Cruelly neglected during its brief run at the nation's cinemas, Exam now arrives on DVD chock full of all that is best in British cinema.

Low on budget but high on ideas, Stuart Hazeldine's feature is an intelligent, thought-provoking and at times thrilling study of the human psyche, played out against the humdrum backdrop of a group job interview.

The premise is short and to the point – a group of eight diverse candidates are placed in an exam room, with the prospect of an unspecified (but lucrative) job with a shadowy company up for grabs.

The candidates are told they have one question to answer on their exam papers, with only one answer required and one job up for grabs.

There are 80 minutes on the clock, and the whole thing pretty much plays out in real time.

The catch however, is that when the papers are turned all the sheets are blank, leading to a taut movie as the group try to work out just what is required of them, and what it will cost.

With all of the action taking place in the one setting (the exam room) this is very much a film that will live or die by its cast, and Exam comes on very strong in that department.

Jimi Mistry is the one 'household' name (although Colin Salmon pops up as the invigilator), and his performance is merely one of a strong cast that holds the attention with ease despite the contained setting.

The major strength is that the whole thing plays out very realistically, with a real cat and mouse feel as alliances are formed and dissolved and the threat of violence is never too far from the surface.

There are very few, if any, 'eye-rolling' moments and the tension really picks up as the film draws you in, before a clever pay-off that ties things up nicely.

This is a daring, intense piece of work that if I was forced to pigeonhole I would throw in alongside the likes of Cube, or, as Hazeldine himself states, 'Saw without the gore'.

Put it this way – this is an Exam I would be more than happy to retake.