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Stars: Millie Brady, Ashley Kumar, Abby Fitz, Shonagh Marie, Pollyanna McIntosh | Written by Darach McGarrigle | Directed by Ian Hunt-Duffy

In scientific terms, double blind refers to an experiment in which neither the subjects nor those in charge of the experiment know who is getting the drug and who is getting a placebo. The new Irish thriller Double Blind, not to be confused with another medical thriller of the same name, revolves around one such experiment, a first stage trial of a drug that might eliminate the need for sleep. And if that sounds familiar, it might be due to another recent Irish film, The Sleep Experiment, based off of the creepypasta The Russian Sleep Experiment. But while there are echoes of that here, the two tell their stories in very different ways.

Double Blind follows Claire, a broke young woman who volunteers for a clinical trial run by Blackwood Pharmaceuticals.

Cillian Murphy took home the award for lead actor in a film for his performance in Oppenheimer while That They May Face The Rising Sun clinched the best film prize at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs), that took place on Saturday (April 20).

As well as taking the best actor prize, Cork-born Murphy also collected the best international film prize on behalf of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

Pat Collins’ best film award winner That They May Face The Rising Sun was adapted from John McGahern’s novel about life in rural Ireland, and premiered at BFI London Film Festival.

Cillian Murphy obtained one of acting’s most coveted achievements when he won an Oscar for his leading role in “Oppenheimer.” But his award season run for the acclaimed Christopher Nolan film didn’t end with his big night at the Dolby Theater. The Irish actor went on to receive his home country’s highest acting honor on Sunday at the Irish Film and TV Academy Awards when he won the Lead Actor — Film category for “Oppenheimer.”

The ceremony honored the best Irish film and television of 2023, with Pat Collins’ “That They May Face the Rising Sun” winning Best Film. Other notable winners included Paul Mescal taking Supporting Actor for “All of Us Strangers” and Alison Oliver winning Supporting Actress for “Saltburn.”

Keep reading for a complete list of winners from the 2024 Irish Film and TV Academy Awards.

Best Film

“Double Blind”

“Flora and Son”

“Lies We Tell”

“Lola”

“That They May Face the Rising Sun...

The 21st Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, which highlight Irish filmmakers, television creators and performers, saw Pat Collins’ That They May Face The Rising Sun win Best Film in an upset. Despite earning a second-best 11 nominations, the top award was its only win.

Lies We Tell all with three wins: for Director Lisa Mulcahy, Lead Actress Agnes O’Casey, and Best Script. It came in with 13nominations.

Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy repeated his Best Actor win at the Academy Awards for Oppenheimer with a win for Lead Actor. In the supporting categories, Paul Mescal won for All of Us Strangers and Alison Oliver topped all for Saltburn.

Oppenheimer was named Best International Film, Emma Stone was Best Actress, and Paul Giamatti won International Actor for The Holdovers.

In the television drama categories, Kin was the winner for series, directing, script, lead actress Clare Dune, and supporting actress Maria Doyle Kennedy.

Filmmaker...

Cillian Murphy, Kin season two and Paul Mescal were among the winners of the Irish Film & Television Awards 2024, which were handed out during a ceremony in Dublin on Saturday.

Lies We Tell, about an orphaned teenage heiress in 19th-century Ireland who is forced to embrace the dark legacy of her family, led the nominations for the movie portion of the awards with 13 and went home with three. It was followed by That They May Face the Rising Sun, which took home the best film prize, and Double Blind, with 11 each. Rising Sun is an adaptation of John McGahern’s novel about passion, war and migration, while Double Blind is a horror film about an experimental drug trial that goes wrong.

Among the lead acting nominees were such big names as Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Andrew Scott, Pierce Brosnan, Saoirse Ronan, Eve Hewson and Jessie Buckley. Murphy took home the best actor...

The Irish Film And TV Academy (IFTA) has revealed this year’s nominees for the Screen Ireland – IFTA Rising Star award.

The five nominees are Agnes O’Casey, Alison Oliver, Ian Hunt-Duffy, Kwaku Fortune, and Siobhán Cullen.

Previous winners of the IFTA Rising Star Award include Saoirse Ronan, Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, John Michael McDonagh, Sarah Greene, Gerard Barrett, and Jamie Dornan.

Announcing the nominees, Áine Moriarty, Chief Executive of the Irish Film and Television Academy, said this year’s group of Rising Stars represents a “brilliant new wave of Irish talent who are proving themselves to be world-class screen professionals.”

“This prestigious Award has recognized many great...

Fresh from his Academy Award win for best actor, “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy now has a chance to claim the same honor at his local awards.

The Irish Film and TV Academy (IFTA) has unveiled the nominees for its 2024 awards, with Murphy going up against “Saltburn’s'” Barry Keoghan and “All of Us Strangers” star Andrew Scott in the best actor category. Elsewhere, Jessie Buckley (“Fingernails”) and Saoirse Ronan (“Foe”) are among those nominated for best actress, while Paul Mescal (“All of Us Strangers”) and Kenneth Branagh (“Oppenheimer”) are in the running for best supporting actor.

But it was actually Irish features leading the pack of nominees, with Lisa Mulcahy’s “Lies We Tell” landing 13, followed by “That They May Face the Rising Sun” and “Double Blind.”

The IFTAs ceremony will be take place on April 20 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre with Irish TV personality Baz Ashmawy on hosting duties.

Cillian Murphy, Andrew Scott and Saoirse Ronan are among the nominees at the 21st Irish Film and Television Awards.

Fresh off his Oscar win, Murphy (Oppenheimer) is nominated for lead actor along with Scott (All Of Us Strangers). They are joined by Saltburn’s Barry Keoghan, The Last Rifleman’s Pierce Brosnan, That They May Face They Rising Sun’s Barry Ward and David Wilmot from Lies We Tell, the film with the most IFTA nominations on 13.

Lisa Mulcahy’s period drama is also up for best film, lead actress, supporting actor, director, script and seven craft awards. It had...

The psychological horror movie Double Blind involves a group of young adults agreeing to a clinical trial in a remote pharmaceutical facility... only to discover there is something far more sinister at play. As side effects begin to appear, the group -- including the supervising Dr. Burke -- find themselves in a fight for their lives. And this particular threat leaves the characters unsure of who among them they can trust and who will kill again.

In an interview with Cbr, Double Blind star Pollyanna McIntosh talks about her experience playing Dr. Burke and bringing the psychological horror movie to life. She also shares her thoughts on the horror genre. Plus, she reflects on her longstanding role as the savvy villain Jadis in The Walking Dead -- including the spinoff series The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Related 10 Best Survival Horror Films Of All Time, Ranked Horror movies come in many shapes and sizes,...

Now in theaters and on digital platforms, we have an exclusive clip from Double Blind just for Daily Dead readers! Released by Epic Pictures Group, the film was directed by Ian Hunt-Duffy, with a cast that includes Millie Brady and Pollyanna McIntosh:

Hollywood based Epic Pictures Group will be releasing the sci-fi thriller, Double Blind, in North America. The film is set to hit select theaters beginning February 9, 2024 and on digital platforms February 13, 2024. Award-winning Irish filmmaker Ian Hunt-Duffy served as the film’s director. The Double Blind cast includes Millie Brady, Pollyanna McIntosh, Diarmuid Noyes (Blood), Akshay Kumar (Count Abdulla), Brenock O'Connor (Game of Thrones), Abby Fitz (The Cellar), Shonagh Marie (Britannia), and Frank Blake (Cherry). Double Blind was written by Darach McGarrigle and produced by Simon James Doyle. Patrick O’ Neill, Emma Scott, Dearbhla Reagan, Katie Page and Patrick Ewald served as the film’s Executive Producers.

Filmed completely on location in Limerick,...

Stars: Millie Brady, Ashley Kumar, Abby Fitz, Shonagh Marie, Pollyanna McIntosh | Written by Darach McGarrigle | Directed by Ian Hunt-Duffy

In scientific terms, double blind refers to an experiment in which neither the subjects nor those in charge of the experiment know who is getting the drug and who is getting a placebo. The new Irish thriller Double Blind, not to be confused with another medical thriller of the same name, revolves around one such experiment, a first stage trial of a drug that might eliminate the need for sleep. And if that sounds familiar, it might be due to another recent Irish film, The Sleep Experiment, based off of the creepypasta The Russian Sleep Experiment. But while there are echoes of that here, the two tell their stories in very different ways.

Double Blind follows Claire, a broke young woman who volunteers for a clinical trial run by Blackwood Pharmaceuticals.

Because nothing says romance like cuddling up with your significant other – or yourself! – and watching horror movies on Valentine’s Day, this week brings along with it a handful of brand new horror movie releases. And most of them are already available at home Today.

Here’s all the new horror released on February 13, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

The classic story of Alice in Wonderland can easily be tweaked into a horror tale, and that’s probably why it’s been done several times over the years. Up next is the indie horror movie Alice in Terrorland, which High Fliers Films just released on VOD and DVD today.

In Richard John Taylor’s Alice in Terrorland, “A recently bereaved teenage girl goes to live with her aunt in a secluded woodland house, unaware that sinister forces lurk within.”

Rula Lenska, Steve Wraith,...

With mistrust in science and healthcare being so out of hand these days, the timing of Double Blind couldn’t be better. Real-world misgivings about Big Pharma, experimental medicines, and scientific ethics fuel this Irish horror movie where human lab-rats must follow one important rule: don’t fall asleep. Otherwise they will die. The concept is improbable, but director Ian Hunt-Duffy and writer Darach McGarrigle go that extra mile when getting under people’s skin. The end product is both clever and stylish, not to mention unrelentingly suspenseful.

The movie’s titular setting — a hush-hush clinical trial where neither the participant nor the experimenter know who is receiving a certain treatment — is ideal for creating unease and terror. The seven unaware test subjects are locked away in a cold and secluded facility, then fed mysterious drugs by a small staff led by Pollyanna McIntosh’s impersonal character. One-location stories like...

Double Blind is a thrilling single-location film with a diverse cast and a tight script about an experimental drug trial gone wrong. Pollyanna McIntosh was intrigued by the movie's single-location storytelling and the compassionate nature of her character, Dr. Burke. McIntosh is also excited about her Walking Dead return in The Ones Who Live, and is hopeful for a future beyond the upcoming spinoff.

Pollyanna McIntosh returns to the world of single-location storytelling with Double Blind. The thriller revolves around a group of young adults who sign up for a drug experiment revolving around a new pharmaceutical keeping people awake, though it devolves into madness as the group learns of the dark truth behind the drug.

The Queen's Gambit alum Millie Brady leads the ensemble Double Blind cast alongside McIntosh, Diarmuid Noyes, Akshay Kumar, Brenock O'Connor, Abby Fitz, Shonagh Mare, and Frank Blake. Taking a similarly claustrophobic and paranoid...

Test subjects assemble in Double Blind Photo: courtesy of Belfast Film Festival

Part of the 2023 Belfast Film Festival, Ian Hunt-Duffy’s début feature Double Blind is a horror/thriller film set in a laboratory complex where volunteers are participating in the clinical trial of a new drug which has unexpected side effects. Star Pollyanna McIntosh and I often seem to encounter each other around Halloween, and in this case it was on the day itself that I met up with her and Ian, so we chatted for a while before the interview got started. I explained that I had quickly arranged to see the film when I spotted it in the festival line-up because I feel that Ireland is the go-to place for horror at the moment, and is even giving South Korea a run for its money.

“That's thrilling to me,” says Pollyanna.

Ian agrees. “I think there's some...

The event runs June 30-July 8.

Die Hard director John McTiernan and leading French actress and writer Josiane Balasko are among those taking part in this year’s Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff), which runs June 30-July 8.

The full programme for the 22nd edition of the Swiss event, again under the artistic direction of Pierre-Yves Walder, includes 124 films from 5 continents and 44 countries. There are eight world premieres, among them Irish director Ian Hunt-Duffy’s horror thriller Double Blind starring The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh, alongside Millie Brady and Kate Ashfield, and Quarxx’s new horror Pandemonium, both screening in the festival’s Ultra Section.

Figure is below record high of €500 million achieved after lockdowns eased in 2021.

Production spend in Ireland across feature films, TV and animation reached €361m in 2022, down on 2021’s record year, but an increase on a pre-pandemic 2019.

Although a fall from the record high of €500m in 2021, this has been deemed exceptional due to the increased level of activity taking place following the Covid-related production shutdowns.

Production investment in Ireland has grown at a steady level over recent years and 2022’s €361m is an increase of €4m on 2019.

Universal Pictures’ Cocaine Bear, Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla and Bron Studios’ and Headline Pictures’ crime series Kin,...

The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Return to Shudder Sunday, May 15: "Fangoria, Fangoria Studios and Shudder announced today that the 2022 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards will premiere on Sunday, May 15th at 7pm Et, exclusively on Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers, and the supernatural.

The ceremony, which recognizes outstanding achievements in horror film and television, will once again be hosted by actor and writer David Dastmalchian, and will feature Dee Wallace, Joe Lo Truglio, Joe Dante, Tracie Thoms, Jim Cummings, Rachel True and the directing team known as Radio Silence among its presenters. (See below for the full presenters list.) This year’s nominees include Candyman, Last Night in Soho, Titane, Chucky, and Midnight Mass. The special is produced by Armen Aghaeian, produced and directed by Ama Lea, and written by Michael Varrati. Executive Producers are Tara Ansley, Abhi Goel, and Phil Nobile Jr.

“Last year’s Chainsaw Awards...

Exclusive: Millie Brady and Pollyanna McIntosh are leading the cast of Double Blind, an Irish horror-thriller being produced by Los Angeles-based Epic Pictures Group.

The project is written by Darach McGarrigle and marks the feature directorial debut for Ian Hunt-Duffy who, along with producer Simon Doyle, runs the Dublin-based production company Failsafe Films.

It follows seven strangers taking part in a paid drug trial who become trapped in the lab after the side effects of the study escalate the situation into a nightmarish scenario- if they fall asleep, they die. Brenock O’Connor (Game of Thrones), Abby Fitz (The Cellar), Shonagh Marie, Diarmuid Noyes, Frank Blake, and Akshay Kumar round out the cast.

The film is now shooting in Ireland. Epic will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes Marche du Film.

Double Blind is the latest Irish co-production...

Director Ian Hunt Duffy and producer Simon Doyle’s unnerving thriller Gridlock has been selected to screen at the prestigious Short Shorts Film Festival in Japan on the 7th of June and stars Moe Dunford (Vikings), Peter Coonan (Love/Hate), Steve Wall (Dominion Creek) and Amy de Bhrun (Jason Bourne). The Short Shorts Film Festival is the …

The post Award winning film Gridlock selected for Oscar qualifying film festival Short Shorts Film Festival first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net 2017 - Official Horror News Site...