High-Rise

Three months before the present, the 40-storey tower stands as a gleaming yet stratified enclave on the outskirts of London. The rich occupy the top floors with posh amenities, while the poorer residents below contend with dwindling resources. The building's design and services hint at the social experiment that will unleash chaos.

Dr. Robert Laing moves onto the 25th floor following his sister's death and begins a close, complicated relationship with Charlotte Melville. He becomes a father figure to Charlotte's son Toby, anchoring his presence in the tower's fragile family structures. The move marks his entry into the building's looming social crisis.

Laing befriends documentary filmmaker Richard Wilder and his pregnant wife Helen, who live in a low-level apartment. They form a tenuous alliance across floors within the rapidly decaying community. Their presence signals emerging cross-floor connections amid mounting tension.

Laing leads a physiology class examining a severed head, a stark demonstration of macabre curiosity in the tower. A student named Munrow faints and is given a precautionary brain scan. The scene foreshadows paranoia turning into paranoia-driven actions within the high-rise.

The next day, Royal summons Laing to the 40th-floor penthouse and invites him to a party hosted by his snobbish wife Ann. The invitation signals the alluring but distant power of the building's elite. The encounter foreshadows the social divide that will erupt into chaos.

The gathering reveals itself as an 18th-century costume party where Laing's everyday suit is ridiculed by Ann and other guests. He is humiliated and expelled, then becomes trapped in an elevator during a power cut. The incident marks a turning point as the social order begins to fray.

Power cuts become frequent, water is shut off, and garbage chutes clog, fueling a building-wide sense of grievance. Royal calls these disruptions simply growing pains of a new structure. Residents across floors start to experience a breakdown of normal life and order.

Munrow's brain scans come back clean, but Laing manipulates him into believing he has a brain tumor. The fake diagnosis amplifies fear and erodes trust among residents. This twist underscores how information can be weaponized in the tower.

A night of decadent partying unfolds after another power cut, and Munrow, intoxicated, commits suicide by leaping from the 39th floor. The tragedy underscores the environment's corrosive effect on individuals. Chaos spreads as the building's residents spiral toward violence.

Disillusioned, Wilder resolves to expose the tower's injustices and vows to kill Royal. He prepares to reveal the corrupt system that supposedly runs the building. The plan marks him as the most dangerous agitator in the collapsing micro-society.

Laing shows signs of mental disturbance, beating a man, barricading himself in his apartment, and having sex with Helen. The line between victim and aggressor blurs as savagery spreads through the tower. The social collapse accelerates as residents witness and participate in brutal acts.

Wilder breaks into Charlotte's apartment and tortures her for information on Royal. The brutality illustrates how far residents will go for control within the tower. The scene deepens the interwoven loyalties and betrayals shaping the crisis.

Royal is shot by Wilder after a confrontation in the penthouse, but Wilder is then stabbed to death by Royal's women, with Toby watching the brutality. The shootout marks the collapse of the tower's old power structure. The fallout leaves the building in ruins and its hierarchy in tatters.

In the aftermath, violence subsides as many residents are dead or fled, and Laing appears to have lost his grip on reality. He lies down with Charlotte, speculating about a second tower, while a radio broadcasts Thatcher's remark on state capitalism and political freedom. The film closes on a bleak note of unresolved change.