The Thinning
| The Thinning | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael Gallagher |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | YouTube Red |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Thinning is a 2016 adventure, science fiction, thriller film set in a dystopian future in which population control is enforced through a school aptitude test. Those who fail it are euthanized. Two high school students learn, to their horror, the tests are rigged. They face many challenges and eventually make the ultimate sacrifice. The film stars Logan Paul, Calum Worthy, Lia Marie Johnson and Peyton List [1]
Plot
In the near future, Earth's resources are nearly depleted due to overpopulation, so the UN declares that all nations must cut their population by 5%. While some countries remove their elderly and others enforce a one child-policy, in the United States, the answer is 10-241, or more commonly known as the Thinning, a standardized test taken from first grade to twelfth grade. Those who pass continue to the next grade while those who fail are executed.
The film is set in Austin, Texas, where Laina Michaels (Peyton List) is helping a young boy named Simon study for the Thinning. When he is unable to understand the content, Laina reluctantly sells Simon a small contact lens that will solve the questions on the Thinning test for him. Laina uses this money to pay for her sick mother's treatments. On their way to the Thinning exam, Simon is bumped and his contact falls out. The guards are watching him and he is ushered into the building. Without the contact lens, he fails his exam and is eventually executed. Before the test, Laina meets up with her friend Kellan (Calum Worthy), whose father is a teacher at their high school and Kellan frequently logs into his dad's account to gain access to the school's security cameras.
Blake Redding (Logan Paul) is the son of the Texas governor. Although he lives the high life, he is dating a wild girl named Ellie (Lia Marie Johnson). Blake sneaks out of his house to hang out with Ellie one last time before the Thinning and they sneak off to a hilltop pool. While they are kissing in the car, a torch is shone on them, held by one of Governor Redding's agents. Blake is taken home and given a lecture by his father.
After arriving at school the next day, The Thinning test is undertaken and Ellie fails. Blake calls his father to try and free Ellie but he refuses. Blake causes a diversion and screams at Ellie to run but she is blocked by students in the hallway and is recaptured. Ellie is executed in the Thinning.
A year later Laina's mother has passed away and she is helping her younger sister Corrine study for her first Thinning test. Blake has become cold and distant towards his father since Ellie's death. He is seen making a video in which he explains that he will purposefully fail his Thinning exam in order to punish his father for what happened to Ellie. Blake drops his tape in the mail box but it is never posted, due to his dad's agents taking it out of the mail. When Blake's dad learns of his plan he orders his guards to pass Blake even though he only received a 15% on the test. Laina fails despite scoring 98% on her exam.
Just before the Thinning is to take place, Blake, angry at his dad interference, rips out the power box causing an outage. In the confusion, Laina frees herself and runs out of the Thinning thanks to her teacher, who gave her a key tag. Blake and Laina run into each other and crawl through the air vents to the supply room, where it is revealed that the Thinning exams are not accurate and have resulted in many innocent deaths, including Ellie's.
Laina is caught and returned to the Thinning, but after photos of the Thinning results are leaked to the media by Kellan, Governor Redding has no choice but to review the results and execute all those who actually failed, including Blake. Laina is greatly upset by this, and after sharing a kiss with Blake she is dragged away by guards. Blake and the other failing students are executed.
Outside the school, Laina is finally reunited with Corrine who passed her exam. Blake is shown in a large elevator which is deep underground. As he slowly wakes up, he sees a girl taking off a white mask. The girl is seen to be Ellie, which reveals that all those put to death by the Thinning are actually still alive and working for the company that makes the tablets for the test. Blake's eyes widen in shock as the credits roll.
References
- ↑ Weiss, Geoff (October 6, 2016). "Logan Paul Unveils Official Trailer For YouTube Red's First Feature Thriller, 'The Thinning'". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2016-10-22.