Netflix and Chills: The Platform 2 (2024)

“The Platform 2” heightens the brutal action and bloodshed, but the sequel sacrifices the original’s gravitas in pursuit of its excess.

It’s been quite some time since The Platform first lowered itself to display its offerings.

The 2019 social science fiction and horror piece was directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, who also directed this sequel with a script from writers David Desola, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, and Egoitz Moreno. With the concept of stacking concrete cells and a raising and lowering platform through which inhabitants get their food, The Platform was groundbreaking, claustrophobic, psychological horror.

Received well by critics and audiences, I was shocked to see that after five years the film would be getting a sequel after such a long wait.

The pit is back with new players, new meals, and new laws that govern the otherwise lawless gray landscape that seals hundreds of occupants inside. It definitely seemed more action-packed, especially at the start, than the first film.

While that’s entertaining, the nuance, sense of solitude, and character development we saw and heard in the first film spoke louder than this screaming, blazing fight for both equality and survival.

The Platform 2 puts the pressure on early and often, making this a more action-packed sequel.

However, having more action alone, I believe, doesn’t make it a better film.

We are gifted with gorgeous camera work, with inverted or floating shots blended with strong lighting and imagery. Yet, despite all these appealing features, the film works its way into a violent spiral and never quite stops, highlighting a breakneck pace compared to the more measured work in the first film.

With the first film laying down strong groundwork for a sequel, it still felt as if the director was returning to previous ideas that had worked, threading them into the violent storyline, making everything feel a little too familiar.

You’ll also likely go in looking for answers from the first film, and I will say some things are illuminated, and other bigger questions about the facility and its population still remain a mystery.

It’s somewhat disappointing after such a long wait, but there are morsels of closure or understanding to feed on as we do see certain parts of how the pit operates open up before us, if only for a little while.

The one thing that didn’t feel familiar was the total lack of chemistry between leads.

The first film felt built around the initial comradery and routine building of Goreng and Trimagasi. Here, it seems there are no long-term companions, and you’ll have to pick who is in your camp. “Terror is the message” is how the pit is represented.

Overall, this is an entertaining film with more violence, more action, and more terror than its predecessor—attributes that will surely appeal to thrill seekers.

Still, I was reminded why the first film was so captivating, leaving me wanting this time around. Mystery and fear, tricks of the mind, and a sense of longing all become lost in a bloodthirsty crusade to obey or defy the raucous law of the pit.

Long-time fans beware: The pit has changed this time and seems to have lost some of its wonders in exchange for more brutality.