IFC Films has released the trailer for director Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s upcoming psychological thriller, The Stanford Prison Experiment, set to hit theaters in a limited release July 17 and VOD the following Friday, July 24. Check it out in the player below, courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers.
What happens when a college psych study goes shockingly wrong? Based on the notorious true story, The Stanford Prison Experiment stars Billy Crudup as Stanford University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who, in 1971, cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days.
Created with the close participation of Dr. Zimbardo himself, The Stanford Prison Experiment won two awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including Best Screenplay. You can check out our own Edward Douglas’ thoughts on the film’s Sundance premiere right here.
Ezra Miller, Olivia Thirlby, Tye Sheridan, Keir Gilchrist, Michael Angarano and Thomas Mann also star in the film, which features a screenplay by former “South Park” writer Tim Talbott.