Platform 2 radicalizes its concept and its purpose [critique]

The sequel to the 2020 hit is released on Netflix. So what is this return to this prison of hell worth?

Timely released in the middle of the covid crisis, The Platform became an instant lockdown hit in 2020. Solid B-movie inspired by Cube And Snowpiercerthe film by the Spaniard Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia took aim at capitalism and returned us to our condition of involuntary prisoners of our own homes. It took a little over four years for Netflix to decide to offer it a sequel, the concept of which has not changed one iota: in a prison tower, the inmates – two per “cell” – wait for A buffet, the only source of food, arrives once a day on their floor via a platform. The first are necessarily the best served, while those at the bottom have absolutely nothing to work on. Everyone's position in the tower is randomly assigned and changes every month.

Exit Goreng, the hero of the first, replaced here by Perempuan (the impeccable Milena Smit) and Zamiatin (Hovik Keuchkerian, impressive ogre physique), newcomers who will discover that a sect leader nicknamed Maestro imposes his law in this hell jail. Under the pretext that everyone can eat their fill, this so-called Messiah demands that everyone be satisfied with the favorite dish they chose upon arrival, or that they exchange it for that of another prisoner. Taking even a bite of a dish is synonymous with the death penalty.

This idea of ​​autocracy proves powerful enough to create a sense of urgency that propels the entire narrative. Radical and die-hard in his political thinking, Platform 2 is a relentless demonstration of how egalitarianism can transform into totalitarianism in the blink of an eye. With a budget that we imagine to be ridiculous, Gaztelu-Urrutia, a true creator of a universe, allows himself almost abstract staging effects, plays on the verticality of the places and does quite remarkable work on the body and its decay. But the film never forgets to be generous with gory moments (the very graphic torture scenes) and to offer the mythology of the franchise all the space it needs to unfold. Until an astonishing ending, which makes the link with the first part – which we strongly advise you to rewatch before viewing.

If we don't pay too much attention to the backstory (clumsy at best) of the characters, Platform 2 proudly fulfills his contract. And probably a little more.

Platform 2, by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. With Milena Smit, Natalia Tena, Hovik Keuchkerian… Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes. Watch on Netflix.