TV & Movies

There’s a Russian Sleep Experiment movie you’ve never seen

Daisy Phillipson
Still from The Sleep Experiment movieRed Water Entertainment

Looking for the perfect Halloween watch? How about a little known movie about the most infamous creepypasta going? Here’s what you need to know about the Russian Sleep Experiment and the film about it. 

What is it that kickstarts an online legend? Slender Man might be the perfect example. What started out as a forum thread in 2009 has become an undeniable fixture of popular culture. As contributors added to the lore, his legend status rose, leading to the development of games, documentaries, and the 2018 movie named after the lanky, faceless humanoid. 

The most widely known creepypastas often contain elements of contemporary fears and anxieties, tapping into universal themes that resonate with a wide audience. Their spread is fueled by the internet’s vast reach and the communal aspect of storytelling, where tales are passed, modified, and amplified within digital communities, weaving them into the fabric of modern mythology. 

The allure of these legends often lies in their blurred lines between reality and fiction, which is perhaps why the Russian Sleep Experiment captured the imaginations – and the fears – of so many. Although Slender Man the movie failed miserably with audiences and critics alike, at the very least audiences knew about it – the same can’t be said about The Sleep Experiment.  

What is the Russian Sleep Experiment?

Before we get into the movie, let’s first explore the infamous and most terrifying creepypasta story ever created. Oh, and for the uninitiated, creepypasta is simply a genre of online horror fiction. 

The Russian Sleep Experiment is presented as a top-secret military-sanctioned experiment supposedly conducted by Soviet researchers in the late 1940s. According to the tale, in a sequestered location, five political prisoners were placed in a sealed gas chamber to test an experimental stimulant gas that could eliminate the need for sleep. 

The prisoners were promised their freedom if they could stay awake for 30 consecutive days. The chamber was rigged with microphones and one-way mirrors for observation. In the initial days, the subjects behaved normally, chatting and whispering to each other. But as days passed, their conversations became increasingly disturbing, and their mental states started to deteriorate. Paranoia set in, and the subjects began to whisper into the microphones, expressing distrust and suspicion towards each other.

By the ninth day, one of the subjects began screaming uncontrollably, causing him to tear his vocal chords – but none of the other prisoners reacted. Soon after, others started to exhibit extreme psychological breakdowns. They tore books apart, smeared them with their own feces, and plastered the paper over the mirrors so they could no longer be observed.

After 15 days, the researchers decided to check inside, as the chamber had become eerily silent. What they discovered was a scene of unimaginable horror. The subjects had mutilated themselves, tearing open their abdomens and removing internal organs. Despite these fatal injuries, they were still alive, showing an unnatural resistance to pain.

When the researchers attempted to remove the subjects, they violently refused, exhibiting superhuman strength. It was revealed that they had descended into a form of psychotic madness driven by a desire not to fall asleep, fearing that sleep would equal death.

In the final act of the narrative, the researchers are attacked by the prisoners. The story concludes with a chilling philosophical observation from one of the subjects, suggesting that the experiment had awakened some monstrous aspect of the human psyche.

The Russian Sleep Experiment taps into deep fears about human experimentation, the fragility of the mind, and the unknown capabilities of the human body under extreme conditions. Its graphic descriptions and philosophical underpinnings have made it a standout story in the creepypasta community, influencing many adaptations and discussions. 

It’s safe to say it’s perfect horror movie fodder. What’s most surprising isn’t that it took so long for a big screen adaptation, but rather that the movie – The Sleep Experiment – didn’t come close to the legend of its source material. So much so that it doesn’t even have a critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes or a Wikipedia page. 

Why has no one seen The Sleep Experiment?

In early 2018, John Farrelly started shooting the film in Ireland, followed by its release in 2022. There are a number of reasons why it didn’t reach the masses, notably its low budget. This is most likely why it wasn’t widely publicized.

And then there’s the fact that the story deviated from the source material, eradicating the Soviet setting – one of the draws of the original tale. Instead, the film transports viewers to Ireland in what appears to be a quasi wartime era. Rather than focusing solely on the events of the experiment, the narrative flits between this and the present day, as a group of detectives investigate the disastrous events that unfolded – and who is to blame. 

And therein lies the biggest issue with The Sleep Experiment: what so many find fascinating about the creepypasta is the idea of the human body being pushed to the limit, and the psychological turmoil the test subjects endured. But The Sleep Experiment tries too hard to establish its own narrative, building up to a mystery and focusing on the motives of those behind the one-way mirror. 

All of this culminates in one helluva cheesy monologue, made all the more so by the film’s questionable overdubbing. But that’s not to say it’s without credit, the biggest being the experiment at its foundation. There are some truly gruesome and sinister moments as the prisoners descend, as well as twists and turns that elaborate the original story in a way that makes sense. 

It might not make it to the upper echelon of horror cinema, but there’s enough to make The Sleep Experiment well worth a watch this Halloween – if nothing but to remind yourself of one of the most terrifying creepypastas in modern history. 

The Sleep Experiment is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, which you can sign up for here. And you can check out more of our Halloween coverage below: 

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