The Thinning: New World Order

The Thinning: New World Order is a 2018 American social science fiction thriller web film and the sequel to the 2016 film The Thinning.[1] As with the first film, the movie was directed by Michael J. Gallagher and stars Logan Paul as a young man struggling against a dystopian future in which population control is enforced through a school aptitude test. The film released to YouTube Premium after being briefly shelved due to controversies surrounding its star, Logan Paul.[2]

The Thinning: New World Order
Promotional poster
Directed byMichael J. Gallagher
Produced by
  • Michael J. Gallagher
  • Jana Winternitz
  • Michael Wormser
  • Jo Henriquez
Written by
  • Michael Gallagher
  • Steve Greene
Starring
Music byBrandon Campbell
CinematographyGreg Cotten
Edited byBrian Ufberg
Production
company
Legendary Digital Media
Cinemand
The Mark Gordon Company
eOne Films
Distributed byYouTube Premium
Release date
  • October 17, 2018 (2018-10-17)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Governor Dean Redding is running for the next presidential election. He attempts to get Laina's support for his campaign to mitigate his own controversy surrounding the Thinning. She declines but is later recruited by teacher Ms. Cole and Assuru Global security guard Jack to accept Redding's offer, in order earn his trust and get close to him, with hopes that this will help them end the Thinning for good.

Meanwhile, Blake is presumed dead by the public after he purposely failed the test, but was actually taken to a slave labor facility to manufacture Assuru Global products, along with other failed students called the Worthy (failed students chosen by the government to receive a second chance at life). He finds Ellie there, and they rekindle their relationship. Blake attempts to run away with Ellie, but they were caught by Mason King. DPC guards take Ellie away, but Blake's leg was broken by Mason King.

Eight months later, two weeks before election day, Laina continues her support for Redding's campaign. Kellan manages to crack the secret of the labor camps, saying Assuru Global doesn't have a manufacturing area in their campus, and they're insourcing military rations from a company called TXPak, being able to serve food to 100,000 people per year. Wendy Banks doesn't believe him, saying he doesn't have any evidence or proof. He visits Laina and secretly tells her everything and she believes him. When Kellan gets in his car, someone tries to suffocate him with a bag, but he triggers the car alarm and scares the killer. Laina then calls FBI agent Joanne Morris and tells her about Kellan's theory. Ms. Cole extracts Corrine and Joey out of the country only to be double-crossed by her co-worker.

As requested by Ms. Cole, Laina gets all the information from Redding's wife Georgina's computer and manages to escape but Jack gets caught. Laina is conned by Morris, and she tries to kill Laina. Laina manages to subdue Morris for a few seconds before jumping down into an apartment. Laina visits Kellan to copy the files of the camps from her drive to his computer. Kellan leaves, and gets in his car. Kellan turns on his car, and it explodes, making it another attempt from people to kill him. Laina takes the drive and leaves. It is revealed that Morris and her men killed Kellan, and were planning to kill Laina too. Morris camps behind a staircase outside, while her men go inside Kellan's apartment. But Laina planned to blow up the apartment, killing Morris's men. When Laina leaves, she is beaten up by Morris, and Morris forces Laina to give her the drive, but Laina kills Morris. Laina then makes it to BNC News where she gives the drive to Wendy.

Blake convinces the Worthy to betray them and escape. Blake and Ellie remove their GPS trackers and escape outside, in the middle of the Texas desert. BNC helicopters arrive at the scene, catching video of Blake and Ellie. Mason catches them, and tries to kill Blake. Ellie kills Mason and they both get to safety.

Governor Redding wins the election and becomes President, only for the truth to be told. With full power and authority over the entire nation, Georgina arrests everyone who ran against Redding. Laina, Blake, and Ellie discover that Georgina will end democracy and freedom in the nation. They are arrested as well but are intercepted by Jack who claims to work for FBI. Jack tells them that they will defeat Redding and Georgina and make things back to normal.

Cast

Production

Production for The Thinning: New World Order began in November 2017 and wrapped in December of the same year.[3][4] Post-production on the film was temporarily stalled in January of 2018 due to public controversy surrounding a video Paul shot and posted to YouTube featuring a dead body in Aokigahara forest in Japan.[5] A representative of YouTube later posted a statement in October 2018 after it was announced that the film would release during the same month, stating that "The entire cast and crew worked extremely hard to complete this film last year. In fairness to all of them and the fans who have been asking for the sequel, we decided to release 'The Thinning: New World Order.'"[6]

Reception

The film has received negative reviews from The Verge, The Daily Dot, and Common Sense Media, the last of which criticized the film for what they saw as an amateurish execution.[7] In their review, The Verge noted that one of the film's weaknesses was the focus on "Blake's nonstop gauntlet of physical and psychological trauma", as "Paul's YouTube persona is built on relentless enthusiasm, and his capacity for portraying sadness bottoms out around 'concerned bemusement.'"[8] In turn, The Daily Dot noted that "The premise has some potential, but New World Order never finds anything interesting to do with it—and that's the film's fatal flaw."[9]

References
  1. Saunders, Tristram Fane (2018-10-18). "The Thinning: New World Order - YouTube 'surprise' launches shamed vlogger Logan Paul's sci-fi sequel". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  2. Evans, Greg (2018-10-17). "Long-Shelved Logan Paul Movie Sequel Launches Today On YouTube Premium". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  3. Gallagher, Michael. "That's a wrap on THE THINNING: NEW WORLD ORDER! 🎬🥂Brilliant cast & crew! @PeytonList @LoganPaul @_MELTON_ @CalumWorthy are 🔥🔥🔥 #TheThinning". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  4. Gallagher, Michael. "That's a wrap on week 2 of THE THINNING: NEW WORLD ORDER 🎬 w/ @PeytonList @LoganPaul @LiaMarieJohnson #thethinning". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  5. "Logan Paul's 'The Thinning' Hits YouTube as Insider Cites 'Good Standing'". TheWrap. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  6. Spangler, Todd (2018-10-17). "Logan Paul Gets YouTube Reprieve for 'The Thinning' Movie Sequel". Variety. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  7. Costello, Brian. "The Thinning: New World Order - Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  8. "Logan Paul's new movie is the zombified husk of a YA dystopian thriller". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  9. "'The Thinning: New World Order' brings Logan Paul back in lame sci-fi effort". The Daily Dot. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
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