It’s an unusual time to be a movie fan. With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down movie theaters and film productions internationally, the release calendar just went blank for the near future and got a whole lot more uncertain in the distant future. But fortunately, we live in an absurdly robust time of entertainment, and while theatrical distribution may be out for the moment, streaming platforms still have plenty of new content on the docket for the time being. And wouldn’t you know it, Netflix’sThe Platformdropped last week and the Spanish dystopian thriller is one of the year’s best.
What’s more, there are more great movies in film history than any one person could hope to watch, which means there’s no shortage of fantastic entertainment to catch up on while we’re practicing social distancing. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best movies to watch if you’re hooked onThe Platformand looking for something similar to add to your watchlist.
Directed byGalder Gaztelu-Urrutia,The Platformtakes place within an entirely vertical prison wherein two inmate live on each level. With two beds on either side of the room, there’s a giant rectangle hole in the ceiling and floor of each room, and every day, a giant platform of food descends from the top all the way down to the bottom floor. Those at the top feast well, those in the middle live on scraps, and those on the bottom live and die in despair when the bones are picked clean. It’s a sharp, tense-as-hell thriller that turns class warfare into a literal prison, and in the selections below, you’ll find a variety of films that scratch the same itch. Some are thematic siblings, some share the plot constructs or invoke a similar feeling, but they’re all worth watching once you finishThe Platform.
Parasite and/or Snowpiercer
Unsurprisingly, Netflix’s thriller is drawing a lot of comparison to last year’s best picture winnerParasite, thanks to shared themes about the savagery of class warfare and the self-cannibalization of the lower classes (sure, a bit more literally inThe Platform), not to mention the use of literal floors to depict the high and low in society. ButBong Joon Hohas been tackling class disparity for most of his career and if you turnThe Platform’s plot horizontal and strap it to the back of a speeding train in the post-apocalypse, you’ve pretty much gotSnowpiercer.
Director Bong’s 2013 sci-fi thriller takes place in a dystopian society set entirely within the cars of a train, wherein each passenger got stuck in whatever cabin they were riding in when an icy eco-apocalypse ravaged the world outside Snowpiercer’s speeding walls. Those up front live in luxury and indulgence while those in the rear suffer and starve.Chris Evansstars as a young man who grew up in the rear cabins and leads a violent rebellion against those who keep them in squalor. It’s a wild ride and it might bethemovie the most closely captures the vibe ofThe Platform, but you really can’t go wrong with either of Director Bong’s outstanding “social thrillers”. If you want something a bit more dramatic and grounded, go withParasite, if you want something more action-packed and high-concept, go withSnowpiercer; either way you’re gonna scratch the creative itch inspired byThe Platform.
If you’re looking for a direct parallel toThe Platform, you may’t do much better thanHigh-Rise, another social-minded thriller that sorts class conflict into a literal towering building.Ben WheatleyadaptsJ.G. Ballard’s classic novel of the same name with the surreal 2013 dystopian thriller starringTom Hiddlestonas Dr. Robert Laing, a new resident in the luxury high-rise building where the wealthy and powerful have everything they need. With all their basic life needs and hedonistic whims at the ready, those at the top grow entirely disconnected with the chaos of the real world below – until power outages upend their paradise and chaos comes creeping into the darkness.High-Riseis a much more bizarre and abstract movie thanThe Platform, but aside from their obvious plot parallels, they’re both ultimately all about the dog-eat-dog scramble to the top floor and the chaotic nature of humanity when extraordinary circumstances shred the thin barrier of social contracts.
Another clever narrative that embraces a literal above-below depiction of haves and have-nots,Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror movieUspits the citizens of America against a violent and anguished shadow society of doppelgångers from below. Following up his Oscar-winning, groundbreaking filmmaking debutUs,Peele once again blends his savvy wit with aTwilight Zone-esque genre riff on a societal ill.
LikeThe Platform,Usis all about a country at war with ourselves and the systems beyond our control that put us on opposite sides of the battlefield, butUsmakes it more literal by diving into doppelgånger horror. In doing so, he also opens the floor from his extraordinary ensemble, includingElisabeth Moss,Winston Duke,Shahadi Wright Joseph, andEvan Alex, and none more so thanLupita Nyong’oin the dual leading roles. Nyong’o is extraordinary in the film (and yes, obviously, was robbed during awards season) and her performance is worth the price of admission alone, but Peele’s gripping direction, Michael Abelsinstant classic score, and the film’s ambition to be about more than the sum parts of the scares (while also having really good scares), makeUsa perfect followup toThe Platform.
Ready or Not
You don’t have to dig too deep into the news cycle to see why, but class warfare sure is on a lot of filmmaker’s minds these days. Another gem from last year that fits the bill,Ready or Notis one of the most crowd-pleasing horror-comedies in recent memory, starringSamara Weavingas an everywoman who marries into an elite old money family and discovers they’ve got some deeply twisted traditions on their wedding night. Namely, they have to hunt a very unlucky bride every few generations or they believe the entire family will fall to a curse.
It’s basically hide-and-seek the movie, and it’s more “eat the rich” than “dog-eat-dog” in its depiction of class warfare, but it’s also an absolute hoot about how the rich stay rich and the rest of us pay the bill. Weaving is a superstar in the making,Adam Brodyisfabulousin a scene-stealing supporting role that’s all snark and pathos, and the filmmakers keep the movie breezing along with a tightly-paced, sharply edited action horror that delivers right up to its spectacular, guffaw-worthy finish. –Haleigh Foutch
Take class warfare, make it a hyper-timely, hyper-political gorefest with a bizarre yuk-it-up finish and you’ve gotThe Hunt. Universal’s controversialMost Dangerous Game-esque thriller stirred up quite a to-do last year when the trailer dropped and sparked outrage online as a liberal hit piece, but in truthCraig Zobeldelivers a surprisingly whacky and ridiculous horror comedy that fires openly on assholes, idiots, and bigots from all across the political spectrum.
It’s cacophonous andNick CuseandDamon Lindelof’s script is surprisingly shallow in its consideration of the real-world clusterfuck its skewering, but it’s a well-made and engaging survival movie with some absolutely wild choices along the way. Most of those choices belong toBetty Gilpin, who rips through the movie with an instantly iconic see-it-to-believe-it performance, stacking one brilliant but baffling choice on the next. It’s a one-of-a-kind performance that elevates the film, and I may only be so-so on the movie as a whole, but I know I’ll be watchingThe Huntover and over again now that it’s available early on digital just to savor every single second ofwhatever the hellyou’d call what Gilpin’s doing in this film.
If you were more hooked on the concept of strangers waking up in a horrific, claustrophobic experience together, set your sights onVincenzo Natali’s 1997 sci-fi horrorCube. As promised, the film centers on a random group of people who wake up trapped in a deadly predicament – they’re trapped in cube-shaped room and have to find a way out. The only problem is, each cube is connected to another sterile, high-tech looking cube and some of the rooms have deadly traps, acid showers for example, triggered by motion, noise, temperature, etc detectors. It’s a pretty straightforward survival thriller than hinges pretty heavily on the synopsis (it’s got strong proto-Sawvibes, especiallySaw II), and admittedly the themes skew anti-corporate bureaucracy than anti-inequality, butCubeholds up as a tense and claustrophobic thriller about waking up in a total nightmare.
Battle Royale
This one also falls under the “people waking up in a deadly dystopian nightmare” banner.Battle Royale,Kinji Fukasaku’s 2000 adaptation of theKoushun Takaminovel, is a ferociously cynical and gruesome action-horror that was throwing teenagers in the gladiator arena long beforeThe Hunger Games. The film is set in a dystopian version of present-day Japan where the generational divide has grown so deep and hostile that the passage of the Millennium Education Reform Act means each year, one ninth-grade class of rowdy teenagers is sent to a deserted island to battle to the death. Only one survives. The fine print may be different, butBattle RoyalesharesThe Platform’s anguished rallying cry of those trapped in a pernicious, nonsensical system they can’t control, andBattle Royaleis an absolute knock–out action thriller in its own right with peak dramatic stakes, heartbreaking reversals, and a tightly orchestrated series of no-punches-pulled action scenes that tie it all together.
If you were particularly won over byThe Platform’s action-packed third act, Goreng and Baharat’s two-man battle to the bottom in particular, you may get a nuclear dose of that same all-out combat thrill withGareth Evans’2011 action masterpieceThe Raid. One of the great working on-screen martial artists,Iko Uwaisstars as Rama, a SWAT officer who gets trapped in a building with an army of criminals and nowhere to go but up. There’s plenty of criminal underworld intrigue and family-fueled stakes, but that trim synopsis is really all you need to know aboutThe Raid, which stacks one all-time great fight scene on top of the next as Rama makes his way to the top of the building. IfThe Platform’s action-packed finale is a freight train,The Raidis a dang supersonic jet, and there’s no better place to look for an epic never-ending battle against impossible odds.
