Level 16 is a movie about a mysterious school/hospital/prison where girls grow up isolated from the world and its poison air. They are taught not to question authority and to obey every order issued. They believe, when they get old enough, they will be adopted and their new parents only want obedience and lady-like behavior. Obviously there’s more to it than that as they discover once one of them stops taking their vitamins.

This film’s first half is a solid example of paranoia, restriction, and powerlessness. It really makes you feel confined and you want to root for these ladies to escape. It was pretty good bordering on no modifiers… just a good near future sci-fi thought experiment. But then the second half – and namely the final 30 minutes – drags itself in, vomits, and dies.

It’s rare to see a movie fall apart with such lugubrious, sluggish pacing. Where we should be clutching our seats in anticipation and suspense, this film merely plods. It clomps around lazily and pathetically when it should be racing for escape and freedom. It’s a disaster. A mess. It utterly murders itself.

It’s tragic since that first part is pretty good and I was really hoping to see an explanation and thoughtful examination of gender expectations. Maybe some cool sci-fi ideas backing up this prison. A race and/or fight for freedom.

But, no, we just get mediocrity bordering on malpractice. This film willfully turns itself into a bad movie.

Score: 68