Controversial Psychological Thriller Compliance Based on True Story of Fast-Food Worker and Horrible, Horrible People (No, Not Chick-fil-A)

A man calls a fast-food joint in Kentucky, tells the manager he's a cop and that an employee has stolen from a customer, and convinces the manager to strip-search the employee. Sounds ridiculous, right? Wrong. It really happened. The true story is the premise of Compliance, the psychological thriller (opening...

By Laura Hahnefeld

September 5, 2012

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A man calls a fast-food joint in Kentucky, tells the manager he's a cop and that an employee has stolen from a customer, and convinces the manager to strip-search the employee.

Sounds ridiculous, right? Wrong. It really happened.

The true story is the premise of Compliance, the psychological thriller (opening Friday, September 7, in Scottsdale) from writer-director Craig Zobel.

Based on a real series of scam calls made to fast food joints across the country, the 90-minute film focuses on a real incident from 2004, where, according to Entertainment Weekly, "an 18-year-old employee at a McDonald's in Kentucky was detained, stripped, and sexually assaulted on the instructions of a caller pretending to be a policeman."

The movie's caused a stir at Sundance and other screenings across the country mostly due to its star, Dreama Walker, who plays the restaurant's worker, Becky, being at least partially nude for a large portion of the film.

Plus, if your faith in humanity is low, you might not want to watch the trailer.

Bummer of a summer film? Looks like it. Will you see Compliance?

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Laura Hahnefeld

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