Exam

"White: "It's not about the answer - it's about the question." Brunette: "What is the question?""

Exam is a 2008 Psychological Thriller about eight job applicants vying for an amazing (but vague) position in a mysterious but powerful company. They are put into a room, and a speech is recited to them:

""There is no law in this room but our law, and the only rules in here are our rules. There is one question before you, and one answer is required. If you try to communicate with myself or the guard, you will be disqualified. If you spoil your paper, intentionally or accidentally, you will be disqualified. If you choose to leave this room for any reason, you will be disqualified. Any questions?""

The eight of them are left in the room with a security guard, while a clock runs down for eighty minutes. It gets worse.


 * After the End: A minor example, but the film takes place after the worst part of a pandemic.
 * Alternate Universe: The movie takes place Twenty Minutes Into the Future, in the aftermath of a pandemic. The story is mostly grounded, with a bit of science fiction thrown in.
 * Anti-Hero: Most of the cast.
 * Apocalypse How: The Virus either caused Type 0 or Type 1.
 * Applied Phlebotinum: the pills taken to suppress the virus.
 * Arc Words: "What is the question?"
 * Asian and Nerdy: Chinese Girl,
 * Badass in a Nice Suit: The Invigilator.
 * Bald of Awesome: The Invigilator
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted; all injuries sustained have an effect, and the time spent in the room has an appropriate effect on all of the women.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: White and Blonde, although it's pretty one-sided.
 * Black and Nerdy: Black is a mild example; how does he know so much about lights?!
 * Black Comedy
 * Black and Gray Morality: Among the applicants, there is at least one Complete Monster willing to do anything - no matter how terrible - to get the job. The other applicants are at different points heroic and (depending on what is being threatened and who is on the receiving end) willing to just stand by and watch.
 * Black Dude Dies First:
 * Blondes Are Evil: Averted
 * Body Double: The has one for public appearances.
 * Bottle Episode: aside from a few seconds at the beginning focused on each character, the entire film takes place in a single room (and attached hallway).
 * Bound and Gagged: White
 * Brainy Brunette: Brunette, obviously. Dark qualifies as well.
 * Butt Monkey: White.
 * The Cake Is a Lie: Discussed and.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: poor Deaf has a terrible stutter, and he only speaks French.
 * Cassandra Truth:
 * Casanova Wannabe: White.
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Chekhov's Gunman:.
 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive:
 * Crapsack World: The film is set in an alternate-history United Kingdom where a disease known only as "The Virus" forces most of the population to take pills every few hours or die.
 * Crazy Enough to Work: Most of the attempts to figure out the question.
 * Crucified Hero Shot: Inverted
 * Deadpan Snarker: Most of the cast, but White and Brown stand out particularly.
 * Decoy Protagonist: The first-billed characters, Deaf and Chinese Girl,.
 * Deliberate Injury Gambit:
 * Despair Event Horizon:
 * Determinator: Essentially the whole cast.
 * Don't Celebrate Just Yet:
 * Double Standard: Defied by Brown.
 * Driven to Suicide: after being disqualified.
 * Driving Question: "WHAT IS THE QUESTION?!"
 * And to a lesser extent: "What is the job?"
 * Does This Remind You of Anything??: Black clutching his cross . Blatantly spelled out by
 * Dumb Blonde: Averted.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending
 * Establishing Character Moment: Every character gets one in the opening credits.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Invigilator, the security guard and
 * Exact Words: A major plot point.
 * Extremely Short Timespan: Aside from the opening scene, the movie takes place over the course of under two hours.
 * Eye Scream: "Or the threat of it."
 * The Faceless: the CEO.
 * Faux Affably Evil:
 * Fake Nationality: Possibly; Gemma Chan was born in London, and it's hinted that Chinese Girl is, well, Chinese
 * Foil: Fittingly, White is a foil to Black.
 * Fridge Brilliance: and  were the only two of the group who were specifically asked to apply..
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Averted; there's nothing really attractive about Dark's scars.
 * Gray Rain of Depression: Not so much rain, but a sprinkler system. Still...
 * Halfway Plot Switch: A mild example, but the main focus of the first half of the film focuses on the candidates trying to unveil hidden writing on their paper. Then
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: White is Prince Ate My Triscuits And Didn't Replace Them.
 * Why is Benny taking the exam?
 * He's Dead, Jim:
 * Hint Dropping:.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: loses the competition due to his own hubris.
 * I Lied: says this when everyone calls him out on his back-stabbing.
 * In-Universe Camera: The security camera is used at certain points in the story.
 * Ironic Echo:
 * Improvised Weapon: with a pencil, while  with a piece of paper.
 * Instant Death Bullet:
 * Ironic Nickname: White calls Brown Gandhi near the opening of the film. This is ironic, as Brown
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: tortures  with a piece of paper.
 * Jerkass: White,.
 * Karma Houdini: Possible; despite their actions, it's not whether or not or  will receive any punishment.
 * Kick the Dog: White's process of nicknaming people; he calls the Indian man Brown, the Nigerian man Black, etc.
 * Laughably Evil: White
 * Literal Genie: the guard, who only removes applicants once they break the Exact Words of the rules.
 * Living MacGuffin: The security guard.
 * The Load: How White sees everyone else.
 * Loophole Abuse: more like an open invitation for creativity, though.
 * Loveable Rogue: Brown
 * MacGuffin: The test papers.
 * Manipulative Bastard: White. Brown, too, to a lesser extent. Of course, it's revealed that
 * Manly Tears: after being unwittingly disqualified.
 * Meaningful Echo: Anytime someone is disqualified, they replay the Invigilator stating the rule that was just broken;
 * Minimalism
 * Minimalist Cast: see those guys in the very first scene? They will be the only characters in the entire movie.
 * Mistaken for Spies: Both are accused of being plants.
 * The Mole:, who was actually.
 * Red Herring Mole:, who actually did work for the company, but was.
 * My God, What Have I Done??: after being disqualified.
 * Nameless Narrative / Only Known by Their Nickname: the job applicants insist on not giving each other their actual names. "White" gives them all nicknames instead: "Black", "Brown", "Blonde", "Brunette", "Dark", and "Deaf". The representative of the company only calls himself "the Invigilator".
 * The guard and the first applicant to be disqualified are never named: they are credited as "The Guard" and "Chinese Girl" respectively.
 * Eucatastrophe
 * Never Trust a Trailer: The trailer made the movie seem far more action-packed than the final product.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
 * Noodle Incident: The steps required to get to the exam process.
 * No Name Given: The whole cast.
 * The Not Love Interest: Blonde to Black.
 * Omega Cast
 * One-Scene Wonder: Colin Salmon as the Invigilator.
 * The Plague: the characters talk about a global pandemic of some sort; people who are infected must take some (very expensive) medication every hour, on the hour, or they will fall unconscious, go into convulsions, fall into a coma, and die. Properly medicated, however, they function normally, and don't seem to be highly contagious.
 * Plot-Driving Secret: "What is the question?"
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain:
 * Punch Clock Villain: Not actually a villain, but the Security Guard is a Punch Clock Antagonist of Punch Clock Neutral.
 * Psychopathic Manchild: White
 * Real Time
 * Red Herring:
 * The Reveal: Several:
 * works for the company,.
 * is the.
 * "The question" is
 * is acutally a.
 * Rich Idiot With No Day Job: Discussed by Brown, defied by Dark.
 * Rules Lawyer: all the applicants once they catch on to the fact that the guard is a Literal Genie, but especially White.
 * Rule of Symbolism: Black clutching his cross even points out the inherent symbolism at work.
 * Scary Black Man: the Invigilator.
 * : the of the testing, with the dream job as the reward.
 * Shoot the Shaggy Dog: All of planning and scheming is rendered pointless after he
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill: everyone to an extent, although Dark seems to have the biggest difficulties with
 * Token Romance: Averted
 * Torture Always Works
 * Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer spoils ruined paper, as well as footage from the final scene.
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future: Subtly done, but some of the technology is obviously very sci-fi.
 * Utopia Justifies the Means: Two cases:
 * You want an amazing, high-paying dream job? Just what are you willing to do to get it? Lie? Cheat? Steal? Kill?.
 * So, your company and you need to find someone ? That's fine - just put confused, desperate people into an isolated room, give them weapons, and watch them tear each other to shreds!
 * Vasquez Always Dies: Well,, but is considerably more feminine than the other girls.
 * Viewers are Morons: See Meaningful Echo
 * Villain Ball: Most of  plans fall apart when he descends into this; similarly, people stop listening to  after the torture scene.
 * Villainous Breakdown
 * The Voiceless: the guard, who never speaks, and only interacts with the applicants to escort them out of the room.
 * You Are Number Six: The exams only have their numbers, not their names.
 * You Wouldn't Shoot Me:  to
 * You want an amazing, high-paying dream job? Just what are you willing to do to get it? Lie? Cheat? Steal? Kill?.
 * So, your company and you need to find someone ? That's fine - just put confused, desperate people into an isolated room, give them weapons, and watch them tear each other to shreds!
 * Vasquez Always Dies: Well,, but is considerably more feminine than the other girls.
 * Viewers are Morons: See Meaningful Echo
 * Villain Ball: Most of  plans fall apart when he descends into this; similarly, people stop listening to  after the torture scene.
 * Villainous Breakdown
 * The Voiceless: the guard, who never speaks, and only interacts with the applicants to escort them out of the room.
 * You Are Number Six: The exams only have their numbers, not their names.
 * You Wouldn't Shoot Me:  to