Compliance (2012)
77%RT Audience Score: 60%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 35 nominations
Anchored by smart, sensitive direction and strong performances, Complicance is a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that’s equal parts gripping and disturbing
Compliance is like that one time I accidentally watched a horror movie and couldn’t sleep for a week. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s definitely worth the watch if you’re into psychological thrillers. The fact that it’s based on true events makes it all the more disturbing, but the acting is so good that you can’t look away. Just be prepared to feel angry, frustrated, and maybe a little bit sick to your stomach.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and sexual content/nudity
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 2012 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 8, 2013
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Compliance, Mystery, Thriller, 2012, R, English, Craig Zobel, Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin, Lisa Muskat, Theo Sena, Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp, Philip Ettinger, James McCaffrey, reviewed by Sara Michelle Fetters, Deborah Ross, Steve Erickson, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Francesca Steele, Damon Wise, Jordan M Smith, David Harris, Mattie Lucas, Craig Williams, Sarah Ward, Pat Padua, based on a true story, fast-food worker, theft, interrogation, psychological horror, thriller, ripped-from-the-headlines, box office, $311.9K, budget, Magnolia Pictures, MPAA rating, sexual content, nudity, language, directed by Craig Zobel, written by Craig Zobel, produced by Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin, Lisa Muskat, Theo Sena, Craig Zobel, starring Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, Bill Camp, Philip Ettinger, James McCaffrey
Worldwide gross: $592,116
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $763,370
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,651
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 83,247
US/Canada gross: $319,285
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $411,630
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,376
US/Canada opening weekend: $16,427
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,178
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,497
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $270,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $348,091
Production budget ranking: 2,125
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $187,447
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $227,833
ROI to date (est.): 43%
ROI ranking: 1,187
Dreama Walker – Becky
Pat Healy – Officer Daniels
Bill Camp – Van
Philip Ettinger – Kevin
James McCaffrey – Det. Neals
Self – Craig Zobel (Director/Writer)
Tyler Davidson – Producer
Sophia Lin – Producer
Lisa Muskat – Producer
Theo Sena – Producer
Director(s)
Craig Zobel
Writer(s)
Craig Zobel
Producer(s)
Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin, Lisa Muskat, Theo Sena, Craig Zobel
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 35 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (144) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (128) | Rotten (16)
It took me places I did not want to go, got me in a mindset so infuriating I was angry at myself for thinking the thoughts I was.
March 2, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
It’s not an easy watch, which is kind of the point, and I’m not even sure what genre it is. Psychological horror? Thriller? But it will haunt and resonate.
September 4, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Compliance’s underlying humanism and political conscience lift it beyond being a macho endurance test.
February 22, 2018
Steve Erickson
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Plausibly acted, if implausibly directed by Craig Zobel (Great World Of Sound), the credulity of this provocative scenario would snap had it not actually happened more than 70 times across 30 US states.
September 1, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
metro.co.uk
TOP CRITIC
The most disturbing aspect of Compliance is its implied complicity.
August 11, 2017
Francesca Steele
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A punchy and effective drama.
March 22, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Rife with the downfalls of human subservience, Compliance is a luminous, pulsating Milgram experiment come to life, and you won’t be able to turn your gaze from the results.
November 16, 2020
Jordan M. Smith
IONCINEMA.com
Writer-director Craig Zobel puts both his characters and his audience through 90 minutes of squirmy hell.
November 11, 2019 | Rating: 2.4/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
A complex and unnerving psychological thriller that is unmistakably the work of a promising and daring new talent.
August 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
Compliance is a tremendously incisive film; deeply intelligent and clinically compelling.
February 13, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Craig Williams
CineVue
The challenging but compelling feature is at all times exasperating and thought-provoking.
December 4, 2018
Sarah Ward
Trespass
Fraught with thriller tropes seen through an art-house filter, with plenty of coldly beautiful establishing shots of corporate America.
August 30, 2018
Pat Padua
DCist…
Plot
At a fast food restaurant, the manager, Sandra, is having a bad day. Suddenly, she gets a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer who has a complaint that one of her young female employees has stolen from a customer. At the orders of this authoritative sounding stranger, Sandra takes the apparent accused, Becky, to a back room to search her before she is picked up. Once there, the phone scammer manipulates the gullible personnel into participating in Becky’s sexual humiliation that grows more twisted with every new sucker on the phone. Only when one final person has the conscience to revolt do they realize the crime they were tricked into, which the real police are hard pressed to solve.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ann Dowd delivers a strong performance as the manager who subjects her employee to harsh interrogation in Compliance.
Craig-Zobel.jpg
