't thought of. Each of the four participants enter the set believing that they are about to become participants of an online show, where they will live together for the next weeks (or months) and see what happens. The premise of such shows go back to MTV's THE REAL WORLD where the cast was comprised of young gen-x strangers who would live under the same roof, they personalities carefully curated knowing that they would eventually crate drama among each other, making for an entertaining view, the formula was later copied and rehashed countless times until it met its ultimate incarnation in BIG BROTHER a show that made reference to George Orwell's totalitarian regime in his visionary and (sadly) relevant masterpiece 1984, due to the array of cameras watching every move of the participants who would live under the same roof, but unlike "The Real World" where the cast could go out of the house, here, they had to remain indoors until they got kicked out due to failing to complete a task. EYES AND PRIZE takes many of these familiar elements from reality TV and makes an upgrade to online streaming. TV isn't as relevant as it used to be (only ten years ago) and now streaming is taking the lead in people's screens. What hasn't changed tough is the desire from the public to see people from the safety distance of a screen, watching their every move, voyeurism in the era of the internet is far more prevalent than ever. EYES AND PRIZE takes a darker turn, as its plot unfolds to reveal that not all is as it seems for the four strangers. The twist comes early on, rather than towards the end. Without revealing much, the four strangers are participants to a show, this is true, however the nature of the show is far more macabre than they expect. Some of them like Marcus (Jackson Bews) and James (Nick Blakeley) are quite hesitant to accept what is going on around them, skeptical of the decisions made by the "producers" and what the point of the show is, while Ron (Gerard Mcdermott) and Abbi (Alanna Flynn) are more than on-board with the adventurous nature of their situation. In truth, there's way too much that we could discuss, but we would have to spoil some of the surprises this film has under its sleeve, however we can assure that it gets dark really quickly. There's some elements in the film that beyond taking notes from reality shows and the cult around them, there's a little bit of Chan Wook Park's OLDBOY in it, at least the parts where its protagonist is kept in captivity and isolation, it is this isolation and being completely cut-off from the rest of the world that makes for the most fascinating aspects of the film, as each participant deals with boredom, lack of supplies and the sinking feeling that they may never come out of the apartment ever. It's these sequences that show the decay of the human spirit under the constant gaze of a guardian that bring the film into almost horror territory. Seeing each participant slowly lose their minds and their health and the decay their bodies and the apartment go through, make for powerful commentary on the nature of internet celebrity culture, we basically see the same thing in any of those shows, but society keeps it somewhat civil, or as civil as it can, but without the security that society brings, these shows could turn much, much darker.
Oliver Cane has written and directed a modern horror fable that is begins visually bland, copying the blandness of reality TV shows and their over lit sets, however this is a choice made on purpose as the film wants to fool you. There's even a hint that this may be a comedy at first, but it slowly begins to unravel when you begin noticing the details scattered throughout the set. However, his directorial flourishes come in the form of long takes that zoom in and out and float around the apartment with masterful control. This is a micro-budget film, yet it smartly makes use of a single location, the set like the characters is ever evolving which keeps it from being stale. As the mental and physical deterioration of the characters manifests, it does so with the apartment. It's a simple change, but powerful and effective as we see this well organized and mundane set transform into a nightmare dungeon where the characters are put into an agonizing trial. Cane's script makes great use of potential situations that may arise from isolation and lack of everyday resources we give for granted. There's another set, one that could count as a spoiler, but it is the place where the characters are being watched, it is scattered with details of the evolution of voyeurism, from binoculars to telescopes, they all let us know everything we need to know about the people behind this, Cane milks the cow dry, doing as much as he can with what he's been given. The performances are also spot-on, with Jackson Bews as the skeptical and rebellious Marcus, the one who puts a little bit more thought into why he is where he is. Nick Blakeley as James makes for an enigmatic and unhinged performances as his character unravels further and further, Allanna Flynn as Abbi begins as a girl happy to participate in an online show, never giving a thought as to what is in store for her, but her part is deceptively tricky as she's the one who shows the worse signs of deterioration as the film progresses, and Gerard Mcdermott as Ron, the eldest of the four turns a jovial and almost maniacally optimistic turn, where he is the one participant who is the happiest to be there, but his happiness falls somewhere more along the lines of denial. Overall, EYES AND PRIZE is terrific commentary on power over others, others, online shows and internet celebrity culture.
With its commentary on reality TV shows, online celebrity culture, the dark web and voyeurism, Oliver Cane's EYES AND PRIZE is like the BLACK MIRROR episode that Charlie Brooker didn't thought of. Each of the four participants enter the set believing that they are about to become participants of an online show, where they will live together for the next weeks (or months) and see what happens. The premise of such shows go back to MTV's THE REAL WORLD where the cast was comprised of young gen-x strangers who would live under the same roof, they personalities carefully curated knowing that they would eventually crate drama among each other, making for an entertaining view, the formula was later copied and rehashed countless times until it met its ultimate incarnation in BIG BROTHER a show that made reference to George Orwell's totalitarian regime in his visionary and (sadly) relevant masterpiece 1984, due to the array of cameras watching every move of the participants who would live under the same roof, but unlike "The Real World" where the cast could go out of the house, here, they had to remain indoors until they got kicked out due to failing to complete a task. EYES AND PRIZE takes many of these familiar elements from reality TV and makes an upgrade to online streaming. TV isn't as relevant as it used to be (only ten years ago) and now streaming is taking the lead in people's screens. What hasn't changed tough is the desire from the public to see people from the safety distance of a screen, watching their every move, voyeurism in the era of the internet is far more prevalent than ever. EYES AND PRIZE takes a darker turn, as its plot unfolds to reveal that not all is as it seems for the four strangers. The twist comes early on, rather than towards the end. Without revealing much, the four strangers are participants to a show, this is true, however the nature of the show is far more macabre than they expect. Some of them like Marcus (Jackson Bews) and James (Nick Blakeley) are quite hesitant to accept what is going on around them, skeptical of the decisions made by the "producers" and what the point of the show is, while Ron (Gerard Mcdermott) and Abbi (Alanna Flynn) are more than on-board with the adventurous nature of their situation. In truth, there's way too much that we could discuss, but we would have to spoil some of the surprises this film has under its sleeve, however we can assure that it gets dark really quickly. There's some elements in the film that beyond taking notes from reality shows and the cult around them, there's a little bit of Chan Wook Park's OLDBOY in it, at least the parts where its protagonist is kept in captivity and isolation, it is this isolation and being completely cut-off from the rest of the world that makes for the most fascinating aspects of the film, as each participant deals with boredom, lack of supplies and the sinking feeling that they may never come out of the apartment ever. It's these sequences that show the decay of the human spirit under the constant gaze of a guardian that bring the film into almost horror territory. Seeing each participant slowly lose their minds and their health and the decay their bodies and the apartment go through, make for powerful commentary on the nature of internet celebrity culture, we basically see the same thing in any of those shows, but society keeps it somewhat civil, or as civil as it can, but without the security that society brings, these shows could turn much, much darker.
Oliver Cane has written and directed a modern horror fable that is begins visually bland, copying the blandness of reality TV shows and their over lit sets, however this is a choice made on purpose as the film wants to fool you. There's even a hint that this may be a comedy at first, but it slowly begins to unravel when you begin noticing the details scattered throughout the set. However, his directorial flourishes come in the form of long takes that zoom in and out and float around the apartment with masterful control. This is a micro-budget film, yet it smartly makes use of a single location, the set like the characters is ever evolving which keeps it from being stale. As the mental and physical deterioration of the characters manifests, it does so with the apartment. It's a simple change, but powerful and effective as we see this well organized and mundane set transform into a nightmare dungeon where the characters are put into an agonizing trial. Cane's script makes great use of potential situations that may arise from isolation and lack of everyday resources we give for granted. There's another set, one that could count as a spoiler, but it is the place where the characters are being watched, it is scattered with details of the evolution of voyeurism, from binoculars to telescopes, they all let us know everything we need to know about the people behind this, Cane milks the cow dry, doing as much as he can with what he's been given. The performances are also spot-on, with Jackson Bews as the skeptical and rebellious Marcus, the one who puts a little bit more thought into why he is where he is. Nick Blakeley as James makes for an enigmatic and unhinged performances as his character unravels further and further, Allanna Flynn as Abbi begins as a girl happy to participate in an online show, never giving a thought as to what is in store for her, but her part is deceptively tricky as she's the one who shows the worse signs of deterioration as the film progresses, and Gerard Mcdermott as Ron, the eldest of the four turns a jovial and almost maniacally optimistic turn, where he is the one participant who is the happiest to be there, but his happiness falls somewhere more along the lines of denial. Overall, EYES AND PRIZE is terrific commentary on power over others, others, online shows and internet celebrity culture.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
