''Containment'' is a 2015 British

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film written by David Lemon, directed by Neil Mcenery-West, produced by Casey Herbert, Pete Smyth and Christine Hartland; and starring

Lee Ross Lee David Ross (August 25, 1942 – May 14, 2021) was a Canadian-American professor. He held the title of the Stanford Federal Credit Union Professor of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University and was an influential social psychologist wh ...

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film v ...

Louise Brealey Louise Brealey (born 27 March 1979), also credited as Loo Brealey, is an English actress, writer and journalist. She played Molly Hooper in ''Sherlock (TV series), Sherlock'', Cass in ''Back (TV series), Back'', Scottish professor Jude McDermid ...

Pippa Nixon Pippa Nixon (born 1980) is an English actress. She trained at Manchester School of Theatre. Nixon has had numerous roles in film and television as well as recording drama for BBC Radio, but she is best known for her critically acclaimed theat ...

, Andrew Leung, William Postlethwaite and Gabriel Senior. The film's executive producer is Simon Sole.

Plot

The film is set in a 1970s era council block in

Weston, Southampton Weston is a small suburb on the south-eastern side of Southampton, UK, predominantly built on the Weston Grove Estate formerly owned by the Chamberlayne family. It also includes the area that was previously the Barnfield Estate. Weston includes p ...

set in the present-day

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Mark, an artist, wakes to find that he has been sealed into his flat with no way out. There is no electricity, no water and no communications with the outside world apart from a voice over the intercom, repeating the phrase, "please remain calm, the situation is under control". Strange figures in

Hazmat suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing a ...

s patrol the grounds outside and set up a military tent. Mark's neighbour, Sergei, breaks down the wall between their flats in order to discover why they have been sealed in and try to find a way to escape. Along the way, they team up with their fellow residents, Enid, Sally and Aiden. When young Nicu is taken, Mark and Sergei rescue him and take a Hazmat nurse hostage.

Cast

as Mark *

as Enid * Andrew Leung as Sergei * Gabriel Senior as Nicu *

as Sally *

William Postlethwaite William Postlethwaite (17 September 1829 – 9 April 1908) was an English-born Member of Parliament representing the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Postlethwaite was born in Broughton, Lancashire, the son of Robert and Agnes Postlethwaite. H ...

as Aiden *

as Hazel

Production

Mcenery-West began working on the film in 2008 as he had always been attracted to contained thrillers and wanted to do a modern urban version of something like

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

. Mcenery-West's original idea was focussed on the concept of just one character trapped alone in his apartment but Lemon expanded the story to include a diverse group of characters in order to avoid what Lemon felt was "one man on a stage". The film commenced filming on location in Weston Tower Blocks,

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

in April 2014. The blocks remained occupied during filming with many of the location's real residents acting as extras in the film. Lemon had a cameo as one of the mysterious figures in a Hazmat suit.

Release

In May 2015, Bill Bravo Films acquired the worldwide rights to the film and the film premiered in July 2015 as part of the

East End Film Festival The East End Film Festival was one of the UK's largest film festivals. It ceased all operations on 4 March 2020. The owner, Alison Poltock, explained that "the push to provide a more mainstream commercial offering is not for us." Founded in 200 ...

and was previewed at the Henley Fringe Festival ahead of its UK theatrical release in September 2015

Reception

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, which categorises reviews only as positive or negative, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 13 critical reviews.Containment
at

. Retrieved 18 September 2021. ''Containment'' won the Accession Award at the East End Film Festival 2015.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3561236, Containment 2015 films 2015 horror films 2000s horror thriller films British horror thriller films Films set in apartment buildings Films set in Hampshire Southampton Films about viral outbreaks 2010s English-language films 2010s British films