The Thinning
The Thinning is a 2016 American social science fiction thriller web film directed by Michael Gallagher and starring Logan Paul, Peyton List, Lia Marie Johnson, Calum Worthy, Matthew Glave, Michael Traynor, and Stacey Dash. It is set in a dystopian future in which population control is enforced through a school aptitude test. Those who fail it are executed. The film received a lukewarm reception, though audience reception was more positive. Praise focused on the performances of Paul and List, concept and interesting themes but was criticized for not taking full advantage of its premise. Plot. In 2039, Earth  is overpopulated. The United Nations declares that all nations must annually cut their populations by 5%. The United States implements the 10-241 or "Thinning", a standardized test in which those who fail are executed. Blake Redding, son of Texas governor Dean Redding, is dating a girl named Ellie Harper, neither of whom study for the exam. Blake passes the exams, while Ellie fails. Blake calls his father in an attempt to free Ellie, but he refuses. On the day of his last exam a year later, Blake makes a video saying that he will purposefully fail his exam to  test his father's loyalty. Redding takes notice of this announcement, and test manager Mason King, head of the Department of Population Control, is ordered by him to pass Blake regardless of his score. Mason switches his score with genius classmate Laina Michaels, passing Blake. Teacher Ms. Birch secretly hands Laina a keycard so she can unlock the doors and escape. Blake blacks out the school, allowing Laina to escape. That, however, becomes impossible as the school goes under lockdown. After using the key card, Laina meets up with Blake. After a series of escapades with the guards, Laina goes  to the server room to check the scores. She finds out that test scores are shuffled, resulting in the wrongful deaths of many students with passing scores, like Ellie. Laina gives it to her friend Kellan, who is friends with a news anchor. The power is turned on, and Laina is caught on camera, and is taken to the Thinning. Blake, still in the disguise, attempts to release all the failed students, but gets in a fight with other guards. After the photos are leaked, Redding has no choice but to execute all of those who actually failed, including Blake . As the lockdown ends, Laina is reunited with her younger sister Corrine (who passed her first Thinning test with an 86% score) and Ms. Birch, who has been taking care of Corrine since their mother's death. Blake and the others are shown in a large elevator underground, where many people are working for tech company Assuru Global. As Blake slowly wakes up from what's actually a sleep drug, he sees a blonde girl working: Ellie. Reception. Adi Robertson of "The Verge" gave a negative review of the film, describing it, in comparison to other films about teenagers forced  into a deadly competition, as "remarkable simply for being such a bad take on the formula." Sequel. On November 17, 2017, Logan Paul announced on his YouTube channel that a sequel, titled "The Thinning: New World Order" was starting production. On January 10, 2018, YouTube announced that production of "New World Order" was put on hold, as part of repercussions instated upon Paul for posting a controversial video in which he visited Aokigahara, a Japanese forest known for being a common place for suicides to occur, and filmed a dead body. This sparked outrage across social media against Paul, forcing  an apology from himself and repercussions from YouTube, including delaying "The Thinning: New World Order" and his appearance in the upcoming season of YouTube Red series "Foursome", but the criticism still continues. On October 16, 2018, Logan Paul released the trailer for "The Thinning: New World Order". On October 17, Paul premiered "The Thinning: New World Order" to the public.