Horror/Thriller 'Double Blind' is an Unpredictable Trip

redmangoreviews

March 2

Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer

Plot: A group of people are paid to take part in a double-blind study of a drug. Side effects may include paranoia, delusions, and a whole lot of fighting for your very survival.

Review: Normally I use IMDb's synopsis (synopses?) for my plot descriptions, but in this case, I chose not to because it gives away too much and I think Double Blind is one of those horror/thrillers that works best the less you know about it prior to viewing.

Whoa. I can see colours. Like rue and bled

So, before we go too far, let's get the title's meaning out of the way for those who may not know what it pertains to. In the world of science-y stuff a double-blind study is a clinical trial where neither the participants nor the researcher knows which treatment the participants are receiving. Neither party, for instance, would know if the drug they're taking is a placebo or not. It's supposed to prevent bias. As crazy as that may sound to folks like us, people do sign up for these studies, usually because they need the money. And this is also why our main protagonist Claire (Millie Brady, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) gets involved with this particular double-blind study.

Desperate for cash and with no place to go, Claire is not unlike the rest of the supporting cast here, some of whom are old hands at this type of thing – which personally I think is a bit insane, like people who volunteer for jury duty – while others may not be who they seem. Like those ads for medication that we used to see on late night television, the pills here have a strange side effect and of course the board members of the company involved wish to see how far they can take things, even to the detriment of the people involved.

Man. They really cut down on the budget for Squid Game Season 2

I was genuinely surprised as too how unpredictable Double Blind turned out to be. Going in I expected the usual tropes of people turning on each other, trippy visuals here and there due to the meds and of course an evil corporation trying to cover up what actually happened, and to some extent I was right on the money. But the screenplay makes some smart choices that keep you engaged and wondering who, if any of these people, might make it out alive. And with a couple of unexpected twists and turns, you can't help but watch until the very end.

While it does lean more towards thriller than horror, there are a few gruesome moments that standout. And scenes of folks going into bloody convulsions weren't easy to watch, as well as one very unexpected death that I wouldn't wish on anybody. Double Blind isn't the most original story but by leaning heavily into the unknown horrors one wonders about when considering the side effects of these types of drugs, it's hard to look away.

Sommer's Score: 6.5 out of 10

And you can check out more horror/thriller content below:

Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I'll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More