The Maze Runner (2014)

The Maze Runner (2014) is an American sci-fi film directed by Wes Ball. It is based on the eponymous novel written by James Dashner and marks Ball’s directorial debut. Our protagonist, a teenage boy, wakes up in an underground elevator with no recollection of his identity. He is welcomed by a group of male youths in an open grassy area known as the ‘Glade’, enclosed by towering stone walls. The boys have established a basic society with each assigned specific tasks. It becomes clear to our young hero that their only means of escape from the maze they are trapped in lies within its complicated pathways. During daylight hours, designated ‘Runners’ venture into the maze to search for a possible exit before the entrance closes at nightfall. Following a confrontation with Gally, our hero regains his memories and remembers his name is Thomas. However, he quickly realizes that danger lurks around every corner when a fellow Runner named Ben attacks him after being stung by one of the maze’s biomechanical creatures known as Griever’s.

In an act of desperation, Ben is pushed into the maze by his peers and left to suffer alone as there is no known cure for his condition. The next morning, Alby and Minho, the leader and lead Runner respectively, revisit Ben’s path through the maze. In the afternoon, Minho returns carrying Alby, who has been stung and is unable to reach the closing entrance on time. Thomas rushes into the maze to assist them, but they end up getting trapped inside. In a desperate move, Thomas lures a Griever into a closing passageway causing it to be crushed. Miraculously, all three survive the night and make it back the next morning. A new arrival in the elevator brings with her a note stating that she is the final person to enter the Glade. Despite recognizing Thomas, she finds that he cannot remember her. Determined to find answers, Thomas joins forces with Minho, Frypan, Winston and Zart to venture into the maze once again. They manage to locate and remove a beeping mechanical device from within the corpse of a Griever.