On a beautiful tropical island, a few chosen prisoners of the state are sent to Spiderhead,
a state-of-the-art penitentiary. These prisoners get to live a comfortable life that includes their
own rooms, a list of basic chores, a variety of hobbies, and the freedom to roam around
the building in exchange for volunteering for a series of experiments researching chemicals that
alter human emotions. Each participant has a small box of these chemicals called "MobiPak" attached
to their backs, and whenever they're about to be given a new dose, first they must give permission
by saying "acknowledge". All tests are overseen by genius leader Steve Abnesti and his assistant
Mark. Today they're giving a dose of G46 to Ray, who begins laughing like crazy when Steve begins
reading really silly jokes. Afterward, Mark begins reading depressing history facts, but the G46
chemical keeps Ray laughing. Steve considers this a success, and as he takes notes on his notebook,
he adds a little gold star sticker. The next morning, prisoner Jeff is surprised to be taken
out of the building blindfolded for a special test. They give him a dose of N40 before removing
the blindfold, and now Jeff sees everything in front of him as beautiful. Jeff doesn't know how
to describe it properly, so they also give him a dose of B15 to make him verbose. Now Jeff can
describe the gorgeous view with poetic words from the heart, but once they're done and the
group leaves, it's revealed Jeff had actually been looking at a nasty contaminated area. When Jeff
returns to the facility, he goes to the kitchen to join Lizzy, a fellow prisoner he has a crush
on. They're both in charge of the snacks chore, which works perfectly for them because it allows
them to chat, bond, and share their experience with the tests while they cook. In the evenings,
Jeff likes to spend time in his room drawing incredibly detailed art on an etch-a-sketch.
This isn't always a good idea because it allows his mind to wander back to the incident that
landed him in jail. That night, at a party with his best friend Adam and his girlfriend Emma,
Jeff drank too much. Afterward, he and Adam got in a car while intoxicated, and Jeff drove the
car into a tree, killing his best friend in the process. For the next test, Jeff is paired up
with prisoner Heather. Steve double-checks they had never interacted before and asks if they find
each other attractive, to which they answer with only mild interest. However, after Mark gives them
a dose of N40, Jeff and Heather start seeing each other as incredibly gorgeous, and they can't stop
themselves from getting busy right there in front of the cameras and scientists. When they're done,
the couple cuddles and even tells each other "I love you". Steve and Mark celebrate the success of
N40, but Steve isn't ready to put down a gold star yet because he wants to study the residual effect
first. Later, when Jeff goes around serving food, he brings some to Heather and things are awkward
between them. They don't even speak to each other, so there's no residual love like Steve wanted.
That doesn't stop him from repeating the experiment though, and this time,
Jeff is paired up with Sarah. She's an older woman that Jeff isn't into at all, but he receives a
double dose of N40 and once again, Jeff can't stop himself from getting busy with her. Later,
while Mark refills the bottles in Jeff's MobiPak, he asks him to be careful while he gets busy with
the girls because the little box is delicate, so even the slightest bump could break it and cause
them to lose control. Jeff takes the chance to ask Mark to change him to another chore instead
of snacks, claiming he needs a change but clearly having a secret reason for it. The following day,
Jeff is surprised to join Steve and Mark at the scientists' desk for the next experiment.
There are two rooms today - in one, there's Dave, who keeps eating humongous amounts of food,
only stopping to throw up. In the other room, Jeff finds Heather and Sarah. The test is simple:
Steve wants Jeff to choose one and give her a dose of Darkenfloxx, which Steve classifies as
an agitator that leaves no permanent damage. Jeff feels uncomfortable with this decision and refuses
to choose, but he clarifies that if he had to, it would be a random choice. He has no particular
feelings for either of them, and he's only refusing because he had been given that chemical
before, so he remembers how much he hated it. This is fascinating to Steve, because Jeff had been
under different doses when he got together with them, yet the final feelings are still the same.
Sometime later, Lizzy approaches Jeff to try to ask about his decision to change chores. However,
their conversation is interrupted by the guards, who remind Jeff that today is his free day.
Jeff is allowed to leave the facility for a walk and to call Emma, but as usual,
he's sent directly to voicemail. He leaves a message apologizing and saying that he misses her,
like he always does, but this time, Jeff also tells her about Lizzy. For the next experiment,
Jeff is paired up with Rogan, a huge burly man with an aggressive attitude. Jeff has no interest
in men and is worried that they'll make him get busy with Rogan, so he refuses to "acknowledge"
any dose, but absolutely nothing happens and they're allowed to leave after a few minutes.
It's not hard to put two and two together, thus Jeff rushes to the scientists' room to
confirm his suspicions: Heather had been asked to give Darkenfloxx to Jeff or Rogan, and she
chose neither. This also means Heather got busy with Rogan during one of these tests. Furious,
Jeff wants to know if everyone is getting together with everyone, and Steve shows him a chart mapping
all the connections among the prisoners. Steve explains it's an experimental design mandated by
the Protocol Committee, and he isn't a big fan of it either. When Jeff expresses how uncomfortable
he is with the lines this testing is crossing, Steve reminds him he was the one that volunteered,
and the alternative is life in an awful state jail surrounded by power-hungry cops.
Not wanting to lose the privileges he has here, Jeff apologizes and returns for another
test with Rogan. Fortunately, Sarah doesn't give the Darkenfloxx to any of them either.
After the test is done, Steve thinks they'll be ready to give it a gold star soon,
but Mark is starting to feel uncomfortable with it as well. Steve reminds him this is necessary work
in order to make the world a better place, and Mark leaves for his weekend out in a better mood.
Later in the evening, Steve gives himself a dose of N40 too. The prisoners don't know this, but he
has a MobiPak on his back as well. Meanwhile, Jeff and Lizzy are having dinner together while Jeff
explains how awful Darkenfloxx makes you feel. Lizzy takes his hand and asks why Jeff changed
chores. Jeff tells her this place messes with his head and sometimes he forgets who he used to
be before coming here, but when he's with her, he really feels like himself. The next Monday,
Steve decides to take the risk and asks Mark to give him a triple dose of the chemicals.
Jeff comes over for today's test and catches them on the act, and since the scientists
quickly put everything away, Jeff doesn't comment on it. For the next experiment,
Steve tells Jeff that the committee has ordered them to continue with the Darkenfloxx testing,
so Jeff has no choice but to give Heather a dose. Because he's under the effects of the chemicals,
Steve is more aggressive with his techniques, reminding a hesitant Jeff that Heather is a
prisoner because she's done some awful things in the past and that at least they've chosen
him to do this instead of Rogan. Jeff still refuses to do it and begs Steve to talk to
the committee to change their minds. Steve leaves the room, pretending to go to call the committee,
but actually, he goes to the kitchen to grab some coffee and chat with Lizzy for a while.
When he returns, Steve lies to Jeff, saying the committee refuses to change their minds
and Jeff must proceed with the experiment if he doesn't want to get kicked out of the program.
Seeing as he has no other choice, Jeff accepts to give Darkenfloxx to Heather,
who immediately begins feeling excruciating pain. Mark also gives Jeff B15 to make him verbose - now
Jeff has to describe all the ways Heather is panicking, how guilty it makes him feel,
and how he still doesn't love her. In her panicked flailing, Heather bumps her back against the wall
and breaks the MobiPack, causing the Darkenfloxx to flood her. Heather gets awfully violent,
to the point where she breaks a vase and uses the pieces to end it all before Mark can get there to
stop her. Steve runs out of the room to check on her too and drops his keys in the process,
so while he and Mark argue about what happened, Jeff takes the chance to do some snooping. With
the keys, Jeff gains access to Steve's notebook and finds many interesting things. First, there's
a chemical formula called O-B-D-X on a piece of paper with the Abnesti Pharmaceuticals logo at the
top - this means there is no committee, Steve is the owner and boss of a private operation.
Next, Jeff finds a bingo card full covered with gold stars except for two numbers:
six and forty. By peeking under the stars, he realizes the numbers match all the different
chemicals they've been testing. N40 doesn't have a star yet because it hasn't achieved true love,
and B6 is what Mark refills in everyone's MobiPaks. Before he can look any further into it,
Jeff notices Steve is coming back and puts everything away, throwing the keys back on
the floor not to be discovered. Later, Mark asks Steve to report this, but Steve refuses. Reporting
the incident will only get them shut down, and they already crossed the line a long time ago,
which means it's too late to give up. Afterward, Steve goes to see Jeff, but not even the most
prepared speech can make him feel better, so Steve goes for another tactic by sharing the chemical
they had tested on Ray. Both men enter a laughing fit they can't get out of, not even when Steve
suddenly shares he was abandoned by his father as a child. Jeff wonders why Steve never leaves
the facility like Mark does, and Steve answers he can't because this project is his one true love.
The next experiment is for Lizzy, who is given a chemical that makes her extremely phobic and she
panics at the sight of a mere stapler. Afterward, she shares her trauma and shame with Jeff. He
understands that shame, and confesses that's the real reason he asked to change chores.
Lizzy doesn't understand why they keep saying yes just for a few luxuries,
so Jeff explains he thinks he deserves it and tells her the whole story of the incident.
That night many months ago, Jeff's drunk driving not only killed Adam, it killed Emma as well.
Since then, he's been consumed by guilt. Lizzy comforts Jeff and the pair finally kisses. Later,
Jeff finds them having a snack together in the kitchen and a plan begins forming in his head.
When he looks at the security footage and sees Jeff has been sketching Lizzy,
Steve confirms he's on the right track and goes to bed after dosing himself with N40 again.
The next day, Steve calls Jeff over for one more test: he has to give Darkenfloxx to Lizzy. Jeff
refuses and Steve allows him to leave without doing anything for now. As soon as Jeff is gone,
Steve orders Mark to double his dose of B6. However when Mark arrives at the room, Jeff
confronts him with the truth: he knows there's no committee and B6 isn't a placebo - whatever it is,
that's the only chemical Steve truly cares about. Mark explains he wanted to work with a
real genius and he had been promised to change the world, but he's started to get regrets now too.
Jeff notices this and together they make a plan before Mark leaves for the weekend.
The following Monday, it's only Steve and Jeff in the testing room because Mark's sick at home.
Jeff is given the control to dose Lizzy with Darkenfloxx, but he still refuses to do it,
which makes Steve furious. Unable to understand how these two could love each other after a few
months locked inside a facility, Steve tries to change Jeff's mind by ordering Lizzy to confess
her crime: she forgot her daughter in her car and the baby died. Lizzy breaks down in tears,
asking Jeff for the chemicals, and Jeff presses the screen of the control.
However, it's Steve the one that starts laughing. Mark lied about being sick and changed the
programming so the control could dose Steve. He also put extra doses of B6 in Steve's MobiPak.
Jeff puts Steve through the fear chemical before giving him Darkenfloxx. As Steve thrashes in pain,
Jeff explains Mark is coming with the police and that he knows what the real experiment is:
B6 is a compliance chemical, designed to make people do whatever you want. O-B-D-X stands for
Obediex, an obvious pun on obedience. Even while in pain, Steve thinks B6 could be used for the
greater good. The only reason why testing hasn't been completed yet is that obedience hasn't been
absolute, meaning it still hasn't been able to overpower the subject's deepest feelings.
Steve also confesses both Jeff and Lizzy had already finished their sentence days ago and
never told them. Angry, Jeff pushes Steve's head on the table and forces him to use his fingerprint
on the control to open the front door, that way he can escape and tell the world about Heather's
death. On his way out, Jeff notices Steve taking out a knife and orders him to give it to him.
However, Steve is able to ignore that direct order even while on the effects of the extra B6 dose.
The chemical isn't strong enough to overpower real feelings, and like Steve told Jeff the other day,
this project is his one true love, so he'll defend it with his life. Steve hits Jeff and
steals the control to give Lizzy four doses of Darkenfloxx, which immediately makes her go crazy.
Jeff attacks Steve, making him drop and break the control in the ensuing fight, but by pushing him
against the wall he also breaks Steve's MobiPak. The sudden rush of chemicals weakens Steve, giving
Jeff the chance to push him away, steal the keys and run to check on Lizzy. Fortunately, it isn't
too late: Jeff helps her to breathe again, and he also uses the keys to open her MobiPak and remove
all the chemical bottles. Lizzy apologizes for not confessing her crime before, but Jeff tells her
not to worry because he still loves her. The duo gets ready to escape the facility, so Steve makes
an announcement: if the other prisoners don't want to lose their privileges, they must stop Jeff and
Lizzy. Steve also sees on the security cameras that the police are approaching the building,
so he grabs as many vials of the chemicals as he can and leaves as well. On their way out,
Jeff and Lizzy use teamwork to fight off Sarah and Ray. Dave tries to stop them too, but Lizzy easily
avoids a confrontation by giving him the keys to the pantry. The rest of the prisoners are also
coming after them as a herd, but the duo runs faster and manages to reach the final hallway,
locking the door behind them and leaving the herd on the other side. By the time they make it
outside, Steve is already leaving on his private plane, so they grab a motorboat and leave as well.
Mark is with the cops in their boats and watches Steve fly away, but thankfully,
he doesn't have anything to worry about. The N40 has taken over Steve's mind, so he can only see a
gorgeous sight ahead of him instead of a mountain, causing him to crash the plane against it. Jeff
and Lizzy also see the explosion and laugh at the irony as Jeff reaches the most logical conclusion:
there's no chemical for self-forgiveness, it's something humans must achieve by themselves.