Vivarium
A young couple’s dream of homeownership curdles into an eerily repetitive suburban captivity experiment.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- claustrophobic
- cynical
- late night horror viewing
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film stylish, inventive, well acted, and thematically purposeful, while divided over its opaque premise and repetitive execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Gemma and Tom are confined within identical houses and looping streets after visiting the planned development.
The trapped couple are compelled to raise an uncanny child as the condition of their confinement.
The film cycles through nearly identical suburban days, reinforcing the couple's inability to escape or alter their circumstances.
The housing development's identical pastel homes, empty roads, and synthetic atmosphere make suburban normality appear extraterrestrial.
Films like Vivarium, and why
Greener Grass
shares surreal suburban satire, bleak humor, and an uncanny domestic nightmare
Color Out of Space
shares cosmic unease, body horror-adjacent imagery, and surrealist genre blending
The Prisoner
shares entrapment in an artificial environment, existential paranoia, and absurdist science fiction
The Stepford Wives
shares suburban alienation, domestic dread, and an opaque speculative premise
Movie Details
- Director
- Lorcan Finnegan
- Release Date
- 2019-09-07
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (2766)
Cast
- Imogen Poots
- Jesse Eisenberg
- Senan Jennings
- Éanna Hardwicke
- Jonathan Aris
- Côme Thiry
- Molly McCann
- Danielle Ryan
- Olga Wehrly
- Fionn Lockett
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Vivarium about?
- A young couple’s dream of homeownership curdles into an eerily repetitive suburban captivity experiment.
- What is Vivarium like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Vivarium as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Vivarium violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Vivarium as mild.
- What did critics think of Vivarium?
- Critics broadly found the film stylish, inventive, well acted, and thematically purposeful, while divided over its opaque premise and repetitive execution.
- Which films are like Vivarium?
- Films with a similar feel include Greener Grass, Color Out of Space, The Prisoner, and The Stepford Wives.
- How long is Vivarium?
- Vivarium runs 99 minutes.
- Where can I watch Vivarium?
- In United States, Vivarium streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel.
