A Blind Bargain (2025) Review
A Blind Bargain (2025) Review
A Blind Bargain, starring Crispin Glover, reimagines the long-lost 1922 Lon Chaney silent horror film of the same name—this time set against a bohemian, countercultural, 1970 backdrop. Shot on Kodak film, A Blind Bargain will be in limited theatrical release—showing in 35mm in some locations—opening April 24 in NYC and May 8 in Los Angeles, with other cities/dates to be announced soon.
From visionary writer-producer-director Paul Bunnell (The Ghastly Love of Johnny X) and starring cult icon Crispin Glover (No! You’re Wrong, Willard), A Blind Bargain was shot on Kodak film and is a stylized time capsule set in 1970—an evocative throwback that will captivate cinephiles, fans of classic suspense and lovers of offbeat cinema.
Also starring Jake Horowitz (Bones and All), Lucy Loken (Teen Wolf), Annalisa Cochrane (Cobra Kai, One of Us is Lying), Amy Wright (Breaking Away, The Amityville Horror, The Deer Hunter), Sean Whalen (Never Been Kissed, Twister, That Thing You Do), Jed Rowen (Pretty Boy, Blind, The Ghastly Love of Johnny X) and Rob Mayes (Mistresses, The Client List, John Dies at the End) as “Vincent.”
Home from the Vietnam war, struggling with addiction and living with his mother, Dominic Fontaine (Horowitz) has already hit rock bottom when mom (Wright) delivers an ultimatum.
Desperate to settle a dangerous debt with a volatile drug dealer (Mayes), Dominic accepts an unexpected offer from a charming, young nurse at his clinic. The deal seems simple—and lucrative—but comes with a hidden cost. Without fully understanding the consequences, Dominic signs his mother up as a patient of the enigmatic Dr. Gruder (Glover), a morally ambiguous physician whose radical research is seeking to reverse the aging process.
At first, the arrangement seems promising—his mother thrives and he sets aside his nagging guilt. However, he soon realizes that he failed to read the fine print and that every bargain has a price—Things at the Gruder Institute are far more sinister than he ever imagined …
Reimagining the lost 1922 Lon Chaney silent film of the same name, a stylized throwback to 1970, A Blind Bargain is an evocative psychological thriller that will captivate cinephiles, fans of classic suspense and lovers of offbeat cinema.
This ‘heart-pounding psychological thriller’, as the film’s marketing blurb describes this film, resurrects and reimagines the long-lost 1922 silent horror classic A Blind Bargain, which originally showcased legendary chameleon Lon Chaney in a remarkable dual role that became one of his most talked-about performances. Deemed too amoral and unsettling for its time, the film faced heavy censorship, with its premiere delayed by extensive rewrites and cuts—yet it ultimately emerged as both a critical triumph and a box-office success.
Today, it stands as one of the most coveted lost works of Chaney’s career—a holy grail title for film preservationists and Chaney historians—with only a few theatrical lobby cards and photos known to survive as evidence of its existence.
While A Blind Bargain may be positioned as a thriller, my experience of it was something rather different—an offbeat, occasionally surreal dark comedy that leans more into quirk than tension. Whether that interpretation reflects the film’s intent or simply my own perspective is open to debate, but it undeniably shapes the viewing experience. The film never drags, maintaining a steady engagement throughout, though it rarely ventures into truly surprising territory.
What ultimately elevates the material is the strength of its ensemble cast. There’s a natural chemistry at play, with performances that feel cohesive and responsive, allowing characters to bounce off one another with ease. This dynamic lends the film a sense of liveliness that compensates for its more predictable narrative beats. Complementing this are a handful of visually inventive sequences—surreal, almost dreamlike moments that add texture and intrigue without overstaying their welcome or overshadowing the story.
It is, as ever, a pleasure to see Crispin Glover on screen, though his presence here is fleeting. As the enigmatic Dr. Gruder, he remains largely in the background until the film’s closing stages, where his impact is most keenly felt. Elsewhere, the cast is uniformly solid, but two performances stand out in particular. Rob Mayes brings a vibrant energy to the role of Vincent, the drug dealer connected to protagonist Dominic Fontaine, infusing the character with a sharp, comedic edge that enlivens every scene he inhabits. Meanwhile, Amy Wright delivers a quietly compelling performance as the older Joy Fontaine, grounding the film with an emotional arc that provides both depth and a subtle moral undercurrent.
In the end, A Blind Bargain may not fully satisfy those seeking a conventional thriller, but its eccentric tone, engaging cast, and flashes of visual creativity make it a distinctive and worthwhile watch.
Winner of “Best Feature Film” at the 2025 HPLovecraft Film Festival and an Official Selection of Fright Fest 2025.
WATCH THE TRAILER
VISIT US ONLINE
