- Directed by John Farrelly
- Written by John Farrelly
- Stars Gwynne McElveen, Barry John Kinsella, Sam McGovern
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUxtPORmMaE
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Just think how much you could get accomplished if you didn’t need to sleep. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, this unfolds showing that it’s not a good thing at all. It’s a good film though, other than a music soundtrack that was a little overbearing at times. It’s interesting watching as things fall apart more and more.
Synopsis
It’s 1961. A bunch of guys are on a truck with burlap sacks over their heads. They’re led downstairs into the basement of the place and hosed off. They’re clearly prisoners, and they are led into a room. A voice comes over the loudspeaker for them to remove their sacks. These five men have been accepted into the sleep experiment. All charges against them will be dropped if they follow the rules:
- They must stay awake for the next 30 days
- They must do physical activities when instructed
- They must obey all orders
- There will be no physical contact with each other.
- There will be an experimental gas administered to help keep them from falling asleep.
Credits roll.
Chapter One: The Investigation
Two policemen go to see Christopher about the top-secret documents that were leaked to the papers. They put him in the interrogation room and ask him about the sleep experiment from fifteen years ago. Why did it go so wrong? The police seem to imply that one of the prisoners was a serial killer or psychopath. According to reports, Christopher is the one who designed the project.
On day 1, the men get used to the room they’ll be in. Eric is one of the prisoners; he’s there for murder, and the others lie about why they’re there.
On Day 2, the men talk more about their backgrounds, and Luke and Sean argue with each other. Each of the men then has to do some physical workouts, in order, one at a time. Luke is a bit odd, Sean is a jerk, Eric is the quiet one, Patrick doesn’t have much to say either, and Edward is the older, bald man.
On day 3, they share more personal details with each other.
On day 4, the men start showing signs of sleep deprivation. The gas they’ve been breathing doesn’t remove the need for sleep, it just doesn’t let them sleep. Eric complains about the loud eating and breathing of the others. Patrick has some kind of seizure, and he’s removed by the guards.
Chapter Two: The Impostor
Patrick is returned to the group. He had a reaction to the gas because of his asthma. Luke seems to know a lot about medicine and asthma.
Back in the interrogation room, Christopher thinks one of the police officer’s fathers was involved with the experiment.
On Day 5, Luke admits that he’s killed people. They talk about justified murder. Luke tells his story about killing a little girl, and Edward gets ready to kill him before the guards intervene.
We get a flashback where Patrick is told to fake an asthma attack on certain days. He’ll be allowed to sleep during those times.
Chapter Three: The Diary
Christopher explains that by day twelve they all had experienced extreme hallucinations. Patrick has another seizure and is once again removed from the room. Eric continues to write in his diary. Eric freaks out and vomits blood on the door. Sean hears his mother’s voice. She comes to him with a noose around her neck; she killed herself because he left her. We see that Luke switches books with Patrick’s diary and reads it.
Day 13, Patrick is returned to the group again, but he doesn’t seem as messed up as the others. Are they letting him sleep outside? Luke knows that Patrick is a fake.
Chapter Four: The Yellow School Bag
Edward hugs his daughter, and he notices her yellow school bag. That bag ties in with Luke’s story about killing the girl. Luke basically admits it and then spills the beans about Patrick and his diary as a distraction. Edward threatens to kill Luke someday, but he won’t do it now, because he wants the promised pardon. Luke doesn’t let it go, so Edward kills Luke with a toilet lid. Edward then covers the see-through mirrors with blood, which blinds the scientists.
On Day 14, the researchers flood the room with sleeping gas and go in to rescue Patrick. Edward then turns on the researchers and tears them apart.
Back at the police station, Christopher winds up his story and goes home.
Chapter Five: The Missing Tape
Robert and David, the two policemen, continue their investigation. One woman talks about some atrocities in a different experiment, and she mentions that Christopher had designed more than just that one experiment…
David goes back to Christopher’s house that night and finds a room in the basement that contains a tape; the one missing tape from the experiment.
Day 24, and Edward is the only subject remaining. Christopher asks Edward if he feels guilty after killing Luke and the two soldiers. “Alive,” Edward replies. Edward wants to know if Luke really killed his daughter, and Christopher explains that he didn’t.
Christopher admits to Edward that he’s a psychopath with no qualms about killing at all. He took this job, designing experiments that would always go wrong so he could kill people without being discovered.
Turns out there was a psychopath involved in the experiment– Christopher, the lead researcher.
Commentary
This is based on a more-or-less true story– no, not really. The original story was a “creepypasta” that became immensely popular. There was never a real Russian Sleep Experiment. The original story had monsters, and this one didn’t.
The music is a little too loud, and it makes some of the dialog hard to understand at points, especially Sean, who has a pretty thick Irish accent.
It’s definitely creepy, but not supernatural in any way; it’s just a bunch of people with madness lying just below the surface. The acting is fine, except maybe for Christopher, who is a little over-the-top evil, especially at the end. The cinematography and directing were good; the main set was appropriate, the sound was good, except for the too-loud background music at times.
Overall, we liked it.