Finally the men are separated into 8 guards and 12 prisoners and thus 'Das Experiment' begins. Things go easily at first but Tarek finds himself pushing the wrong buttons of one of the 'guards' and it escalates from humiliation to violence, all the while being viewed by a psychologist & his staff. That this film is based on an actual event makes it even more interesting - the Stanford Experiment was done in 1971, the year of the infamous Attica prison riot. The filmmakers used quite a bit of the options used in the real experiment-the 'guards' are told to keep the peace in any way except violence. The prisoners stage a revolt which result in humiliating tasks like cleaning toilets with bare hands (or prison uniforms) or beatings outside of camera view as the 'guards' get carried away with controlling their charges. The film captures the tension well, along with the battle of wills between Tarek and Berus-it was a bit reminiscent of Jack Nicholson & Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

The film jumps back and forth between the goings on inside the experiment and Tarek's memories of a woman, Dora, whom he met before going on his strange journey. We also see Dora basically moving into his apartment while waiting for him to return. They have a bit of an odd relationship, I didn't see much emotional development until he was in the experiment. When the prisoners are allowed visitors, Dora shows up having found the ad. Berus uses this to his advantage and this leads to the final showdown between the 2 men.

This didn't happen in the real experiment-one of the female psychologists put an abrupt stop to it after witnessing the cruelty of the guards against the prisoners and thus became a hero to some. In this film, when the female psychologist tries to stop things, she herself becomes a prisoner in the experiment. 'Das Experiment' is compelling, not only because of the acting and story but because of the very complexity of human nature. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely?

I'm not sure if this ever got an American theatrical release but it IS available on DVD so please check it out! For information on the real story behind it, read about The Stanford Experiment here. It's a very interesting and disturbing read.