By Dana Berry
A double-blind drug trial is where neither the participant nor researcher knows what drug is being tested. In Double Blind, the new feature released by Epic Pictures, neither the filmmakers nor the viewer know what kind of film it is.
This isn’t necessarily a critique. It just means there are several themes and genres being explored. We all know Big Pharma is evil. We also know that pushed to the edge, human beings can turn evil.
The film toes the line between psychological thriller and horror. Who is the real enemy? Will the visions become real?
A young woman, surly Claire played by Millie Brady (Lost Kingdom), is desperate and signs up for a drug trial. She joins a group of regular participants. They soon discover the drug they are taking causes insomnia and the researcher, Mrs. Burke, played by The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh, soon turns from being an unsympathetic scientist to a concerned doctor. That doesn’t last long as she’s quickly “shown the door.”
The facility goes on lockdown after one of the group quite easily gains access to their brain scans and sets off an alarm. Why there would be a 24-hour lockdown is a bit of a mystery but it sets up the ticking clock. They discover that they will die if they fall asleep and must escape. Soon factions are formed and the struggles become lethally interpersonal.
Double Blind is well shot — dark, antiseptic, and claustrophobic. The sound design and score are perfectly foreboding. All of the actors are good, especially Millie Brady, and the writing allows some well-placed levity. The pacing is a bit uneven as the second act drags a bit, but I was engaged the entire time. There were a few too many gaps in logic and convenient plot ploys to make this a great movie but it is a step above most horror thrillers and well worth a watch.
Double Blind is available from today on VOD platforms.
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