The Cinematheque

Ireland

“An angst-inducing huis clos tinged blood-red … Double Blind keeps tension running high without ever overegging the special effects, confronting viewers with their own fears in a direct and incredibly ingenious way.”

Giorgia Del Don, Cineuropa

In this gripping, inventive thriller-horror genre piece, seven strangers enroll in a routine drug trial at a pharmaceutical facility but soon discover an unexpected side effect—they are unable to fall asleep. Concerned for her patients’ safety, the supervising doctor advises the pharmaceutical representatives to stop the trial, though they are more interested in the drug’s potential on the market than the safety of some ​“lab rats.” As the drug’s effects finally begin to diminish and the participants grow tired, they realize that if they fall asleep, they will die. Chaos ensues when the facility suddenly goes into lockdown and the participants must fight to stay awake. ​“To sleep, perchance to die. That is the rub in Double Blind, a savvy fusion of Agatha Christie suspense and David Cronenberg body horror that marks a promising feature debut for director Ian Hunt-Duffy and screenwriter Darach McGarrigle” (Allan Hunter, Screen International).

In English