Double Blind

This was a fairly decent movie with a concept that has been done before. It's an interesting story and as a financially struggling student I can put myself in this situation where you would sacrifice your body and take unknown drugs for a good amount of money.

The production value is decent, you can tell that it's not a big Hollywood production but it's also not a small indie movie either. The acting was fine but not outstanding and it was nice to see Pollyanna McIntosh as Dr. Burke even though I think her character was underutilized. As a seasoned horror fan I can say that this movie was overall pretty average and not really outstanding. There's not too much happening and it is ironic that I had to fight against falling asleep while watching a movie where the characters are not allowed to sleep either. Some people might enjoy this more than others but I think this is just an average flick and I will probably have forgotten about it in about a month. [5,3/10]

Claire (Millie Brady) participates in a drug trial run by Dr. Burke (Pollyanna McIntosh). It is in a basement level of Back Wood Pharmaceuticals and the group has to stay there for five full days.

It is a simple small Irish horror. It has a small set and a small cast. That's all fine. The concept is simple. Again, that's fine. My biggest issue is that this made me sleepy. It is the theory of the yawn. When one person yawns, it infects the rest of the group and everybody starts yawning. The movie is basically talking about a yawn and daring the audience to follow suit. It makes me sleepy. Otherwise, this is fine.

Double Blind: Claire (Millie Brady) is broke so she volunteers as a guinea pig to test an experimental drug. Along with six others she will be incommunicado for five days, Most of those involved have taken part in many tests, it is literally a job for them. When things start to go wrong, the doctor ( Pollyanna McIntosh) supervising the test contacts the pharmaceutical company executives but is told to continue and up the dose. As things worsen, Claire and the others cannot sleep and wish to quit the trial but are offered 30,000 euros each to continue, Eventually a participant dies, it becomes clear that the test subjects must stay awake if they are to survive (Not A spoiler, this is flagged in all publicity for the film). The survivors are then sealed inside the laboratory for at least 24 hours as an emergency protocol kicks in.. Some particularly gruesome death scenes with the victims looking as if they are suffering from a Rabies/Ebola hybrid disease. Claire and the others start to become paranoid due to lack of sleep and begin to mistrust each other. An interesting examination of drug tests on marginalised people counterposed with those on mice showing how to Big Pharma both are equally disposable. This idea is taken to some frightening lengths. Pretty good dialogue, especially when the participants record their musings to their phones: one: about how much compensation he might get due to the trial going wrong; others more bleakly leaving last messages, This "found footage" helps to round some of the characters' back stories. A disturbing, violent tale of horror, existential despair and exploitation. Directed by Ian Hunt-Duffy, Written by Darach McGarrigle. 8/10.

So about half way threw I realised I've seen this film about 3 times. With the Russian sleep experiment and about 2 more amazon prime films about the same thing. Group of people doing an experiment. People die bla bla bla.

The acting is not great but I've seen worst I guess. The problem with these films is there very bland. The setting is by nature very boring. The people that do the study are very or below average no interesting characters. It never ever makes for a good or interesting film but I keep watching them because in theory it should make a exciting good horror film. Come on someone get it right.

I have enjoyed the movie for the most part. Setup was interesting, the eerie atmosphere of the potential experiment going bad is present and is made well.

The story is nothing new. It is scary if you think about, how something similar might be happening in real life. Certainly, it's not going the way it is going in the movie though, because it would be really practically unreasonable and unrealistic, like "ha-ha, we are evil pharma, now we gonna make yall suffer cause that's what we do, ha-ha". Don't even get me started on that 'drug' and the death scenes (to me it seems highly implausible and overdramatic)... Yet even distant possibility of similar experiments is enough to consider and is something to be alerted about.

Millie Brady is beautiful, but the characters are quite superficial. Can't say it's a big problem for a type of movie this is. We do get a small insight in each of their lives, but it's not dramatic enough to make us care really, apart from the main heroine (where we get bit more, while still not really enough). Most character interactions and dialogues are no good.

Execution is on a 'okay' level I'd say. Obviously, looks like budget is limited (the whole movie takes place in like 3 rooms, and each of them is sterile, which can be explained by this being a locked experimental facility and/or also low movie budget and the lack of attention to detail at the same time), yet the existing scenes seem to be well made. In other words, camera operators and editors did their job well. Overall, the picture is a pleasant view.

The ending is controversial to me. It is logical story wise and obviously we all root for the main character, yet ideologically it's empty and it's also unrealistic, so its not satisfying to anyone who wants some answers or an unexpected turn, or something similar.

All that said, somehow, I did enjoy it for the most part still, I guess my expectations were low and I really liked the setup and the image, and Millie Brady of course. So I'd say my scoring here is generous.