The Sleep Experiment is an Irish psychological thriller that purports in its opening text to have been inspired by true events. I'm always wary of such claims, and in this case it turns out it was actually based on a popular Creepypasta story, The Russian Sleep Experiment, which was created in 2010. Written and directed by John Farrelly (Choice) in his feature length directorial debut, this thriller keeps you hooked due to the way it drip feeds clues to the viewer, even if the eventual revelation wasn't a surprise in the slightest.
Five prisoners have been selected to take part in an experiment in which they will be kept awake for thirty days, with the promise being that at the end of the test their criminal records will be cleared and they will be free men. They are placed in a featureless room with enough supplies to last them the time period, while an experimental gas being pumped into the place will ensure the men are unable to fall asleep.
We soon learn that this took place fifteen years ago in the past. In modern day, two detectives are interviewing a scientist who was involved in the project, Christopher (Tom Kerrisk - Antlers), with the hopes he can shed some light on how this experiment got so out of hand that it led to the deaths of nine people.
I liked the way the film flipped back and forth between the past and present. While the majority of the movie takes place during the sleep experiment, the present day sections were fascinating with the way they created clues as to what was yet to occur. This is mainly a character piece, with each of the five prisoners having their own distinct personalities. There is Luke (Will Murphy), an apparent psychopath who delights at getting in the heads of the other test subjects, Sean (Brian Moore), an Irish hot-head carrying guilt about his mother, timid Eric (Steven Jess) who seems to be suffering mental health issues, kindly muscleman Edward (Rob James Capel), and the quiet asthma inflicted Patrick (Sam McGovern) who has a secret all of his own. With the exception of Patrick, the film delves into each of these characters backstories, which are mainly shared via monologues the various characters have, occasionally using a quick succession of images edited together to give brief evidence to what they are saying. Of the five it was Murphy's character who left the biggest impression, the actor seemed to relish the role he was playing of a manipulator, making for a fun and captivating performance from him. In the modern day sections (which take up roughly a fifth of the eighty minute run time), it is Kerrisk's character who was the standout person, someone who appeared to know far more than he was letting on.
The story wasn't bad, though that is retrospectively me saying that. During The Sleep Experiment I was glued to the screen, wanting to find out just how so many people ended up dying, especially when there are meant to be nine deaths despite only five people being locked in the room. The constant drip feed of breadcrumbs led for an enjoyable format, as was the decision to split the film into five different chapters, most of which have titles which in themselves set up future twists and turns. What wasn't so exciting for me was how this all concluded, with the whole final chapter leading up to a huge plot twist...which actually wasn't surprising in the slightest. The final twist was something that had been so obvious right from the very beginning that it felt odd that so much was being made of it. Due to that I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Still, often the journey is better than the destination and that is the case here. While there is plenty of dialogue, we are also shown things from the perspective of the prisoners. So, when they all inevitably start to hallucinate, we are shown the things they see, and hear the things they hear. There are some moments that require special effects, while the action is sparse, a few scenes of violence work well, mainly due to the use of light and shadow to create atmosphere.
The Sleep Experiment may fudge the landing slightly, but I was captivated throughout due to the dangling plot threads hanging about the film. I loved the back and forth between past and present, and thought in general this was a well paced film that achieved a lingering feel of mystery over its run time. The Sleep Experiment comes to Digital HD and Cable VOD on November 1st.
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