Film Threat (Terry Sherwood) 8/10

Turning a stage play into a film is not an easy task. Hollywood did it for years during the silent and Golden Age.  Today it’s a video game.  Tape, directed by Bizhan M. Tong and co-written with Salena Lee, updates Richard Linklater’s 2001 film, originally based on Stephen Belber’s stage play of the same name.  This new version moves the action to a Hong Kong hotel room and proves that the themes of memory, consent, and morality remain as vibrant as ever. It is a crushing work of psychological confrontation; with the same sledgehammer intensity one associates with other play-to-film adaptations like Glengarry Glen Ross or The Dresser.