The Platform (2020)

A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. One only food platform and two minutes per day to feed from up to down. An endless nightmare trapped in The Hole.

Jess' Review

As I’ve previously pointed out, I love horror movies. And I was psyched when Netflix dropped the teaser for Spanish flick, The Platform. A tasty concoction of psychological horror, desperate survivalism, political allegory and a dash of cannibalism. Yummy. I was more than ready to eat this up and hoped for a satisfying, albeit gory meal.

The Platform is remarkably simple in its story, presenting the dystopian, prison-like tower of the “Vertical Self Management Centre” and one poor, albeit foolish, man’s endurance of it. Our hero, Goreng (Iván Massagué) encounters a selection of curious, and often intense cellmates throughout this, all of which giving striking performances of normal people pushed to desperation. Unsavoury and unsettling Trimigasi (Zorion Eguileor) especially gets under your skin. 

The film is fantastic. It moves at a controlled pace, feeding the audience morsels of information and plot twists like rations. (I’ll slow down on the food references.) The tension is palatable. (I lied.) And I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the increasingly violent scenes before me.

Whilst director, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia makes no attempt to disguise the film’s presence as one huge societal metaphor, it never seems overbearing to me. His views on the corruption of capitalism and human greed are presented bluntly, yet purposefully in a way that compliments the plot. The Platform remains entertaining - absolutely horrific at times, but still entertaining despite the overarching message it ultimately seeks to convey.

Now, the gore. I realise more and more, that despite my love of the genre, I’m actually quite squeamish. Several scenes really had me squirming, some of which not necessarily all that bloody but always gritty, brutal and quite frankly disgusting. It’s wonderfully depraved. And this vulgarity perfectly compliments the uncomfortably minimalist production design. It is a prison, for the viewer as much as the characters, and the acts we witness are barbaric.

Far more complex than the average splatter-fest or jump-scare blockbuster, I thought The Platform was truly delectable. I have little critique, only perhaps that I was hungry for a greater expansion of the warped universe in which it is placed. This is the kind of horror film that I live for, the perfect balance of symbolism, tension, intrigue and gore.

8/10

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Sam's Review

Obscure reference though it might be, the tower prison in the The Platform evokes memories of the perilous Tower of Night, a prison in the novel The Last of the Sky Pirates. (By Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.) That was the only thing that interested me in the film, as I am not a fan of horror. Yet, Jess is, so here I am.

The film is obvious in it’s reflection of society. Those at the top levels have everything available to them, while the lower we descend the less there is, until finally at the bottom we have people fighting for scraps. Saluting capitalism and greed in hateful homage. And, revealing that even once-good people will succumb to their place within the hierarchy. But I applaud the depth of this film, as it is impressive yet doesn’t detract from the story. Though while it exposes the grotesque nature of the hierarchy, it does little in the way to rebuke them. Perhaps it isn't needed, and that revealing it to us is enough. Though I would have enjoyed seeing some form of retribution.

Almost instantly I’m gripped, as Iván Massagué’s Goreng awakens on his platform, bewildered. From there he begins an uneasy conversation with his disturbed roomie, played by Zorion Eguileor. The dialogue, while tense, is also ever so slightly awkward. At which point, I realise the film is dubbed. The next few minutes are wasted as I scan the characters mouths, analysing in my brain if the audio matches the movements. Either it does or I grew used to it. Regardless, it wasn’t an issue.

If you’ve read my reviews, pacing is something I get caught up on. More so for a horror, as it should be used to build the tension. Thankfully, the Platform travelled at a steady pace, managing to hold my intrigue even though I had little interest in the film to begin with.

The minimalist story works well, though there are a few holes. Small things, really. But they bother me. How certain characters get in, for example, makes little sense. Goreng’s motives throughout the film confuse me, considering how he entered the prison. It doesn’t truly effect the film, simply leaves me scratching my head.

Vastly superior to other horrors that I have been forced to watch, The Platform is a gory film that will have you squirming at times. Yet it also captivates, taking you on a simple journey that revels in pointing out the gluttony of capitalism.

7/10