What happens when a college psych study goes shockingly wrong? In “The Stanford Prison Experiment” — a psychological thriller based on the notorious true story — Billy Crudup stars as Stanford University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who, in 1971, cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days.
Winner of two awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including Best Screenplay, and created with the close participation of Dr. Zimbardo himself, “The Stanford Prison Experiment” is a chilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller about the dark side of power and the effects of imprisonment.
The film features an extraordinary cast of rising young actors, including Ezra Miller, Olivia Thirlby, Tye Sheridan, Keir Gilchrist, Michael Angarano, and Thomas Mann.
The Hollywood Reporter raves that “The Stanford Prison Experiment” features “bravura ensemble work! A rich, thought-provoking film!” IndieWire says “Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez has masterfully turned Dr. Zimbardo’s famous experiment into a complex, provocative film!” And the New York Post calls the film “chilling, riveting and powerful!”