Netflix’s latest global hit isn’t another big-budget American spectacle. It’s a tightly wound German psychological thriller called Brick, a film that takes place almost entirely inside a walled-off apartment with no exits, no answers, and plenty of existential dread.
Directed by Philip Koch and starring real-life couple Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Fee, Brick is the kind of movie that makes you question your Wi-Fi, your walls, and your sanity. It is officially the number one movie on Netflix’s global chart today and it is also sitting comfortably in the Top 10 in South Africa. But is it worth 90 minutes of your time? Here’s the Geekhub breakdown.
The Premise: Walled In, Switched Off
Tim and Olivia are in the middle of a rough patch. Grieving a miscarriage and emotionally disconnected, they wake up one morning to find their apartment sealed off by thick, silent brick walls. No door. No window. No electricity. Just the two of them, a few scattered neighbors, and a growing sense that something much bigger and weirder is happening outside.
Think Cube meets The Platform, with a hint of Black Mirror paranoia.
The Big Twist: Nanotech Gets Messy
As the characters dig, both literally and metaphorically, the film reveals that the walls are part of a nanotech containment system that malfunctioned. Built by a defense company called Epsilon Nanodefense, it was designed to seal off dangerous events, but a nearby industrial fire triggered a city-wide lockdown.
So it’s not just their apartment. The entire city has been walled in. The idea starts as a mystery and evolves into a metaphor for emotional isolation, technological overreach, and the loss of human agency. At times it feels powerful. At others, it feels like the film is trying too hard.
The Good, The Bad, and The Brick-Walled
What Works
• Visual design: The cinematography inside the apartment is smart and unsettling.
• Strong leads: Schweighöfer and O. Fee bring raw emotion to a thin script.
• Big questions: The film explores themes of grief, guilt, and surveillance in a genuinely interesting way.
What Doesn’t
• Flat supporting cast: Most side characters feel like clichés.
• Bad English dub: Watch the original German version with subtitles. The dubbed version drains the emotion.
• Overexplained metaphors: The film doesn’t trust the audience to interpret its meaning.
Global Response: Trending, But Divisive
Brick is Netflix’s number one movie worldwide and it’s in the Top 10 in South Africa. It is attracting massive viewer numbers but also sparking mixed reactions.
Critics are divided.
• Decider dismissed it as a “go-nowhere” thriller.
• Tom’s Guide praised the idea but warned the payoff isn’t worth the buildup.
• Paste Magazine criticized the performances and the quality of the dub.
• Some viewers are calling it pretentious, slow, or just plain confusing. But the buzz is real and the streaming numbers speak for themselves.
Should You Watch It?
Brick is one of those films that sounds amazing on paper. The concept grabs you. The execution, though, is hit or miss. If you’re into minimalist thrillers, foreign-language cinema, or speculative sci-fi that tackles emotional trauma, it might be up your alley.
But if you want plot twists that land, characters you care about, and dialogue that doesn’t feel like a lecture, you might want to look elsewhere.
Geekhub Verdict
Brick is ambitious and stylish, with a timely premise and a strong visual identity. It just doesn’t quite deliver the emotional or narrative punch it promises. Still, it’s worth a watch for the concept alone.
Rating: 6.5/10 — Great setup, uneven follow-through, solid weekend stream.
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