We watched The

Platform on Netflix with a bunch of HMT fans over the Chrome Netflix Party

extension and boy, I love this movie! While I am certain that lots of purists

will debate whether this is horror or not, I assure you, it’s worth the watch

and will definitely find some way to make your skin crawl. The timing of this

release makes me wonder if Netflix has a bunch of totally apropos titles just

waiting in the wings to be released whenever they are most relevant. 

@dgoebel00 on Instagram provided this amazing artwork. Follow him and check out his website.

The Platform Synopsis

The Platform is about a

prison called the pit where there are three kinds of people; the ones above,

the ones below, and the ones who fall. This is a twisted place where every cell

contains two people and is stacked on top of a seemingly endless column of

other cells. 

https://youtu.be/6gVAIx7OeyI

Every day there is a

massive banquet comprised of everyone in the prison’s favorite dish. This

banquet contains enough calories for everyone in the pit to survive. The catch

is the banquet is placed on a platform that stops at every cell for a short

time, and it starts at the top and works its way down.

Some prisoners are there

by choice, some are there because of a crime, but there seems to be a promise

that is made to all of them upon entry into the pit - if you do your time and

make it out, you will be granted increased social standing. 

Our protagonist is a man

called Goreng (Ivan Massagué), who spends time with several of

the inmates of the pit. As he learns the ropes, he also seems to take issue

with the inherent societal problems that it represents: greed and desperation.

The Platform REVIEW

The Platform is a

Spanish film by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, and it’s one of the most

unique ideas that I’ve seen put to the screen since Cube. 

Watch Cube on AmazonThe spiritual predecessor to The PlatformClick Here to Watch

The minimal but rigid

design of the pit echos in the sci-fi dystopian walls of the film itself.

You know the sick and

twisted world that lay in the basement of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs? That terrifying

and perverse reality that we like to forget exists in the real world? That

feeling is magnified in The Platform and made the subject of the entire

movie. 

MMM, tastes like class oppression!

To make it even more

hard-hitting, The Platform is clearly a commentary on humans and society today.

While it’s hard to draw many direct analogies with the real world, the standout

one seems to be human nature and the greed inherent therein.

The Platform is not without hope, but it is chock-full of extreme violence,

imagery, and ideas that make this a real stomach turner.  

This movie stays with

me, and I wouldn’t mind watching it again. It doesn’t hold your hand, and there

is clearly a lot of theorizing that one can do to try and determine the

symbology and lessons within. 

Score for The

Platform

9/10

Spoilers

The Platform does a lot of things right. It maintains

mystery, drama, tension, and is clearly meant to stand for something. Anything

that you might be interested in, this movie probably touches on it. On top of

all of that, it doesn’t hold your hand, leaving you free to interpret it’s

message or take it at face value.

ECHO, ECho, echo

In favor of spoiling the movie point by point, I will

instead share with you a few basic premises of this movie that I find the most

relevant and exciting.

The Rules of The Pit

The prison known as “the pit” is a mostly lawless place with

a few given rules. They are as follows:

Some prisoners have opted in, others are being

punished, but upon serving your time in the pit, you will be granted elevated

social status.

Everyone is allowed to bring one item with them

to the pit.

The platform contains everyone within the prison’s

favorite meal made to perfect standards.