Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- creepy
- uncomfortable
- unnerving
- serious movie night
- true crime viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film gripping and disturbing, praising its sensitive direction and strong performances while acknowledging its deliberately uncomfortable premise.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The fast food restaurant's routine environment becomes increasingly disturbing as the caller's instructions intensify.
Sandra and other employees comply with a supposed police officer despite increasingly invasive demands.
The restaurant's back room functions as a confined site where social hierarchy and fear enable escalating abuse.
Viewers are forced to confront their own sense of superiority while watching ordinary workers surrender judgment to authority.
Films like Compliance, and why
The Stanford Prison Experiment
shares a claustrophobic setting, escalating psychological coercion, and disturbing examination of ordinary people under pressure
The Hunt
shares a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller premise, institutional power abuse, and an intentionally uncomfortable viewing experience
Doubt
shares tense moral ambiguity, social manipulation, and a grounded thriller style focused on how communities respond to accusation
Movie Details
- Director
- Craig Zobel
- Release Date
- 2012-08-23
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (817)
Cast
- Ann Dowd
- Dreama Walker
- Pat Healy
- Bill Camp
- Philip Ettinger
- James McCaffrey
- Matt Servitto
- Ashlie Atkinson
- Nikiya Mathis
- Ralph Rodriguez
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares 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 Compliance about?
- A routine fast-food workplace becomes a psychological trap when a manager obeys a caller posing as a police officer and permits a humiliating accusation to escalate.
- What is Compliance like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Compliance as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Compliance violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Compliance as mild.
- What did critics think of Compliance?
- Critics broadly found the film gripping and disturbing, praising its sensitive direction and strong performances while acknowledging its deliberately uncomfortable premise.
- Which films are like Compliance?
- Films with a similar feel include The Stanford Prison Experiment, The Hunt, and Doubt.
- How long is Compliance?
- Compliance runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Compliance?
- In United States, Compliance streams on fuboTV, Philo, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel.
