Circle

With Circle, rookie writers-directors Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione have fashioned an austere feature debut that attempts to ambitiously combine a classic collective murder mystery (think Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians) with Close Encounters of the Third Kind in what is little more than a low-budget filmed stage play festooned with low-grade CGI effects. This hyper-minimalist survival of the fittest scenario opens with a multi-ethnic group of 50 people standing in a room with only a foggy notion of how they got there. They stand, unable to move, before a contraption that looks like a giant 1970s video game console—and zaps people dead with lightning-like energy. It isn't long before the realization sets in that they've all been chosen to participate in some deadly experiments conducted by ill-humored aliens. But are they being executed in any kind of systematic way? The group's more thoughtful souls work out that they are actually killing each another by silent voting. And this is the point where the filmmakers make a half-baked attempt at exploring people's prejudices, as racism, classism, and predictable social Darwinist attitudes quickly become apparent. While Circle's psychological trickery is suspenseful at times, the acting is unfortunately subpar. Still, the interesting concept makes this a strong optional purchase. (M. Sandlin)