The Platform

Movie review by Brian Costello, Common Sense Media
The Platform Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 17+

Disturbing violence and gore in brutal horror movie.

NR 2020 94 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 7 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 29 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Platform is a 2019 horror sci-fi movie in which a man lives inside a vertical prison where a giant spread of food is lowered each day, one floor at a time, until eaten. There are many disturbing scenes, including moments of attempted cannibalism, actual cannibalism, a pet dog found disemboweled and half-eaten, a woman defecating into the face of a man trying to climb up to her floor, a man urinating on people on the lower levels of the prison, attempted rape, violent stabbing deaths, and suicide by hanging or jumping off the platform through the center of the building. Regular use of profanity, including "f--k," and a racial slur used against an Asian woman. Brief nonsexual nudity -- a woman takes her top off to reveal her mastectomy scars, male buttocks. Cigarette smoking, wine drinking.

Community Reviews

Spiderman178
Spiderman178 Adult
September 12, 2021
age 17+

Interesting but intense

This movie is not for the faint or hearts. I'm used to gory movies but this one is another level of it. It can seem like a lot but the movie's message wouldn't pass the same way if it wasn't. The violent scenes and the disgusting ones are supposed to show how horrible humans can be when they're survival is in danger. This movie is a big metaphore of capitalism and of the wealthier taking too much and leaving nothing for the lower classes who need to fight for scraps. There is a bit of nudity and there's one sex scene but it's not highly explicit. Characters smoke and drink but it's not a big part of the movie and consomation is not at all glorified. You should not watch this movie with your kids because it can be really disturbing even for and older audience. It's really good but hard to watch.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
yasmin jaz
yasmin jaz Adult
January 29, 2021
age 14+

Brilliant social commentary

This film is a brilliant social commentary piece, the platform is symbolism for a capitalist system and Miharu’s daughter is symbolism for a person who is unaware and hasn’t experienced the socialisation in society which can be argued leads people to become docile and complacent within the injustices they face. The people at the top of the platforms symbolise the rich or the bourgeoisie whilst the middle to lower classes are unaware and complacent of the injustices they are facing. The protagonist has a revelation regarding the capitalist system - that if everyone had equal amounts of food, everyone would be able to be fed. It’s greatly educational and thought provoking and can lead to such brilliant discussions and dialogue (even if you don’t agree with the message) - yes it’s violence heavy and contains some bad language however if your teen is able to handle violence this is a great piece for them.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
1 person found this helpful.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE PLATFORM, Goreng (Ivan Massague) agrees to serve a six-month sentence inside a "Vertical Self-Management Center" in exchange for a diploma. From his first floormate, Trimigasi, Goreng learns that the food in this institution is served via a large concrete platform that floats down one floor at a time for a short period of time. The prisoners can only eat what's left on the platform while the platform is there; if they try to keep food after the platform leaves, the temperature of the prisoner's floor becomes painfully hot or cold. Each prisoner is allowed to bring in one item from the outside; Goreng has brought in a copy of Don Quixote, and Trimigasi has brought in a self-sharpening knife he saw on an infomercial. Each month, the prisoners are randomly reassigned to a new floor, and while Goreng is able to eat while on the 48th floor, he finds himself tied up when reassigned to the 171st floor, as Trimigasi intends to use his knife to eat flesh from Goreng's body. After escaping this traumatic experience, Goreng is reassigned to new floormates -- first to a woman who seeks to begin a revolution from within by finding ways to more equitably share the food, and then a man who encourages Goreng to send a message to where the food is prepared on the highest floor by forcing a rationing of the food to those below them. As the floor numbers below continue to reach higher numbers -- higher than the number of levels Goreng had estimated -- Goreng, with the assistance of visions from his previous floormates, thinks he has found a way to send a message to those on the top floor with the power to change this barbaric system.

Is It Any Good?

This movie is the textbook definition of the term "Kafkaesque." Through a nightmarish reality and a system controlled by an unseen "Administration" whose members don't seem to fully comprehend the horrors of the system they've created, The Platform is an allegory about the economic disparities and unequal access to food in our own world, and the filmmakers aren't hesitant in applying shocking imagery to drive these points home. Scenes of characters fighting other characters by defecating on their faces, cannibalism and attempted cannibalism, and disemboweled and partially-eaten pet dogs are right up there with brutally-memorable scenes from Hostel, the second season of Fortitude, Salo, and The 120 Days of Sodom.

While the execution and presentation are undeniably innovative, what's debatable is whether or not the filmmakers needed to go to these extremes to make such a simple point. Some of the shocking moments start to feel belabored as the movie goes on. Like the classic Sinclair Lewis novel The Jungle, it's easy to envision the larger message of economic inequality and revolt getting lost in the shocking individual moments of the story. None of these moments necessarily ruin the overall quality of the film, but it's hard to determine if the message will carry through because of or in spite of The Platform's memorably horrific moments.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about allegories. How is The Platform an example of an allegorical story -- one that uses story to communicate an idea or insight into our world and society?

  • Were the shocking moments of violence and degradation necessary to tell the story and communicate the overall idea, or did these moments come across as unnecessarily extreme?

  • What idea, ideals, or belief systems do you think the different characters represented? How do these characters help to communicate the movie's overall message?

Movie Details

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