Double Blind (2024) review – A Sleep-Deprived Medical Trial With High-Concept Tension

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at horror-thriller Double Blind.

It’s kind of familiar

This movie comes from Ireland and follows the story of Claire (Millie Brady). In desperate need of money, Claire joins a medical testing facility’s latest trial. It’s not just Claire’s annoying fellow trial participants that she will have to worry about, though, after the mysterious drug produces horrifying side effects that mean if you fall asleep, you will die.

“The side effects of the pill mean that you can’t sleep or you will die. Pretty fascinating stuff, and writer Darach McGarrigle manages to get a decent amount of mileage out of the idea.”

Double Blind immediately reminded me of a lesser-known, early 2010s British horror called The Facility. In fact, it was so similar that the two movies could share one synopsis. The idea is pretty simple: a group of people in need of money take part in a medical trial that goes horribly wrong. The only major way that Double Blind differs is in having a more character-focused approach to its story and by having more interesting consequences to taking the medication.

The side effects of the pill mean that you can’t sleep or you will die… Pretty fascinating stuff, and writer Darach McGarrigle manages to get a decent amount of mileage out of the idea. Characters, upon realising their potential fate, set about keeping themselves awake however they can. Some exercise, some pace about, and some simply try and stay calm. It isn’t long before things start to fall apart, tempers fray, and relationships sour, leading to the group having to worry about much more than simply feeling tired.

It works pretty well

It’s a pretty nice concept, and it works fairly well. There’s a decent amount of tension, and the story does enough to stay engaging. This is a group of distinctly different personalities, and that makes for a real melting pot of tension as things become more intense.

“Scares come in the form of the characters’ quickly declining mental states and the paranoia that leads to. You never quite know what will happen next.”

We are, predominantly, focused on protagonist Claire and, while she is seriously unlikeable earlier on, she warms up eventually and becomes someone you genuinely root for.

Scares come in the form of the characters’ quickly declining mental states and the paranoia that leads to. You never quite know what will happen next, and director Ian Hunt-Duffy manages to keep you guessing as to whether what the characters are experiencing is real or not. The sleepless nature of the characters is related very effectively, and you really feel for their plight.

Doesn’t live up to potential

With that being said, it’s hard not to think that Double Blind fails to live up to some of its earlier potential. The intrigue and tension present in the first half fizzles out after a while, with the movie descending into a typical human drama centred around paranoia and mistrust. There were a lot of opportunities to lean into the sleeplessness. We could have gone heavy into the hallucination and delirium aspect, but that really doesn’t happen. There are a few scenes that offer some hope, but they never amount to much.

“Double Blind is very content to exist as a rather middle-of-the-road thriller… all too happy to sacrifice scares and intrigue to tread the all-too-familiar path of the horror trope.”

Double Blind is very content to exist as a rather middle-of-the-road thriller, finding itself in something of a predictable loop and all too happy to sacrifice scares and intrigue to tread the all-too-familiar path of the horror trope. It’s a bit of a shame. Despite the accomplished camerawork that features some very nice shots, particularly during some of the more trippy scenes, the sterile and repetitive environment gets pretty boring, pretty quickly, leading to some visual fatigue here and there.

Acting is fine. The characters aren’t particularly likeable, but Millie Brady does a very nice job, feeling like a real person rather than simply a character and adding tons to the movie. I enjoyed seeing Abby Fitz again; she had a supporting role in average horror The Cellar and does a good job here. I was very happy to see Pollyanna McIntosh still appearing in horror movies. She is seriously underrated and always fantastic.

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A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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