Circle (2015) d. Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione

Fifty people wake up in an empty jet black room positioned perfectly on platforms surrounding a mysterious ball in the center of the room. Every few minutes, or if they attempt to move, one of them is killed by a quick burst of energy coming from the ball, their bodies dragged into the darkness. Those living catch on that they have a vote on who the ball takes next. Each hoping to be the last one standing, the fifty people debate and play mind games to throw each under the bus.

Circle may have a simple premise and shoestring budget, but it by no means plays it safe. The diverse indie directly takes on issues of racism, sexism, inequality, and xenophobia with its human surrogates. Nearly every person in the large cast gives an impressive performance, even more impressive considering no one person is a main character. The film offers no hints as to who will be left standing, making it an intriguing blind guessing game throughout.