''The Employer'' is a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

written and directed by Frank Merle. The film stars

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...

as the title character who interviews five candidates for a job at a mysterious, powerful corporation. After a film festival circuit in early 2013, the film was released by Vision Films in the U.S. on June 7, 2013, as an On Demand premiere title, followed by a DVD release on July 2, 2013.

Plot

Five highly qualified applicants for a position with the mysterious, powerful

Carcharias ''Carcharias'', also known as sand tiger sharks, is a genus of mackerel sharks belonging to the family Carchariidae, of which it is the only extant member. Once bearing many prehistoric species, all have gone extinct with the exception of the cri ...

Corporation wake up trapped together in a locked room without any hope of escape. After exchanging stories about how each of them had been sedated and abducted they receive a phone call from their interviewer, known only as The Employer, who informs them that they have to kill each other; only the last surviving candidate would get the job.

Cast

as The Employer * David Dastmalchian as James * Paige Howard as Sandra *

Michael DeLorenzo Michael DeLorenzo is an American actor, director, writer, producer, dancer, and musician. He is known for his work in television and film. Early life and education DeLorenzo was raised in The Bronx, New York. His late father, Arthur DeLorenzo, w ...

as Keith * Matthew Willig as Mike * Katerina Mikailenko as Billie *

Nicki Aycox Nicki Lynn Aycox (May 26, 1975 – November 16, 2022) was an American actress and musician, known for her roles in ''Supernatural'', ''Cold Case'', '' Jeepers Creepers 2'', '' Perfect Stranger'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe''. She relea ...

as Maggie *

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film ''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'' (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association, ...

as Alan

Release

In October 2012, a near-completed version of film was screened at Shriekfest in Los Angeles, as an Official Opening Night Selection. In December 2012, the film won the award for Best Thriller at the Illinois International Film Festival. In March 2013, the film won a Special Jury Award at the

Geneva Film Festival The Geneva Film Festival is an annual event that takes place in Geneva, Illinois. The festival shows films from around the world and puts on a workshop for those interested in the technical aspects of the film making process. Official select ...

. Other festival appearances include the LA Indie Film Festival, and the Big Bear Horro-Fi Film Festival as a Special Invitation screening. The film was released in the United States by Vision Films, a worldwide distributor of independent films, across all major On Demand platforms on June 7, 2013. A DVD release followed on July 2, 2013.

Reception

Early festival screenings received positive reviews. Hunter Johnson from LAHorror.com praised the film's "terrific performances," especially

, who he noted is "even more dementedly charming than usual" in a film that's "modern, violent and full of nasty twists." Leo Brady from AMovieGuy.com called the film "an intriguing concept and thrilling to watch," stating that McDowell is "the perfect actor for this film. He has mystery behind his eyes and his portrayal of power is calm and cool." Sean Brickley from Horror News Network gave the film five stars and called McDowell's title character "the most sociopathic Human Relations director the corporate world has ever seen." Christopher M. Jimenez from Sinful Celluloid highly recommended the film, writing " Frank Merle has created a minor masterpiece with spot on performances, great manipulation, and good backstory." Sufi Mohamed from IndieJudge.com gave the film five stars, declaring in his review "this is literally one of the best independent movies I’ve ever seen," as he drew a real-world comparison between the film's themes and the

Milgram Experiment Beginning on August 7, 1961, a series of social psychology experiments were conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed the ...

. On May 25, 2013, ''The Employer'' won eight honors at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Best Actor (

), Best Supporting Actor (

), Best Supporting Actress ( Paige Howard), Best Original Score, Best Special Effects and the Audience Choice Award.

References

External links

Official website

''The Employer''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Employer 2013 films 2010s English-language films