Shock Value

In the eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere of a 1960s Cold War era testing room, a mysterious, voice-controlled experiment begins. Entrapped and detached from reality, a lone figure known as "Teacher" (played by Michael McKean) must confront his morbid curiosity and strict protocol in order to instruct an absconding student on various philosophical and psychological aspects. The sole presence of Teacher's unyielding instructor and their unknown fate amplify the sense of existential dread and loneliness. Throughout the arduous and exacting interactions, Teacher finds himself testing the boundaries of his controlled, manipulative roles, as he explores the convolutions of human consciousness and interstellar consciousness. As Teacher's bond with his invisible mentor strengthens, an eerie rapport evolves, even if the subtle questions and answers instigate conflict as they probe further into their respective individualities. Their symbiotic relations trigger unresolved anxieties as personal identity shifts and their unyielding mentor silently monitors the duo. The testing room now exists as an existential void with no escape route. It's just Teacher staring at a seemingly random series of questions on his slide with no individual discernible pattern and with little human interaction. As the role reverses with Teacher becoming the student as the voice assists the interrogator by further probing into the teacher's intellect with more complex inquires, each is challenged to cope with the severe alienation he experiences as the cold indifference between an impersonal teaching apparatus seeps through. However as questioning unravels and confrontations deepens, this particular room in the sinister underground labyrinth uncovers much about the stark, cold, and callous lives of its occupants, probed upon through explicit philosophies and morals entwined in Teacher's unyielding monologue. It is here where the elusive invisible hand leads everything. When can you trust your instructor anymore? Since their inalterable duty is beyond duty but serving beyond their responsibility at all, can they truly call themselves authority figures? After intense in-depth sessions, Teacher inadvertently exposes the unsettling reality surrounding him. Each is trapped in prison to demonstrate a hideous moral dilemma; since there is no escape from this underground setting guarded only by heartless silence, nothing is left for the pair except to reveal the inevitable in a disquietingly dramatic final test that casts away all doubts as Teacher must confront the cold, biting truth that has come along. Their roles effectively blur in between teacher and pupil; with unrelenting psychological and existential dilemmas forming in their individual personalities and shared relationships as an inevitable result of merciless questions posed by the imperturbable custodian. These sequences reveal and enforce such harrowing episodes that they bring grave dread back once more.