Based on true events, Compliance tells the story of a pretty young blonde named Becky (Dreama Walker), who works at a suburban fast food joint for her high-strung manager, Sandra (Ann Dowd). When Sandra receives a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer, saying that Becky has stolen money from a customer, she thinks she’s doing the right thing by leading an investigation, no matter how invasive the instructions become, and leaving audiences wondering just how far this nightmare will go.

At the film’s press day, actress Dreama Walker talked to Collider for this exclusive interview about how she came to be a part of this film, having been the same age as the victim the story was based on, that she was surprised about how controversial this film has become, how she got to a comfortable place with the director and subject matter, and being a people pleaser, in real life. She also talked about her desire to work with people who are like-minded and fun, what she loves about her comedy series Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23 (which returns to ABC on October 23^rd), upcoming guest stars, and the fact that she’d love to play a character that acts out of anger and is a total bad-ass. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  Compliance opens in limited release today.]

In recent memory, only last year’s Martha Marcy May Marlene made my skin crawl and stomach turn like Compliance. In some ways, Compliance is far worse since it goes beyond two people and instead casts an accusatory finger at humanity and asks, “How easily can you be tricked into dehumanizing another person?” Craig Zobel‘s incredible script and brilliant direction slowly puts you in a chokehold until you’re struggling to breathe and begging to be let go. Compliance is almost impossibly difficult to endure and it only eases up when Zobel makes a minor mistake in casting, explanation, or resolution. But these are small missteps in a film that sickens you to your core. And then it gets worse when you remember that the story is based on true events.

The trailer for Craig Zobel‘s Compliance has gone online.  The film, based on true events, revolves around the employees at a fast food restaurant who bend to the wills of a disembodied voice on the telephone claiming to be a police officer.  I saw the film at Sundance, and it made my skin crawl and stomach turn.  It’s a movie where you want to chastise the characters for being stupid, but deep down you’re forced to seriously consider if you would have behaved the same way in their position.  Zobel did a tremendous job creating a psychological thriller that gets into some interesting and unnerving questions about human psychology.  The trailer’s worth watching although it could have done a better job at highlighting the film’s creepiness.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy, and Bill Camp.  Compliance opens August 17th.

In recent memory, only last year’s Martha Marcy May Marlene made my skin crawl and stomach turn like Compliance.  In some ways, Compliance is far worse since it goes beyond two people and instead casts an accusatory finger at humanity and asks, “How easily can you be tricked into dehumanizing another person?”  Craig Zobel‘s incredible script and brilliant direction slowly puts you in a chokehold until you’re struggling to breathe and begging to be let go.  Compliance is almost impossibly difficult to endure and it only eases up when Zobel makes a minor mistake in casting, explanation, or resolution.  But these are small missteps in a film that sickens you to your core.  And then it gets worse when you remember that the story is based on true events.