Released in 2015, “Circle” is a low-budget thriller with an intriguing premise. Acquired by Netflix shortly after its debut, it’s earned cult status and is a solid pick whenever discussions about the streaming service’s most underrated movies crop up.
Much to my surprise, Variety reports that “Circle" is set to receive a sequel almost a decade later. My initial reaction was one of skepticism, as I’m not wholly convinced the original leaves much room for further expansion, but at least producers Brent Stiefel and Michael Nardelli (who also starred in the movie as Eric), are back on board for this follow-up.
“Circle” begins with 50 strangers awakening in a dark room arranged in a circle formation. If they move from their designated spots they are instantly killed. And even if they stand perfectly still one of them is killed at random every two minutes. However, they can select who is eliminated by group voting for the next victim. This leads to lots of tricky decisions and moral debates as each survivor makes a case as to why they should remain in the game.
It’s a pretty excellent premise for a psychological thriller, and “Circle” definitely wrings great mileage out of its central hook. Plus, the low budget benefits the movie as the single-location setting of a darkened room adds an element of claustrophobia to the mix. Directors Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione cited “12 Angry Men” as an inspiration, and that comes across in the dialogue-heavy final product. It’s a Netflix movie you should absolutely add to your watchlist if you haven't seen it already.
As for the sequel, we don’t know a great deal at this stage. It will be called “Circles” (perhaps hinting that it will feature more than one group trapped in a deadly game), and the official synopsis reads, “After being pawns in a cruel game of psychological warfare, the survivors of an invasion face a new threat.” It will be written by Devon Graye and is set to enter production later this year.
As a fan of the original, I’m certainly intrigued by the news of a sequel after all this time. Though, I’m not fully convinced there’s much more that can be done with “Circle”’s fairly restrictive core premise. Of course, a sequel could take things in a wildly different direction, but if that’s the case then it might not feel connected to the original. Either way, “Circles” certainly has my attention, and I’ll await further news before drawing any conclusions.
“Circle” is now streaming on Netflix, so make sure to give it a watch ahead of this sequel releasing sometime in the future (there’s no release date information yet). And if you need more Netflix recommendations, here’s a roundup of the new movies and shows to watch this week.
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