Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- paranoid
- cerebral
- late night thriller viewing
- puzzle movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the contained premise clever and the psychological tension effective, while many felt the film loses focus or disappoints in its ending.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Eight candidates remain trapped in a windowless examination room under strict rules, with an armed guard controlling the exit.
The candidates receive apparently blank papers and must infer the hidden question before the clock expires.
The candidates' desperation to win an elite corporate position reveals how selection systems reward manipulation and instrumental thinking.
The candidates initially collaborate but increasingly expose one another's backgrounds, prejudices, and hidden agendas as time runs down.
Films like Exam, and why
Cube
Shares a claustrophobic huis-clos structure, escalating psychological pressure, social distrust, and moral testing inside a confined room.
12 Angry Men
Shares an enclosed-room mystery, group deliberation, shifting alliances, prejudice, and ethical judgment under intense pressure.
El método
Shares a corporate selection process, psychological manipulation, workplace power games, and escalating interpersonal hostility.
The Invitation
Shares a single-location psychological mystery in which ambiguous rules expose characters' fears, selfishness, and hidden motives.
Movie Details
- Director
- Stuart Hazeldine
- Release Date
- 2009-06-19
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (2387)
Cast
- Luke Mably
- Chukwudi Iwuji
- Adar Beck
- Jimi Mistry
- Nathalie Cox
- Pollyanna McIntosh
- Gemma Chan
- John Lloyd Fillingham
- Colin Salmon
- Chris Carey
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Exam about?
- Eight job candidates trapped in a windowless room must solve an apparently blank exam while suspicion turns cooperation into a ruthless psychological contest.
- What is Exam like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Exam as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Exam violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Exam as mild.
- What did critics think of Exam?
- Critics generally found the contained premise clever and the psychological tension effective, while many felt the film loses focus or disappoints in its ending.
- Which films are like Exam?
- Films with a similar feel include Cube, 12 Angry Men, El método, and The Invitation.
- How long is Exam?
- Exam runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Exam?
- In United States, Exam streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV channel.
