High-Rise
A young doctor enters a luxurious high-rise whose carefully stacked class system mutates into a grotesque experiment in social collapse.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- darkly comic
- disturbing
- satirical
- late night viewing
- social satire marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the adaptation energetic, well acted, visually striking, and thought-provoking in its socioeconomic themes, though less successful than J. G. Ballard's source novel.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The forty-storey apartment block physically organizes residents by wealth and status, making architecture central to the film's social allegory.
The building's escalating disorder turns class conflict, gentrification, and institutional failure into a dystopian breakdown.
The suburban London setting, décor, fashion, and production design evoke 1975 while connecting its divisions to present-day anxieties.
Drugs, drink, debauchery, murder, and misogyny are presented through an energetic, disturbing, and often sardonic register.
Films like High-Rise, and why
Snowpiercer
shared dystopian social breakdown, class conflict, and bleakly satirical tone
The Platform
shared architectural dystopia, socioeconomic division, and unsettling social allegory
Brazil
shared surreal political satire, institutional decay, and darkly comic violence
The Neon Demon
shared upper-class decadence, psychological disintegration, and stylized social critique
Movie Details
- Director
- Ben Wheatley
- Release Date
- 2015-11-22
- Runtime
- 119 min
- Rating
- 5.6 / 10 (1293)
Cast
- Tom Hiddleston
- Elisabeth Moss
- Sienna Miller
- Jeremy Irons
- Luke Evans
- Reece Shearsmith
- Dan Renton Skinner
- James Purefoy
- Peter Ferdinando
- Stacy Martin
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel, Warriors and Gangsters Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is High-Rise about?
- A young doctor enters a luxurious high-rise whose carefully stacked class system mutates into a grotesque experiment in social collapse.
- What is High-Rise like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of High-Rise as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is High-Rise violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in High-Rise as brutal.
- What did critics think of High-Rise?
- Critics generally found the adaptation energetic, well acted, visually striking, and thought-provoking in its socioeconomic themes, though less successful than J. G. Ballard's source novel.
- Which films are like High-Rise?
- Films with a similar feel include Snowpiercer, The Platform, Brazil, and The Neon Demon.
- How long is High-Rise?
- High-Rise runs 119 minutes.
- Where can I watch High-Rise?
- In United States, High-Rise streams on Philo, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel, Warriors and Gangsters Amazon Channel.
