Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Thinning
Skip to main content
.us
Hello Select your address
All
EN
Hello, sign in
Account & Lists
Returns & Orders
Cart
All
Disability Customer Support Clinic Best Sellers Customer Service Amazon Basics New Releases Prime Music Today's Deals Books Registry Fashion Amazon Home Pharmacy Gift Cards One Medical Toys & Games Sell Coupons Luxury Stores Automotive Find a Gift Beauty & Personal Care Computers Home Improvement Health & Household Products Pet Supplies Video Games Smart Home Audible
"Creed III"

  • The Thinning
  • ›
  • Customer reviews

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
5,465 global ratings
5 star
63%
4 star
17%
3 star
12%
2 star
4%
1 star
5%
The Thinning

The Thinning

byCalum Worthy
Write a review
How customer reviews and ratings work

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon
See All Buying Options

Top positive review

All positive reviews›
Adam
4.0 out of 5 starsDon't plan to make this film a part of your life, but don't pass it up either.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2017
I give the film four stars because I did find it genuinely entertaining. The premise is an interesting one, but (without giving away spoilers) the ending makes it seem like we're supposed to be happy with the result. In the end, with most of these films, much of the time the oppressive institution is what is brought down. In this case, one might think a film like this would try to stop "The Thinning" itself, but this film takes the interesting angle of forcing the viewer to see the ending as just and right. The Thinning is meant to be viewed as normal and within the film's canon and moral compass. Perhaps a sequel would dig deeper and actually try to stop The Thinning itself.

It would be interesting to know more about how this was all set up. The film alludes a bit to how it got started, and that the USA is the only country that does population control this way.

The production value is quite high, and people who frequently watch things on YouTube will recognize some of the cameos. Good music, too, which keeps the film engaging. A few of the characters (Mason King, for example) are pretty clichéd, but not in a way that doesn't match the rest of the script.

Do I think this film deserves a sequel? I'm not sure it's worthwhile to go out of your way to look to make one. It would have to be much bigger and bolder than the current script suggests the original author is capable of producing. And, with one of the main characters "gone," I would say it might have to start in another school or town and then get Laina involved as part of some sort of resistance group? Who knows.

And without giving anything away, the last ten seconds of the film open up a giant can of worms that just defies explanation.

And I do have one bone to pick with the source material. It says at one point that the UN decided all nations should reduce their populations by 5% every year. That is a massive number in the first few years that puts the Holocaust to shame. And the film just glosses over that completely. It's unclear how long this population control has been going on, but with all the High Schools basically built to exist as prisons with tons of security guards and teachers complicit in what's going on, and with all the students in the film accustomed to the annual Thinning, I'd say it's been going on at least 20 years. Which if you start at 10 billion means that the global population is now down to 3.5 billion assuming they've stuck to 5% per year. That's an insane number, and it's not clear to me that there is a way to show the audience that the world got so bad that people accepted this as "the way" and continued to do so for this long.

Anyway, that's my two cents. As far as B movies go, this is among the best. It's enjoyable as a sort of shock-and-awe thought experiment.

DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS LINE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS

********

*****************

*******

Ok so if the UN said the USA is supposed to reduce its population by 5%/year but they are using the students as slave labor, are they hiding this from the UN? Or is Assuru working with the UN? What's the deal with that? So did none of them actually die? The sequel would really, really have to stretch big to wrap up this massive plot-hole-ridden film.
Read more
10 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
Stanley K. Taub Productions
3.0 out of 5 starsA FILM WITHOUT AN ENDING THAT MAKES NO SENSE.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2021
THIS FILM HAS A STORY THAT IS BARBARIC AT THE CORE, WHERE INTELLIGENCE TESTS DETERMINE WHO WILL LIVE OR DIE. IF YOU PASS YOU LIVE, IF YOU FAIL YOU DIE. IN THIS STORY APPARENTLY MANY OF THOSE WHO PASSED WITH HIGH SCORES WERE ALSO FOUND TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NO PASS GROUP, THAT IS THE SCANDAL WHICH IS UNCOVERED BUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE IS NOT REVEALED. BUT THE REAL AND HIGHER ISSUE, THE EXTERMINATION OF INNOCENT NORMAL TEENAGERS EAR MARKED FOR DEATH BECAUSE THEY FAILED AN INTELLIGENCE TEST IS COMPLETELY BY PASSED THE ABHORRENCE OF THIS IDEA IS TOTALLY IGNORED AND THE ENDING COMPLETELY UNRESOLVED THERE IS A SCENE AT THE END WHERE MEDICAL PACKS ARE BEING PREPARED FOR WHAT WE DON'T KNOW AND THE PROTAGONIST OF THE FILM A DRUGGED STUDENT ON THE WAY TO HIS DEATH SEES HIS GIRL FRIEND HANDLING THE PACKS, TO WHAT END? YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE. THIS FILM IS IN A REAL SENSE FASCISTIC. ALMOST A PARODY OF WHAT THE TEXAS REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR AND HIS REPUBLICAN SENATORS ARE TRYING TO DO IN 2021, TO RESTRICT THE VOTING RIGHTS OF ITS CITIZENS
STAN TAUB, REVIEWER
Read more

Sign in to filter reviews
Filtered by
5 starClear filter
3,362 total ratings, 215 with reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

Kent Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Good movie
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
I thought the plot was good just hate paying extra for movies
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Michael Heinecken
5.0 out of 5 stars surprisingly excellent!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
Excellent social critique on the death penalty, prison labor, our abusive educational system and the ways the our culture really hates the children we purport to love. Total thumbs up
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Sophie
5.0 out of 5 stars Don’t watch the 2ed one
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 20, 2022
Verified Purchase
I liked it, but weird ending. Don’t watch the 2ed one, The thinning :new world order. It’s really bad.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Tammy Hill-Hendershot
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
Good
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Sam R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun movie, worth a watch, and do not take yourself too seriously to enjoy it ;)
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Lets be clear, the acting and execution was not the best but the story line beats those negatives. Other reviews arguing the validity of a 5% thinning of people would basically say the same thing about any fiction fantasy movie out there. Tearing the concept to threads by trying to apply factual validation will break any story. This movie is about setting a fantastical premise, and as a viewer, in order to enjoy the move, you take that premise at face value - if all movies had to fit factual realities then whats the point of fantasy or creating scenarios that make you think?

Anyway, the movie itself was fun to watch and engaging, you did not get bored - some of the scenes are odd and high school level but who cares, these people where high school kids. The premise of removing people to save the planet is intriguing and the way its applied in this movie makes for a horrific scenario. If you are able to see past your own reality, accept a scenario at face value and just enjoy the story, this movie will not disappoint. I watch movies from Close Encounters, Space Oddessy 2010, LOTR to chineese fight flicks and dramas galore - so I am not stuck to any single genre, and surprisingly, this movie kept me alert and engaged. Is it a LOTR ?, ofcourse not, but not everything has to be. Hope they make a part 2.
17 people found this helpful
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


S. Ross
5.0 out of 5 stars Only the smartest survive
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
I had never heard about this movie before but I thought I would give it a chance. Surprisingly it was better than expected! Too many times the trailer is great but the movie is terrible but this one had it all. It was an interesting concept with the kids taking a test and having that determine if they would be sacrificed and then the twist! Check it out.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Gabrielle Gonthier
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
Most people would say that the events in this movie would never happen.While I do hope that it would never happen, in this world there is no certainty. Whether it happens or not is besides the point, it’s a movie and it’s fictional and as far as plot and acting go it’s a great movie.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Alexandra Crabill
5.0 out of 5 stars Money Well Spent
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Awesome movie. I think that it could of been done a bit better, but for the cost of production, it was amazing. The story line was open ended, which is great because it seems to hint a second movie. The beginning threw me off though. It kind of just jumped into the plot, which is cool I guess because at least it wasn't a slow beginning. Could of done more of an intro, but like I said for the cost of production, it was great. I think if they would've thrown a bit more money into the set and made the movie a tad longer, it would've been huge. Great acting done by some people I've never heard of and they brought back some actors I haven't seen in years.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


Honest but fair
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth a watch, when looking at or considering the worlds population.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
Not a high cost feature film, with a lot of well known actors, but if you like a touch of sci-if with the everyday life, you'll like this. If you have wondered about global warming and didn't want to read or watch Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, this movie will give you a glimpse into what our future could possibly come to.
Set in a dystopian future where the earths population has grown and gotten so out of control that sustaining her citizens is no longer feasible. A solution has to be derived due to the earths rebellion of her treatment with famine water shortages at an all time high, and she can no longer provide for or feed the continued growth of those in America let alone the world.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


austin
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
Good movie, with a good end. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Not movie related but Amazon movie related - I really enjoyed watching this movie, other than the picture wasn’t very clear and the picture cut out a couple times. The movie froze a few times and says I have no internet connection and to exit and restart. This has happened every time I have rented a movie through amazon prime video. The movies are great, I just wish the service matched and I didn’t have to inturpt my movie to exit and re push play several times throughout the movie.
Helpful
Report
    Showing 0 comments

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.


  • ←Previous page
  • Next page→

Need customer service? Click here
‹ See all details for The Thinning

Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations
›
View or edit your browsing history
After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Back to top
Get to Know Us
  • Careers
  • Amazon Newsletter
  • About Amazon
  • Accessibility
  • Sustainability
  • Press Center
  • Investor Relations
  • Amazon Devices
  • Amazon Science
Make Money with Us
  • Sell products on Amazon
  • Sell apps on Amazon
  • Supply to Amazon
  • Protect & Build Your Brand
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Become a Delivery Driver
  • Start a Package Delivery Business
  • Advertise Your Products
  • Self-Publish with Us
  • Host an Amazon Hub
  • ›See More Ways to Make Money
Amazon Payment Products
  • Amazon Visa
  • Amazon Store Card
  • Amazon Secured Card
  • Amazon Business Card
  • Shop with Points
  • Credit Card Marketplace
  • Reload Your Balance
  • Amazon Currency Converter
Let Us Help You
  • Amazon and COVID-19
  • Your Account
  • Your Orders
  • Shipping Rates & Policies
  • Amazon Prime
  • Returns & Replacements
  • Manage Your Content and Devices
  • Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
  • Help
English
United States
Amazon Music
Stream millions
of songs
Amazon Advertising
Find, attract, and
engage customers
6pm
Score deals
on fashion brands
AbeBooks
Books, art
& collectibles
ACX
Audiobook Publishing
Made Easy
Sell on Amazon
Start a Selling Account
 
Amazon Business
Everything For
Your Business
Amazon Fresh
Groceries & More
Right To Your Door
AmazonGlobal
Ship Orders
Internationally
Home Services
Experienced Pros
Happiness Guarantee
Amazon Ignite
Sell your original
Digital Educational
Resources
Amazon Web Services
Scalable Cloud
Computing Services
 
Audible
Listen to Books & Original
Audio Performances
Book Depository
Books With Free
Delivery Worldwide
Box Office Mojo
Find Movie
Box Office Data
ComiXology
Thousands of
Digital Comics
DPReview
Digital
Photography
Fabric
Sewing, Quilting
& Knitting
 
Goodreads
Book reviews
& recommendations
IMDb
Movies, TV
& Celebrities
IMDbPro
Get Info Entertainment
Professionals Need
Kindle Direct Publishing
Indie Digital & Print Publishing
Made Easy
Amazon Photos
Unlimited Photo Storage
Free With Prime
Prime Video Direct
Video Distribution
Made Easy
 
Shopbop
Designer
Fashion Brands
Amazon Warehouse
Great Deals on
Quality Used Products
Whole Foods Market
America’s Healthiest
Grocery Store
Woot!
Deals and
Shenanigans
Zappos
Shoes &
Clothing
Ring
Smart Home
Security Systems
 
eero WiFi
Stream 4K Video
in Every Room
Blink
Smart Security
for Every Home
Neighbors App
Real-Time Crime
& Safety Alerts
Amazon Subscription Boxes
Top subscription boxes – right to your door
PillPack
Pharmacy Simplified
Amazon Renewed
Like-new products
you can trust
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
© 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates