The Beta Test is, at first, a head-scratching title but eventually the twisty narrative navigates to a general explanation. And I guess it’s a warning… though maybe in the “no duh” camp. But that’s not a crime for this otherwise fascinating, aggravating, head-scratcher of a flick.

The basic premise is that Jim Cummings plays the world’s biggest asshole… or the stereotype of a Hollywood agent. He spends his days doing the agency thing which includes trying to sell potential clients on the idea that they aren’t at all like you see on Entourage (which sounds like a red flag to me). One day he gets a mysterious invitation to an illicit, secret sex encounter. He’s engaged to be married but he’s also the world’s biggest asshole so he eventually accepts the offer. Things get weird… but mostly in his own duplicitous head.

This movie is twitchy. It’s anxiety. It’s darkly, darkly funny. I’d call it a dark comedy but you could also say it’s nervous energy personified in a twisted thriller. But just calling it a thriller is ignoring the satire and the wonderfully angst-ridden performance by Jim Cummings. You’ll hate him… and you’ll continue to hate him. Redemption arc? Not in this movie. He actually gets worse.

The movie is playing satire against the Hollywood stereotypes but also against search engines and personal privacy online. Some of this is all pretty much on-the-nose type stuff but it’s fun to see a movie take it and twist it into this messed up story. I thought we were going into some decrepit Cronenberg angles but I guess the message at the end is that this is just humanity. Something that’s been going on for all of human history… it’s just got a new gimmick.

Fair enough – the movie has a point it wants to make. But it’s not the message that I enjoyed, it’s the constant turning of the screw on this jerk of a character. It’s watching him know he shouldn’t lose his shit at any given moment and yet he does. I think it’s a petty great performance and, more important, a daring one. Cummings ain’t making any friends here nor is he showcasing any good side of himself as an actor.

I enjoyed this flick for its twitchy anxiety and nerve. Probably could have been a bit deeper and maybe a bit clearer, especially in the final moments with his fiancé. But it’s ambitious and funny and dark and clever.

Score: 87