The Steam Experiment (2009)

A deranged scientist locks 6 people in a steam room and threatens to turn up the heat if the local paper doesn't publish his story about global warming.

Director:

Philippe Martinez

Writer:

Robert Malkani

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Armand Assante, Eric Roberts

Cast

Credited cast:
Val Kilmer	...	Jimmy
Armand Assante	...	Detective Mancini
Eric Roberts	...	Grant
Megan Brown	...	Catherine
Patrick Muldoon	...	Christopher
Cordelia Reynolds	...	Margaret
Eve Mauro	...	Jessie
Quinn Duffy	...	Frank
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doug Alchin	...	Lt. Clark
Mark Bonto	...	Newspaper Comedy Writer
Eileen Briesch	...	Press Staff 1
James Cantrell	...	Orderly
Carrie Drazek	...	Nurse in Hospital
Julianne Howe-Bouwens	...	Officer Briggs
Mike Karpus	...	Press Staff 3

Storyline

A former professor concocts a brutal experiment in order to get the word out on the effects of global warming. By trapping six people in an urban Turkish bathhouse, he vows to overheat his hostages unless his global-warming hypothesis is published on the front page of his local paper.

---

Plot Keywords:

global warming | steam room | hostage | steam | camera shot between legs | 

---

Taglines:

Chaos begins when the heat rises...

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Chaos Experiment

Filming Locations:

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Genius Productions, Cinepro Pictures, Indalo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Grant: This is a *nice* hotel.
Jimmy: Yep. Built in the 1900s by a railroad tycoon for his wife. She was a socialite. Had a lot of friends, liked to entertain.
Grant: Is that a fact.
Jimmy: Yep. Then she died after World War II and was closed for many years. Then a corporation bought it, and now it's being turned into luxury condos.
Grant: Luxury condos... So that's why it's empty, huh?
Jimmy: Yep. Well I'll tell you the truth, Grant, we are the last guests. I bribed the management. They're going to start renovation on ...
[...]

---

Connections

References The Sopranos (1999)

User Reviews

Val Kilmer lets off some steam.

There are some people who I will watch, regardless of their eclectic roles and choices. Val Kilmer is one of those people, which is how I found myself watching this strange little movie.

Kilmer plays a man who walks into a newspaper office and states that he is holding 6 people in a steam room and that if he does not get the headline printed that he wants (concerning the effects of global warming on the planet, something that will prove catastrophic to us as soon as 2012 according to Kilmer) then those people will have a very unpleasant time for a couple of hours before their eventual demise.

It's up to cop Armand Assante to figure out if Kilmer is actually telling the truth or simply going along with a major delusion. Meanwhile, 6 people (including Eric Roberts and Patrick Muldoon) start to get increasingly uncomfortable as the temperature rises.

Fans of the Saw movies should find something appealing here due to the rather simple concept of the 6 people who may or may be trapped in the place where they have been scheduled to die. The movie does a good job of making you feel uncomfortably hot along with the protagonists, all orange-red filters and hazy camera-work at times.

Sadly, although things unfold in a way that keep you guessing as to the final outcome nothing is really that interesting or gripping enough to get you caring for the revelations you know are due before the end of the movie. Kilmer, all tics and twitches, is as watchable as ever and Eric Roberts is very good but the rest of the cast are either instantly forgettable or sadly miscast (although I must say that I NEVER really find Armand Assante to be the right person for any role excepting his comedic turn in Fatal Instinct).

Not a terrible movie but I suspect that most people will watch it and feel either terribly disappointed or simply ambivalent about the whole thing.

See this if you like: Saw V, Cube, Captivity.