The Blackout Experiment is a documentary looking at something called Blackout. What we learn about Blackout across this documentary is that it is an experience that people sign up to online, and when the team are in the vicinity they contact those who have signed up and arrange for them to take part in the experience. Blackout has a very real psychological horror feel to it. The participants are generally looking to experience some kind of traumatic, psychological, violent experience, and that is definitely what they get. They are placed in situations in which they are vulnerable and suffer quite harsh and realistic violence and abuse at the hands of the Blackout team. The participants are stripped, stuck with needles, beaten, choked and are put through many of their worst fears. This is a traumatic experience and each and every one of those interviewed comes out of it visibly and emotionally shaken, yet they are hooked and they keep returning for more. Is it the thrill of experiencing something you are anxious about in a safe environment, are they getting off on being abused, or is there something else at play?

The interviews with the participants are fascinating, they elicit various responses to the experiences they’ve been through, stretching from dealing with anxiety over being mugged, to finding personal limits of what they can cope with, or even dealing with their obsessions. Their experiences in Blackout are traumatic and lead to feelings of vulnerability and paranoia, but they keep returning for the experience. It’s almost like a drug that they can’t give up, it has gotten into their makeup and is part of who they are. One man in particular, finds it almost impossible to give up when he is told that his time with Blackout is coming to an end.

The documentary is well put together, Fox’s work as an editor means that his skills are pretty sharp. The interviews are interesting and revealing, and the whole piece works well at looking at the psychological makeup of the subjects. What makes them scared? How do they cope with their fears? What do they enjoy about being made to feel vulnerable? There is a lot of great stuff to analyse in this film about our wants, needs and fears and how the human brain processes these emotions. Overall, this is an interesting documentary, the visuals are quite hard to watch at times, but it is ultimately interesting.