CREDIT: DOGFISH PICTURES
A prank goes too far in Compliance, in which Dreama Walker is subjected to a humiliating and degrading investigation.

Compliance (2012)

Most of us at one time or another have been the victim of a prank phone call. Generally they are harmless — we usually just have to assure the perpetrator that yes, our refrigerator is running, and we will do our best to stop it from running away.

Sometimes these calls can cause a tremendous amount of damage, however. In the newly released on home video film Compliance, a prank phone call leads to some absolutely disturbing consequences that no one would believe could actually occur. That is, until they find out that almost everything we see in this film really happened.

Ann Dowd portrays Sandra, a by-the-book manager of a fast food restaurant. She runs a tight ship, but that ship sinks after she receives a phone call from a police officer. As you may be able to gather from the beginning of this article, it is not really an officer of the law on the other end of the line, and the instructions this officer gives to Sandra are shocking to say the least.

Officer Daniels (as the prankster refers to himself) convinces Sandra that Becky (Dreama Walker of Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) has stolen from a customer. Becky is sequestered in a storage room and forced to endure an increasingly humiliating series of events. Under Sandra's watch, Becky is subjected to a thorough strip search. Neither employee feels comfortable with this, to say the least. Officer Daniels assures them that this is standard protocol, and that Becky best cooperate, as he claims that she is under investigation for some other illicit activities.

It starts with a strip search, but it gets much worse for Becky when Sandra leaves the scene to help out at the front. Sandra's fiancée is eventually called in to watch over Becky, and things go down an even darker path. By the time the jig is up, Becky has had to follow a set of sexually degrading orders that will likely haunt her for the rest of her life.

There is no way this could happen, you may think. Elements of this story seem as outlandish as something out of a Harry Potter or superhero film. However, in 2004, a McDonald's restaurant in Kentucky was the site of a very similar situation. A female employee was put through a strip search, spanked and ordered to perform oral sex by someone on the line posing as a police officer. This wasn't an isolated incident, either. There have been 70 similar situations in the United States!

Compliance might not be the easiest film for some to get through. It certainly contains scenes that will make some viewers uncomfortable. But I found it to be a fascinating film that will stick with me long after my initial viewing. It has a great script and terrific performances, and although this may sound cliché, it is a film that really gives you something to think about. I for one will be even more paranoid when taking unsolicited phone calls in the future. Actually, I may just disconnect the damn thing altogether.

Rating: 4 out of 5