The Sleep Experiment is an excellent horror film that dives deep into the psychological damage caused by a top-secret government experiment. Based on Creepypasta’s The Russian Sleep Experiment, writer/director John Farrelly delivers his first feature film that exposes the horrors of what humanity is capable of when pushed to the brink. The film begins with a slow burn, however, as time passes on and the test subjects begin to hallucinate, the plot transitions into the psychological thriller realm before escalating into full physical horror in the final act. The Sleep Experiment has some pretty decent twists and turns along the way (some more obvious than others), but overall has a very solid story with a great performance from the entire cast.
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Spoiler WarningTwo detectives David (Anthony Murphy) and Robert (Barry John Kinsella) begin an investigation on the ethics involved in the top-secret research facility, Porton Down. One experiment stands out to them as the most horrific, The Sleep Experiment, a scientific experiment that took place during the Cold War. The experiment consisted of five prisoners, deemed Enemies of the State, being locked in a sealed gas chamber. An airborne stimulant was continually administered to keep the subjects awake for 30 consecutive days. The prisoners were promised that they would be set free and erase their prison sentences if they successfully complete the experiment.
In the film’s opening scene, a vehicle is driving through the night on May 16th, 1961, and arrives at a secret facility. Armed guards wearing protective gear wait outside the building as five hooded men are escorted down a dark staircase into an underground bunker. The five men are all prisoners held on national security charges, Luke (Will Murphy), Patrick (Sam McGovern), Edward (Rob James Capel), Sean (Brian Moore), and Eric (Steven Jess). Fifteen years in the future, the two detectives are interviewing Christopher (Tom Kerrisk), about his involvement with the experiment.
As the experiment officially begins, the five prisoners begin to become better acquainted with each other. They each introduce themselves and reveal their backstories as well as why they were originally sent to prison before participating in the experiment. The prisoners were all charged and convicted with either murder or attempted murder. The men are hopeful that they will successfully complete the experiment so that they can be released from prison and return home to their families. Back in 1976, the two detectives believe that Christopher was the person who designed the sleep experiment for the military.
As the interview continues, Christopher reveals that the five prisoners weren’t randomly chosen for the experiment, but in fact, they each volunteered to participate. The detectives accuse Christopher of being responsible for the deaths of nine people when the experiment was being conducted. On the fourth day of the experiment, Eric begins to struggle mentally while Patrick has an asthma attack. The guards enter the room and escort Patrick to receive medical attention. The very next day (Day 5), Patrick returns to the experiment room where the rest of the prisoners immediately become suspicious of his actual whereabouts.
Hallucinations Rapidly Approach
As the film’s timeline continues to shift back and forth between 1961 and 1976, Christopher provides plenty of details and information to the two detectives about his design. During the interview, Christopher discovers that the experiment is connected personally to Robert, learning that his father was one of the test subjects. On Day 12, Patrick has another asthma attack and is escorted out of the room for the second time. The men begin having extreme hallucinations as Eric and Sean scream and demand to be released from the experiment. The next day, Patrick returns to the experiment room where he doesn’t seem to be in the same condition as his fellow test subjects.
Luke becomes even more suspicious of Patrick only to learn that he has been taking notes of everything that has happened for the past twelve days. Edward experiences a severe hallucination where he believes that Luke is responsible for the death of his daughter. As Edward confronts Luke, Luke unveils the notebook that he had stolen from Patrick. It is revealed that Patrick was an undercover test subject the entire time. Luke provokes Edward into believing that he truly killed his daughter until Edward reaches a mental breaking point and brutally kills Luke.
With Luke dead and the other test subjects mentally spiraling out of control, on Day 14, the scientists decide to shut down the experiment and immediately send armed guards into the room. As the guards cautiously enter the pitch-dark room, they are violently attacked by the prisoners, causing more deaths in the process. The surviving guards are able to successfully remove the prisoners from the room where they immediately seek medical assistance. Back in 1976, Christopher leaves the interview before apologizing to Robert about his father.
After the interview, the detectives decide to continue their investigation where they speak with a chemical engineer who helped conduct the experiment. They discover that Christopher not only designed the experiment but was also the lead scientist. David races to Christopher’s home only to find that he had already left town. In the basement of Christopher’s home, David finds and listens to a tape recording only to learn the horrible truth of Christopher’s intentions and the end result of the five prisoners.
John Farrelly Succeeds in Filmmaking
Red Water Entertainment
From the directing standpoint, John Farrelly did not disappoint with The Sleep Experiment. Both timelines in the story transitioned at a very good pace, while the cinematography and soundtrack are superb. With only an hour and 20-minute runtime, the film did seem short, but it gets straight to the point and doesn’t prolong the story whatsoever. The Irish psychological thriller, The Sleep Experiment, is a film worth watching and certainly payoffs as an outstanding first feature film for John Farrelly.
