Circle

Fifty people awaken in a dark room arranged around a black dome. Any movement or contact with others triggers an automated beam that kills the offender, and the body is quickly removed. A man is killed mid-sentence when he tries to calm the panicked crowd.

The group discovers they can vote for who dies using hand gestures, and arrows on the floor reveal each person’s vote to others. They attempt to boycott the process, but a two-minute clock persists and a participant is selected to die regardless. The tension escalates as the mechanism becomes their only control over survival.

A college student proposes eliminating the elderly in future rounds as a way to buy time for collective reasoning. The group debates the ethical implications, but the clock and fear push them toward accepting the tactic. The strategy polarizes opinions and sets the tone for future selections.

Eric recalls attempting to flee Los Angeles and being abducted into a red room with other humans. An old man nearby claims he saw aliens, but the group dismisses him and eliminates him. The revelation deepens the mystery of their abduction and the aliens’ interest.

The college student aggressively targets a 52-year-old cancer survivor for elimination, despite objections from those who resist labeling her elderly. The group’s bias and fear guide who stays and who goes. This moment highlights the moral ambiguities at stake in every vote.

Several participants recognize others as spouses or lovers, exposing intimate histories within the circle. A tattooed man is eliminated after admitting to domestic violence following a cop’s accusation, underscoring how personal histories influence the vote.

As minorities are targeted, an African-American man complains that the process has become racist. The cop launches into a racist tirade, and the crowd ultimately selects him next, illustrating how bigotry can dictate who survives.

The group learns they cannot vote for themselves and attempts to distribute votes to everyone. One man receives a second vote for a pregnant woman, prompting Eric to vote for him; the tie is resolved by a runoff that results in another death.

An atheist antagonizes the theists who praised the volunteers’ faith and is briefly spared before being killed for mocking the girl regarding her boss paying for her breast enlargement. The moment underscores how religion and personal insults can become fatal in this environment.

A homophobic lawyer targets a lesbian participant and is killed as a consequence of the escalating mob justice. The group’s intolerance continues to shape who remains in the game.

Two rival blocs emerge: Eric’s pro-sacrifice faction and a bearded man with a banker’s pragmatic stance against sacrifice. They clash over whether to save a pregnant woman and a little girl or to eliminate them to preserve themselves.

The Spanish translator is eliminated; a tie between a Hispanic immigrant and the little girl leads the bearded man to sacrifice himself. The husband is forced to align with Eric’s bloc, but under interrogation, the couple admit their pretended relationship was to curry favor, resulting in the husband’s elimination.

Eric’s bloc inflicts heavy losses on the opposing faction and eliminates the remaining threat, shrinking the circle to four survivors: Eric, the pregnant woman, the girl, and a silent man who has never voted. The moral calculus of the game nears its climax.

The silent man is eliminated, and the girl dies by suicide in a bid to buy more time. Eric’s last-second vote targets the pregnant woman, only to learn that the unborn child also counts as a person, forcing him to rethink his move.

Eric awakens in Los Angeles and joins a group comprised mainly of children and pregnant women, watching alien crafts hover over the city. The reveal suggests the aliens have been studying humanity through their life-or-death game, leaving the truth about their experiment unanswered.