The Sleep Experiment (2022) Movie Script
1
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RICK:
Stop.
Take off the bag
and face the window.
()
RICK:
Congratulations.
You have been accepted to
take
part in The Sleep Experiment.
This experiment is being
conducted for research
purposes.
If you comply with the
following
requirements all charges
currently held against you
will
be dropped and you will be
automatically released
from your prison
sentence.
[]
RICK:
You must stay awake
for the next 30 days.
You must complete all
physical activities.
You must obey any orders
given to you without
delay.
Strictly no physical
contact between each
other.
Failure to cooperate will
result
in you returning to prison immediately.
30 days of food and
supply are included.
We have given each of you
a
diary, so that we can monitor
your thoughts and
feelings.
We will be testing an
experimental gas that will
be
administered to you to
prevent
you from falling asleep.
[]
RICK:
It is now four minutes
past midnight, May 16th, 1961.
The experiment will begin
now.
[]
[]
INVESTIGATION DAVID:
Is this the property of
Christopher Sampson?
CHRISTOPHER:
Yes.
I'm Christopher Sampson.
DAVID:
I'm Inspector David Mac Lowe.
Do you mind if I come in
for a chat?
[door closes]
We tried to call,
but there was no response.
CHRISTOPHER:
Sorry about that.
I was out of town recently.
[foot falling]
Going somewhere?
No. No.
Just clearing out
some old stuff.
Shall we?
Christopher, I believe you used
to work for the Porton
Down Chemical Defence
Establishment?
CHRISTOPHER:
I did, yes.
But that's a long time ago.
DAVID:
You were aware
of the investigation?
No, I'm not aware of any
investigation.
DAVID:
Really?
It's been in the
papers all week.
I thought you of all
people would have known.
Top secret documents on the
human experiments were leaked
to the papers.
Really?
Christopher, you wouldn't mind
coming down to the police
station
and answering a
few questions, would you?
Alright, Christopher,
thanks for coming down.
I'm sure you have better
things to be doing today.
My name is Inspector
Robert Scott.
We wanna ask you a few questions
about one experiment
in particular that you worked
on.
The Sleep Experiment.
ROBERT:
We're trying to understand
why it went so horribly wrong.
We have the original recordings
of the experiments.
And what we're gonna do,
is we're gonna break it down
into small sections.
We're gonna ask you a few
questions
and we'd like you to answer them honestly.
We'll start with Day 1.
()
Look at the state of this place.
It's not
much, but it will do.
I thought we'd have things
to do, you know,
to keep us occupied?
Are we meant to just read
books for the next 30 days?
Just think yourself
lucky you're in here and not in
prison.
SEAN:
I suppose you're right.
And there are a lot
of books, and a deck of cards.
I mean, we're bound
to be kept occupied.
EDWARD:
Anybody hungry?
SEAN:
Yeah, I'm starving.
Throw us a piece of
bread here, will you?
EDWARD:
Excuse me. You in the corner?
Are you hungry?
ERIC:
No. I'm fine, thanks.
Oh, go
on, you must be starving.
Have something.
Okay.
Thanks.
You okay?
What's your name?
It's Eric.
How does a guy
like you end up in here?
Like, how do you
end up in prison?
You don't seem like the type.
Forget to bring your book back
to the library in time or
something?
Murder.
SEAN: Murder?
[chuckles]
You?
What?
How? Who'd you kill?
Come on, tell us.
He doesn't have to
say if he doesn't want to.
Nah, he does.
No, he doesn't.
It's none of your business.
No, no, no. I think it is.
If I'm gonna spend the next
30 days with him, in here.
And he's murdered someone.
I wanna know his
intentions if I kill him.
LUKE:
Why are you in here?
Robbery.
And you?
I didn't pay my taxes.
[]
Can you tell me why those
particular men were chosen for
the experiment?
Oh well, it's been so long. I--
DAVID:
As a psychologist, your job is
to psycho-analyze the subjects,
is it not?
Yes.
But as you know, our main
priority was to ensure the
experiment was completed.
I simply recommended the men
I felt had the best chance of
doing that.
On what basis?
Their desire to leave prison.
They all had very long sentences
and obviously
any man would do anything for
his freedom.
But surely there are
more factors when choosing
someone besides their
desire to leave?
You know something like um,
their background, mental state,
if they're a serial
killer or not.
[]
Right, so
girlfriend's
pissed off at me.
So I said to meself, I'm
getting the fuck out of here.
So, jumped on a boat, headed
out to England and here I am.
Blimey, what did you do?
SEAN:
Anything. Anything I could
get me a hands on.
Took any job that anywhere I
could, Eventually,
got a job in the docks in
Liverpool.
Did your father beat you?
SEAN:
What?
LUKE:
Did your
father beat you?
What are you talking about?
LUKE:
Did he?
Seriously.
What way of a thing
is that to say?
Huh. Look at the way you're
holding yourself.
Like, do you know what you
look like to me, you're like a
terrier.
You're quick tempered
and you're rude.
You're putting on this tough-guy
act and this
deep voice you're trying to
talk, it is
really quite amusing.
Jesus. Shut the fuck up, will
ya?
There's some pain inside
that you're channeling into this
anger.
What-- what-- what is it?
My father never beat me.
I never had a dad.
LUKE:
So that's what's wrong?
No.
-But there is something.
-You wanna shut the fuck up,
mate.
I just don't like seeing
people ungrateful, is all.
-SEAN: Ungrateful?
-Yes, ungrateful?
Ungrateful that
grew up a man with no da.
Ungrateful that me ma had to
walk every single day of the
week to put food on the table.
Ungrateful that I couldn't
afford to stay in school?
Ungrateful, that me
life is a fucking mess?
Yeah, I'm fucking ungrateful.
Growing up, my mother was
paralyzed from the neck down.
Seeing how helpless she was made
me appreciate everything that I
had.
Didn't really have a home.
One day, I'd stay with my
aunt's, another my uncle's.
One day I asked, uh.
[]
"Mummy,
all my friends' mummy's meet
them after school.
And they all get hugs
from their mummy's.
Can you hug me?
" She didn't say anything, but
a tear rolled down her face.
It was the first time
I saw her crying.
Since then, I've always
appreciated everything that I
have.
If you have two working legs,
two arms, two eyes, two ears.
You have nothing to whine about.
So stop complaining.
[]
Why would
Luke look for sympathy from
Sean?
I thought psychos
can't feel sympathy.
No, they can't.
But they can feel lonely.
Psychopaths are
extremely isolated.
They find it very difficult
to relate to anyone.
Out of curiosity, what
are the traits of a psychopath?
[]
Well, some of the traits would
be
dishonesty, lack of guilt,
manipulativeness.
Reckless risk-taking.
He or she will con and
manipulate those around them
using charisma and intimidation.
And they can effectively mimic
feelings that present
as normal to society.
For pleasure, they torture and
murder animals and humans.
It makes them feel something
inside
that empty soul of theirs.
So how do you know
when you're speaking to one?
You don't.
RICK:
You will begin the physical
exercises now.
We will do them in order of
Sean, Luke,
Eric, Edward, and
Patrick.
You have 60 seconds to
perform
as many push-ups as you can.
So team, please step forward
to
begin the physical exercises.
Please get into
the ready position.
The timer will begin in 5,
4,
3, 2, 1,
begin.
EDWARD (VO):
I felt sorry for Eric the most.
He was like a fish out of water.
How did an innocent kid end
up in a place like this?
Well, I suppose I never thought
I'd end up here either.
I like Eric though,
he's a nice guy.
Sean, on the other hand,
seems a bit obnoxious.
Patrick is a good guy, and I can
see me and him getting on over
the next few days.
I don't really know
what to think of Luke.
He's a bit odd.
But it's still a bit too early
to form an opinion on someone.
The way I look at it, it's 30
days until I see my family
again.
This experiment is a
blessing for my girl.
And I'm not gonna
take it for granted.
I know my little girl Isabelle
is out there watching me.
[]
What was the purpose of creating
this gas?
CHRISTOPHER:
It was for the military, David.
If a soldier doesn't need to
sleep, they have a distinct
advantage over the enemy.
So why were
the diaries added?
Diaries? Could you elaborate?
When we read the
proposal for the experiment,
the proposal that got funding,
there was no diaries.
It was solely testing the
physical side effects of sleep
deprivation.
So why were the diaries added?
Well, it's easier to ask for
forgiveness than for permission.
You see Robert, the
mind controls the body.
And as a psychologist, I took
the opportunity of further
studying the human mind in
a controlled environment.
And what attracted you to work
there?
What do you mean?
What made you wanna work
in a place that treated people
like human guinea pigs?
You could say that I was
brainwashed into thinking
that what I was doing was for
greater good of the British
Empire.
The things we did, as horrible
as they were,
brought about a lot of good to
the world.
It's just unfortunate
about the bad.
Interesting.
Because you were the one who
designed the experiment.
Now that's not true!
I only worked as a psychologist
during my time at Porton Down.
But not in
this experiment.
We know you were the one who
designed the experiment and gave
Roger Morgan the
plans to conduct.
DAVID: Along with Roger, all the
other people who worked on that
experiment said that
you designed it.
CHRISTOPHER:
Luck.
I was young.
Trying to impress my superiors.
And I was afraid that we would
not get funding due to my
inexperience.
So why does an
inexperienced psychologist
design an experiment testing the
physical side effects of sleep
deprivation for the military?
And then deny it.
DAVID:
Christopher, I don't think
you're telling us the truth.
[]
Whose up for a game of cards?
Yeah, I'm in.
-EDWARD: Patrick?
-Oh ah, no thanks.
Not really into it. I'll just
uh, observe.
Luke?
What's in it for me?
It's just
a game of cards.
LUKE:
No, no, no. You got to uh,
spice it up a bit.
You know, uh,
how about the winner
gets to piss in a cup
and all the losers have
to take a sip from it.
-No.
-Fuck off.
LUKE:
Well, how the
game be intense?
-But can't we just have an
ordinary game of cards?
-You're sick in the head.
Anyway, why
are you doing this?
SEAN:
Ah, you know yourself.
I just wanna get out.
[indistinct speech] You know.
Nah, I think
there's something else.
Need to get back home.
LUKE:
Why?
Just because.
Want to see your family?
SEAN:
Sort of.
[]
What, your mother? Your
girlfriend?
You know, I used to do
a bit of drama when I was in
school as a young lad.
I always wanted to be an actor,
but couldn't uh,
me mum came along.
One day,
seeing her after the
play and I said to her,
"Why are you crying, Ma?
" She was crying.
She said to me she was so proud.
One line I had, one line.
I got a bit older.
I started acting like shit, you
know hanging around with a few
dodgy heads.
Stopped coming home on time.
I'd stay out on the
weekends and stuff.
Me mum, when I come home you
know,
she'd be waiting up for me.
I'd be like, "Ma, what
are you doing staying up?
" She would sit and talk to me.
Sean-- [indistinct speech] .
And I'd just be like, "Fuck off
Ma, go to bed.
I can't be talking.
" [indistinct speech]
And up she goes.
Can't get to sleep
until I get home.
Moved off to England.
Didn't tell her, I
just disappeared.
I had been away from home
for don't know how long.
I know she'd stop me.
I know she'd try to get me home.
Anyway, I roll home and a week
later, a good week later,
I got a letter from me aunty.
Saying,
"your mother's dead".
One fucking person in this world
that loved me, that believed in
me.
She died without knowing where
I was, what happened to me.
Fucking broke her heart.
Is it a coincidence of
all the men chosen
suffered from significant trauma
in their past?
I shouldn't be here.
I'm innocent.
CHRISTOPHER:
If you look
at the lives of most criminals,
you'll see they all experience
something traumatic.
Did not matter what they
had done in the past.
We just wanted them to complete
the experiment, and that's why
they were chosen.
About three years ago,
my daughter never came home one
night after being out.
CHRISTOPHER:
If you wish to
understand Robert, how we could
do all of those horrible things,
then you must realize that we
were doing our job.
ROBERT:
Your job was
running unethical experiments on
naive, vulnerable men--
Those men volunteered by choice.
They would have rotted away in
jail if we didn't give them a
second chance to
redeem themselves.
She was 14.
She always came home.
This night she didn't.
See, I-- I'm not sure
those men were fully aware of
what they were signing
themselves up for.
-Christopher, you personally-
-DAVID: My time--
Designed an
experiment that resulted in the
deaths of nine people.
What are you writing?
It's just you've been
writing for some time now.
One of the tapes, uh
tape number 24 was missing.
I just have a lot on my mind.
DAVID:
For certain
procedures and protocols,
that are put in place to
protect the subjects.
Not only did you break them,
you completely ignored them.
What are you
in here for Eric?
They were either in for
murder or attempted murder.
Even a child could see, they're
putting all those men in the
same room for 30 days without
sleep is a recipe for disaster.
Are you still
not gonna tell us?
Eric strangled a
man to death for God's sake!
Eric wasn't some kind of
cold-hearted killer.
He had been bullied
his whole life.
Poor Eric.
He ended up living
a miserable life.
Now, I'm not just defying
that what he did was right.
But the poor man was
a ticking time bomb.
Like us all.
There's only so
much one can take.
[]
[Patrick coughing]
You stop breathing please?
Just not-- not so loud, please.
Just stop breathing loud.
Nobody's breathing loudly.
I don't know-- I
don't why it's annoying me.
It's just-- just please stop.
Do you want us
to kill ourselves?
What? No.
He wants us to
stop breathing, right?
[coughing in background]
ERIC:
Can you stop eating too please,
loudly?
Just I'm sorry, please stop.
I'll eat and breathe
if I want to, mate.
Just-- just not loud. Just not
loud, please.
Just stop!
Can you stop?
[Patrick coughing]
ERIC:
It's hurting my head.
Stop coughing so loud.
It's hurting my head.
He's fucking dying!
-ERIC: Stop that!
-[Patrick coughing]
EDWARD:
Patrick, you okay? Patrick?
What's wrong?
We need help with him!
RICK:
We are opening the doors to
the room.
Step away from the door
and stand with your back
against
the opposite wall.
[]
[Patrick breathing heavily]
[]
[]
[]
RICK:
Everyone, stop what you're
doing. The door will be opened.
Stand up and stand at the
opposite wall to the
door.
EDWARD:
Hey.
What happened to you?
Ah, um, they said that my system
reacted badly to the gas.
Something to do with that.
So, I've bad asthma.
LUKE:
Asthma?
Yeah, asthma.
What type of asthma?
[chuckles]
Umm, I don't know.
I just know that I have asthma.
LUKE:
You're not allergic to anything?
No.
There's six different types
of asthma.
Right, well, I've
always just been told since I
was a child that I have asthma.
You were away for a while.
PATRICK:
I know.
What happened?
Ahh, doctors
injected me with something.
Um, they ran a few
tests on my body.
I really don't
know, to be honest.
EDWARD:
Did they keep you awake?
Oh yeah. Yeah, of course.
So why are you here?
Sorry?
LUKE:
You said it
yourself the gas was reacting
badly with your system.
So why did they put
you back in here?
Oh, they've said that
they've lowered the amount of
gas entering the room.
LUKE:
That doesn't make sense.
You should've either had an
asthma attack when you first
entered or should be
having one right now.
How do you know so much?
LUKE:
I just do.
Maybe you
should work for them.
So it was your decision
to ultimately break protocol?
Myself and the others just tried
to get the best possible result.
You were the
one who designed it.
Correct? So therefore,
you are the one at fault.
Everyone that worked on all the
experiments was at fault.
ROBERT:
No.
You're the one who
designed the experiment.
-You're the one who added the
diaries without any permission.
-Wrong.
You're the one who chose
unstable murderers without any
-permission.
-I know that.
But everything I did was
with good intentions.
I promise you.
I just wanted to get the best
results possible to make sure
the experiment was a success.
-Because of your good
intentions, nine people died.
-DAVID: Robert? Robert?!
-Of course, I know that!
-Robert!
How do you think that makes me
feel?
You think I wanted
this to happen?
You think I wanted
those men to die?
I was just doing my fucking job!
You realize what you
did is a criminal offence.
-And you're gonna go to prison
for a long, long time.
-Robert, stand down!
Get your fucking hands off of
me!
I left Porton Down 15 years ago,
because I could not live with
myself after what had happened.
And now I'm facing jail time.
Even though I've been minding
my own business doing my own
fucking thing for
the last 15 years.
Tell me Robert,
why is this
case so important to you?
What do you mean?
Oh, it's clear.
You have a very strong emotional
connection to the case.
Emotional connection?
Yes. It's in the way you speak.
How you ask questions and
how you react to my answers.
You ask questions hoping
that I'm guilty, don't you?
Now why is that though?
Did you know someone that
took part in the experiment?
No?
Oh yes. That's it, isn't it?
Now who was it, I wonder?
You would have been too young.
So it can't have been a friend.
It would have been
someone much closer.
It was a parent, wasn't it?
Yes.
It was your father.
You grew up with pure hatred
for Porton Down and all of the
people that worked there.
And now finally, you get to
have--
Instead of making up
stories about my partner,
just answer the questions.
Making up stories?
Why don't we ask Robert?
Burn marks all
over his face and body.
What?
Fucking what?
The kids at school used to
laugh at him, because of how he
looked. They said he looked
like a monster.
-DAVID: Robert?
-All because-- shut the fuck up!
-All because he volunteered--
-[indistinct speech]
He looked like a monster!
DAVID:
... fuck out of here.
What the fuck was that in there?
No wonder you were so keen
to get involved
in this investigation.
Why didn't you tell
me about your father?
I didn't think it mattered.
Fucking idget.
You should never have been
involved in this investigation.
This reflects poorly
on me, for fuck's sake.
I'm trying to
do the right thing.
DAVID:
You were manhandling
him in there.
Do you have any idea
who his connections are?
Fuck his connections.
DAVID:
You need to look at
this with a non-biased approach.
I am.
He was just doing his job.
Designing experiments
was not part of his job.
If it might break a procedure.
But David, I'm not
gonna argue with you.
Let's go in, finish
this fucking interview.
So, where were we?
[]
LUKE:
Here, Sean.
You'll do anything for
your mother, right?
Huh?
LUKE:
I'm serious. Imagine if your
mother was still alive.
SEAN:
You're serious, yeah?
Listen.
What lengths would you go
to to protect your mother?
To-- to-- to make sure
that she felt loved.
Would you, uh...
Why you asking me?
We have this thing in
common and it seems that we're
doing this experiment
for our mothers.
And?
I've killed people.
Oh, so the taxes
thing was bullshit?
Yes.
-Why'd you lie?
-That's no important.
Look I-- what I'm trying to say
is,
if you have a right reason
to kill someone, is
that justifiable?
No.
I don't know. I think some
people have it coming.
Who'd you kill?
Anyone that mistreated
or disrespected my mother.
Man, woman, child.
You're sick
in the fucking head.
Really?
Yes.
You would
actually murder a child?
If I had a reason to, yes.
What exactly does a
child have to do for you to
justify killing them?
Why are you even in here?
You're seriously don't have
a response to that here?
Calm down.
And listen to what
I have to say.
And then, you'll
understand why I did it.
So I'm sat at home
with my mother.
Just the two of us,
minding our own business.
When I hear this noise.
Bang, bang, bang.
I look outside and I see a
small group running away.
They threw stones at the house.
My old disabled mother's house.
Luckily, I saw one of the group.
Little girl with a
bright yellow school bag.
For a week,
I waited outside
every school in the area
to try to find that bag again.
Until eventually I did.
I saw her.
And I followed her home.
I saw she hung out with her
friends and when she was alone,
and then I kidnapped her.
I kidnapped her.
And I tied her to a post.
And I threw stones.
At her naked body.
Over and over again.
You sick fuck.
SEAN:
Fucking monster.
How sick do you have to
be to throw stones at an
-old disabled woman's home?
-RICK: Luke and Edward, step
away from each other immediately.
I repeat, step away
from each other.
Immediately.
-[indistinct speech]
-No. Look at what she was doing.
Her and all her friends.
She had it coming.
-RICK: Stand with both hands
on the wall, now.
-You bastard.
RICK:
I repeat,
stand with both
hands firmly on the wall.
Now!
[]
[choking]
[indistinct whispers]
Excuse me?
Excuse me?
It's me.
[]
I'm sorry, they're--
they're gone.
It's okay.
[]
[laughing noises]
[crying]
Please. Please, let me out.
There's too many people here.
Please.
There's nothing to do.
Supposed to be five of us.
I think I want to stop.
Please let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[screaming]
Let me out!
Let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
[screaming]
[coughing]
[]
[]
By day 12 they all began to
experience extreme
hallucinations.
[screaming]
What the fuck?
-No!
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean,
where have you gone?
No. No.
-No, please.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Why did you
leave?
Please no.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Why did you have to?
Please no. Go.
-Sorry.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Please, Sean.
I'm begging you to
come home, Sean.
SEAN: Why?
SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean?
Ma, please! What the fuck!
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Where are you?
-[screams]
SEAN'S MOTEHR:
Come back home.
You left me all alone.
SEAN:
I'm sorry.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You left me all alone.
You broke my heart!
You broke my heart!
SEAN:
Get me fucking out of here.
Get me out of here!
Get me fucking out of here!
It's fucking not ending.
[indistinct speech]
Go fucking home!
Get the fuck, get
me out of here!
You!
It's fucking animals.
[]
[laughs]
[laughing]
[]
[child crying]
[]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Why did you leave me, Sean?
What did I do?
Come back to me.
Please Sean.
I'm begging you to
come home, Sean.
Sean?
Oh Sean.
Where are you, Sean?
Come back home.
Please come home to mummy.
I miss you so much.
No. No, I don't.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
I miss you.
No, I know you're not here.
[overlapping speech]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Come on, Sean.
I love you.
I love you so, so much.
I want you to be here.
Let me hug you and love you.
Please, please.
Please ma!
Don't do that to me!
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Sean.
Don't do that to me.
Don't!
SEAN'S MOTHER (VO):
Sean, where are you?
Sean.
Sean?
-SEAN: No, I'm losing it.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean, this is
your fault.
Uh-uh.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
This is your fault.
I know you're not here.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You killed me, Sean.
You-- you made me do this.
[]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You killed me, Sean!
Look at what you've done.
[screaming]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
How could you do this
to your own mother?
[screaming continues]
[pants]
[]
RICK:
Everyone, please stand at the
opposite wall to the door immediately
as we are opening the
door
to the testing room.
I repeat, please stand at
the
opposite wall to the door as we
are opening the door
to the testing room.
[]
[]
That's when we realized we had
made a huge mistake.
And what was that?
We weren't watching Luke.
[]
[Patrick gasping]
Excuse me?
Excuse me?
It's me.
Can you do something?
I'm sorry for the cough.
It's okay.
Please. Please let me out.
There's too many people here.
Please.
This wasn't the deal.
There's supposed
to be five of us.
Please, I wanna stop.
Please let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[Eric screams]
ERIC:
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[Eric screams]
No, let me out!
Let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
[screams]
[Eric coughs]
[Eric takes deep breaths]
[]
RESEARCHER:
[indistinct speech]
Are you sure you want to go
ahead with this?
-Yes.
-Great.
There are just a few documents
that we want you to sign.
On Day 4, 12 and 21,
we will want you to fake the
asthma attacks.
How will I
know what day it is?
CHRISTOPHER:
You will hear a
church bell play through the
speakers every 24 hours.
We'll take you out
of the room on those days,
so that we can evaluate
your physical and mental
deterioration.
You will then be allocated
12 hours of sleep.
And injected with a
shot of noradrenaline.
As a safety precaution, we want
you to stay
as close as possible to the
testing room door, in case of an
emergency.
PATRICK:
In the event
that anything does happen,
I want a guarantee that my wife
and my son will be looked after.
Patrick, I promise
you everything will be okay.
[]
Remember, if anything goes
wrong, just get as close to the
door as possible and
we'll send someone in.
Yeah, I know.
Oh Patrick, take this.
What's this?
I've added these diaries for all
the men in the experiment.
There's already
stuff written in here?
That's just some background
information on the prisoners.
Are you sure
this is a good idea?
You being in the room,
I'd like you to document
what you see.
In case we miss something.
Alright.
Good luck, Patrick.
[]
[]
She's not there.
She's not there.
[girl crying]
[]
You're safe. I found you.
I found you.
Daddy's here.
You're safe now.
[indistinct speech] I promise.
I promise.
Don't leave me please.
You're safe.
LUKE:
Little girl with
a bright yellow school bag.
For a week,
I waited outside
every school in the area.
I was trying to
find that bag again.
Until eventually I did.
I kidnapped her.
And I tied her to a pole.
And I threw stones
at her naked body.
Over and over again.
[]
Bastard!
LUKE:
What are you on about?
SEAN:
Don't do it, Edward.
Think of your family.
-Think of your family!
-You killed her!
You killed her! My daughter!
-And you killed her!
-If you ever want to see
your wife and your child again,
you will let go of me right this
instant.
You killed her!
You fucking killed her.
Edward, you
are losing your mind.
Well, how could I possibly
have killed your daughter?
-Liar!
-That man is the liar.
Sorry, what?
Go on, Patrick.
Tell us your little secrets.
Tell us who you really are.
What's he on about?
Patrick hasn't been
telling us who he really is.
Is that right?
Go on. Show us your little
diary.
Oh, you don't know
where it is, do you?
There it is.
What is it, Edward?
Nope, just...
-Who are you?
-I can explain.
LUKE:
He's one of them.
He's one of the researchers.
Listen, I took part in
the experiment, like you did.
LUKE:
Patrick,
you're sweating.
Are you feeling alright?
You're very warm, Patrick.
You're not gonna have one of
those asthma attacks, are you?
[chuckles]
EDWARD:
Get away from him!
LUKE:
Why? A minute ago you were angry
at me for lying and it's just
turned out that he's been lying
to us this whole time
about everything.
I don't give a fuck about him.
It's you!
How could you even consider
giving him a second chance?
I didn't know that
he killed children.
This-- this is-- this is new.
It's new information. I'm--
EDWARD:
He's admitted it!
He's admitted it on tape.
You got it on tape.
You got evidence on tape.
Put him back in prison.
Fuck your experiment.
Put him back in prison.
Go on, Patrick. Tell him.
Tell me what?
Everything's that's
been said is strictly
confidential and used for
research purposes only.
It's all there in the fine
prints had you bothered
to read it before signing up for
this.
You better be
fucking kidding me!
I'll be sure to write you
a postcard when I get outside.
EDWARD:
I'm gonna kill you one day.
Go on. Hit me then.
I'd love to but I got
a family out there.
[chuckles]
LUKE:
This is great.
I'll tell you what, Luke.
Fuck you and fuck your
disabled whore of a mother.
[]
What colored eyes
did your daughter have?
EDWARD:
Shut up.
Green eyes and black hair,
wasn't it?
EDWARD:
Shut up!
And what color school bag
did she use?
EDWARD:
Shut it now.
It was yellow, wasn't it?
EDWARD:
Shut up!
LUKE:
I know everything about you
and you know nothing about me.
EDWARD:
Shut up.
You know what your daughter
said to me before I killed her?
EDWARD:
Shut your mouth.
She was screaming
for her daddy.
-"Daddy, daddy."
-EDWARD: Shut your mouth.
And you weren't
there to rescue her.
I told her I'd let her go
if she did things to me.
Want to know what she did?
[chuckles]
EDWARD:
Fucking nonsense!
Cunt!
I'll fucking kill you.
[chuckles]
-LUKE: You will never see
your family again.
-EDWARD: You bastard nuts!
-[Luke chuckles]
-EDWARD: Nuts!
SEAN:
Luke, you have a chance.
Edward, don't do this. Don't do
this.
What he did was wrong,
but please don't do it.
-No!
-Edward no.
SEAN:
Oh Jesus.
[Edward breathes heavily]
I'm not a killer.
I'm not a killer. I'm not a
killer. Please.
I didn't do it. I didn't do it,
please.
I-- I didn't do it.
Please. You didn't see anything.
You didn't see anything.
Please. Please.
You didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see it.
Please.
Please.
[banging the door]
We couldn't see inside
the test room,
because Edward had completely
covered the observation window
with Luke's blood.
TOM:
What the
hell are we waiting for?
Let's get Patrick out of there.
CHRISTOPHER: Wait.
-We don't have the time to wait.
What are we meant to do? Barge
in there
and shoot them all dead?
If we go in, Patrick dies.
Let's not do
anything irrational.
Well, unless you
have a better plan, Christopher.
I suggest this is
our only option.
There is
no need for panic here.
We could turn it off.
The gas.
It's stopping the process
of melatonin, right?
That's what's
keeping them awake.
If we turn it off,
they all fall asleep.
It will just be a matter of
going in and taking Patrick out
when he's sleeping.
That could work.
CHRISTOPHER:
And how can we be absolutely
sure that they'll
fall asleep?
What if we flooded the
room with Desflurane, combined
with nitrous oxide?
Sleeping gas.
[]
[]
PATRICK:
No.
Get out!
Get out!
Get out of here!
[]
[men screaming]
[screaming]
No. Take me back to my mother.
Take me back please!
No, please.
Please.
No. Please.
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct shouting on tape]
[]
And that's
where it cuts off.
As I said before,
what happened was horrific.
But we were brainwashed by the
propaganda the government was
feeding us.
It was just devastating what
those men went through.
But I promise, all I wanted to
do, was get the best results
possible for the experiment.
[sighs]
I can't tell you enough how much
I regret it.
But listening back to
that now,
it's tough.
[sighs]
Knowing that I was a part of it,
of ever having worked in that
research facility.
Oh, and Robert,
I am truly
sorry about your father.
I'm just happy that you've
finally found justice for him.
Gentlemen, if you need anything
else,
you know where to find me.
Thank you for your time.
Robert.
David.
Thank you, gentlemen.
[]
[indistinct chatter in
background]
So what are we gonna do about
Christopher?
He's-- he's
not the worst part.
I mean, he'll do the
necessary punishment.
Come on.
I think we should continue on
with the investigation.
Look into the researches and who
knows what else will pop up.
[]
We were working with sea water.
Their candidates would drink
nothing but salt water.
And they became
completely dehydrated.
When they were put back in the
cells they would lick the floors
in the hope that some fresh
water was left behind after they
were mopped.
And what were
you trying to achieve?
We were
creating
different dissolvents to see
if they could desalinate
the salt water.
And we were unsuccessful.
What was your role in
this particular experiment?
I was one of
the chemical engineers.
You know, luckily, the lead
researcher, Christopher, he--
well he knew I couldn't
tolerate anything too graphic.
So, he made sure I saw
as little as possible.
Christopher who?
I'm-- I'm not sure.
Christopher Sampson?
Oh yes. Yes, that was it.
DAVID:
Are you sure it was him?
There's no record of
his name in this experiment?
Really?
No, he was completely adamant
about making this experiment a
reality.
In fact, he was very
enthusiastic about all the
experiments he designed.
Wait.
Are you saying he designed
other experiments?
JULIE-ANN:
Yes.
Well, I worked with him on many.
Let's go right now.
Um, uh, we're gonna have to
cut this interview short.
I'm sorry.
[]
DAVID: Christopher?
Christopher, are you there?
Christopher?
CHRISTOPHER:
Day 24.
Edward, the remaining
subject is still
conscious.
He is in critical condition
and
it's estimated that he will die
soon due to infection.
Therefore, I am going to
conduct
one final interview with him.
Hello, Edward.
My name is Christopher Sampson.
I'd like to ask you a few
questions regarding the
experiment if you don't mind.
Go fuck yourself.
Edward, this will be a lot
easier if you cooperate.
What's
gonna happen to me?
You broke
the rules, Edward.
You already know.
Let me ask one question.
I'll let you see your
family again one more time.
What do you want?
How did it feel to end the life
of another human being.
Did you feel guilty?
No.
Did you feel guilty
when you killed those two
soldiers?
No.
Can you describe how you felt
after killing them?
Alive.
Thank you, Edward.
That's all I need to know.
[]
Wait!
Did Luke kill my daughter?
Please. I deserve to know.
The human mind is amazing.
What it does to make
us feel comfort.
What it does to make us
justify our mistakes.
Luke never killed
your daughter, Edward.
He'd been in prison a long time
before she ever went missing.
It was the idea of vengeance and
revenge for your daughter
that consumed you.
Always looking for answers.
Searching for the truth.
Luke caught on to this and
you fell into his trap.
You allowed Luke to
get into your head.
That's not true.
He knew her.
He knew details about her.
CHRISTOPHER:
Did he?
Or did you just tell
yourself he did?
You don't know
what you're talking about.
CHRISTOPHER:
Look at yourself, Edward.
You killed Luke.
You ripped the organs out of
those two men's bodies with your
bare hands.
You sacrificed the only chance
you ever had of seeing your
family again.
For what?
Self-gratification?
To give yourself a
sense of purpose?
You'll never see your family
again, because of you.
That's the difference
between you and I, Edward.
I'm not pretending to
be someone I'm not.
I know what I am.
What are you? A monster?
It was very apparent that I was
quite
different from all those
around me growing up.
I was aware of other people's
actions, not matching my own.
I didn't feel as they felt.
[]
I felt nothing.
I couldn't understand what all
the fuss about murdering and
death was.
Just made me more curious to
know what it would feel like to
kill.
It started as cravings at first.
I used to torture my pet dog.
But it wasn't until I strangled
him to death that I felt
something.
And it made me feel alive.
But I had to stop, because
murder is frowned upon in
this civilized society of ours.
But that feeling of utter
dominance
you get from a kill,
it starts to grow inside.
And soon it becomes
pure compulsion.
And you have to kill
again and again.
So that's why I work here.
I designed the
experiments to go wrong.
Make them look like an accident.
Accidents happen all the
time in a place like this.
And the government just comes
along and covers them up.
But it made me wonder,
why me?
Why am I the only one like this?
Or could anyone given the right
circumstances,
take the life of another human
being and enjoy it?
So I designed this.
The Sleep Experiment.
Take away basic human needs and
you're left with war and chaos.
So I deprived you of
a basic human need.
The need to sleep.
That's why you were chosen.
That's why all of
you were chosen.
You'd all shown signs of this
madness
that I believe lurks deep inside
us all.
Deep down, suppressed,
just waiting to be unleashed.
Out of curiosity, what
are the traits of a psychopath?
CHRISTOPHER:
Some of the traits would be
dishonesty, lack
of guilt, manipulativeness.
They gravitate towards torturing
and murdering humans
and animals.
Psychopaths want to be
acknowledged for their
achievements.
How they tricked and deceived
everyone around for so long.
ROBERT:
So how do you know
when you're speaking to one?
CHRISTOPHER:
You don't.
[]
He rocks in the tree tops
all day long
Hoppin' and a-boppin'
And a-singing his song
All the little birds on
Jaybird Street
Love to hear the robin go
tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Oh, rockin' robin
'Cause we're really gonna rock
tonight
Tweet, tweet
tweedle-lee-dee
Every little swallow,
every chick-a-dee
Every little bird in the tall
oak tree
The wise old owl, the big
black crow
Flappin' their wings singing
go bird go
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Oh, rockin' robin
'Cause we're really gonna rock
tonight
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Alright, yeah
[]
Well, a pretty little raven at
the bird-band stand
Taught him how to do the bop,
and it was grand
They started going steady and
bless my soul
He out-bopped the buzzard
and the oriole
He rocks in the tree top all
day long
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
RICK:
Stop.
Take off the bag
and face the window.
()
RICK:
Congratulations.
You have been accepted to
take
part in The Sleep Experiment.
This experiment is being
conducted for research
purposes.
If you comply with the
following
requirements all charges
currently held against you
will
be dropped and you will be
automatically released
from your prison
sentence.
[]
RICK:
You must stay awake
for the next 30 days.
You must complete all
physical activities.
You must obey any orders
given to you without
delay.
Strictly no physical
contact between each
other.
Failure to cooperate will
result
in you returning to prison immediately.
30 days of food and
supply are included.
We have given each of you
a
diary, so that we can monitor
your thoughts and
feelings.
We will be testing an
experimental gas that will
be
administered to you to
prevent
you from falling asleep.
[]
RICK:
It is now four minutes
past midnight, May 16th, 1961.
The experiment will begin
now.
[]
[]
INVESTIGATION DAVID:
Is this the property of
Christopher Sampson?
CHRISTOPHER:
Yes.
I'm Christopher Sampson.
DAVID:
I'm Inspector David Mac Lowe.
Do you mind if I come in
for a chat?
[door closes]
We tried to call,
but there was no response.
CHRISTOPHER:
Sorry about that.
I was out of town recently.
[foot falling]
Going somewhere?
No. No.
Just clearing out
some old stuff.
Shall we?
Christopher, I believe you used
to work for the Porton
Down Chemical Defence
Establishment?
CHRISTOPHER:
I did, yes.
But that's a long time ago.
DAVID:
You were aware
of the investigation?
No, I'm not aware of any
investigation.
DAVID:
Really?
It's been in the
papers all week.
I thought you of all
people would have known.
Top secret documents on the
human experiments were leaked
to the papers.
Really?
Christopher, you wouldn't mind
coming down to the police
station
and answering a
few questions, would you?
Alright, Christopher,
thanks for coming down.
I'm sure you have better
things to be doing today.
My name is Inspector
Robert Scott.
We wanna ask you a few questions
about one experiment
in particular that you worked
on.
The Sleep Experiment.
ROBERT:
We're trying to understand
why it went so horribly wrong.
We have the original recordings
of the experiments.
And what we're gonna do,
is we're gonna break it down
into small sections.
We're gonna ask you a few
questions
and we'd like you to answer them honestly.
We'll start with Day 1.
()
Look at the state of this place.
It's not
much, but it will do.
I thought we'd have things
to do, you know,
to keep us occupied?
Are we meant to just read
books for the next 30 days?
Just think yourself
lucky you're in here and not in
prison.
SEAN:
I suppose you're right.
And there are a lot
of books, and a deck of cards.
I mean, we're bound
to be kept occupied.
EDWARD:
Anybody hungry?
SEAN:
Yeah, I'm starving.
Throw us a piece of
bread here, will you?
EDWARD:
Excuse me. You in the corner?
Are you hungry?
ERIC:
No. I'm fine, thanks.
Oh, go
on, you must be starving.
Have something.
Okay.
Thanks.
You okay?
What's your name?
It's Eric.
How does a guy
like you end up in here?
Like, how do you
end up in prison?
You don't seem like the type.
Forget to bring your book back
to the library in time or
something?
Murder.
SEAN: Murder?
[chuckles]
You?
What?
How? Who'd you kill?
Come on, tell us.
He doesn't have to
say if he doesn't want to.
Nah, he does.
No, he doesn't.
It's none of your business.
No, no, no. I think it is.
If I'm gonna spend the next
30 days with him, in here.
And he's murdered someone.
I wanna know his
intentions if I kill him.
LUKE:
Why are you in here?
Robbery.
And you?
I didn't pay my taxes.
[]
Can you tell me why those
particular men were chosen for
the experiment?
Oh well, it's been so long. I--
DAVID:
As a psychologist, your job is
to psycho-analyze the subjects,
is it not?
Yes.
But as you know, our main
priority was to ensure the
experiment was completed.
I simply recommended the men
I felt had the best chance of
doing that.
On what basis?
Their desire to leave prison.
They all had very long sentences
and obviously
any man would do anything for
his freedom.
But surely there are
more factors when choosing
someone besides their
desire to leave?
You know something like um,
their background, mental state,
if they're a serial
killer or not.
[]
Right, so
girlfriend's
pissed off at me.
So I said to meself, I'm
getting the fuck out of here.
So, jumped on a boat, headed
out to England and here I am.
Blimey, what did you do?
SEAN:
Anything. Anything I could
get me a hands on.
Took any job that anywhere I
could, Eventually,
got a job in the docks in
Liverpool.
Did your father beat you?
SEAN:
What?
LUKE:
Did your
father beat you?
What are you talking about?
LUKE:
Did he?
Seriously.
What way of a thing
is that to say?
Huh. Look at the way you're
holding yourself.
Like, do you know what you
look like to me, you're like a
terrier.
You're quick tempered
and you're rude.
You're putting on this tough-guy
act and this
deep voice you're trying to
talk, it is
really quite amusing.
Jesus. Shut the fuck up, will
ya?
There's some pain inside
that you're channeling into this
anger.
What-- what-- what is it?
My father never beat me.
I never had a dad.
LUKE:
So that's what's wrong?
No.
-But there is something.
-You wanna shut the fuck up,
mate.
I just don't like seeing
people ungrateful, is all.
-SEAN: Ungrateful?
-Yes, ungrateful?
Ungrateful that
grew up a man with no da.
Ungrateful that me ma had to
walk every single day of the
week to put food on the table.
Ungrateful that I couldn't
afford to stay in school?
Ungrateful, that me
life is a fucking mess?
Yeah, I'm fucking ungrateful.
Growing up, my mother was
paralyzed from the neck down.
Seeing how helpless she was made
me appreciate everything that I
had.
Didn't really have a home.
One day, I'd stay with my
aunt's, another my uncle's.
One day I asked, uh.
[]
"Mummy,
all my friends' mummy's meet
them after school.
And they all get hugs
from their mummy's.
Can you hug me?
" She didn't say anything, but
a tear rolled down her face.
It was the first time
I saw her crying.
Since then, I've always
appreciated everything that I
have.
If you have two working legs,
two arms, two eyes, two ears.
You have nothing to whine about.
So stop complaining.
[]
Why would
Luke look for sympathy from
Sean?
I thought psychos
can't feel sympathy.
No, they can't.
But they can feel lonely.
Psychopaths are
extremely isolated.
They find it very difficult
to relate to anyone.
Out of curiosity, what
are the traits of a psychopath?
[]
Well, some of the traits would
be
dishonesty, lack of guilt,
manipulativeness.
Reckless risk-taking.
He or she will con and
manipulate those around them
using charisma and intimidation.
And they can effectively mimic
feelings that present
as normal to society.
For pleasure, they torture and
murder animals and humans.
It makes them feel something
inside
that empty soul of theirs.
So how do you know
when you're speaking to one?
You don't.
RICK:
You will begin the physical
exercises now.
We will do them in order of
Sean, Luke,
Eric, Edward, and
Patrick.
You have 60 seconds to
perform
as many push-ups as you can.
So team, please step forward
to
begin the physical exercises.
Please get into
the ready position.
The timer will begin in 5,
4,
3, 2, 1,
begin.
EDWARD (VO):
I felt sorry for Eric the most.
He was like a fish out of water.
How did an innocent kid end
up in a place like this?
Well, I suppose I never thought
I'd end up here either.
I like Eric though,
he's a nice guy.
Sean, on the other hand,
seems a bit obnoxious.
Patrick is a good guy, and I can
see me and him getting on over
the next few days.
I don't really know
what to think of Luke.
He's a bit odd.
But it's still a bit too early
to form an opinion on someone.
The way I look at it, it's 30
days until I see my family
again.
This experiment is a
blessing for my girl.
And I'm not gonna
take it for granted.
I know my little girl Isabelle
is out there watching me.
[]
What was the purpose of creating
this gas?
CHRISTOPHER:
It was for the military, David.
If a soldier doesn't need to
sleep, they have a distinct
advantage over the enemy.
So why were
the diaries added?
Diaries? Could you elaborate?
When we read the
proposal for the experiment,
the proposal that got funding,
there was no diaries.
It was solely testing the
physical side effects of sleep
deprivation.
So why were the diaries added?
Well, it's easier to ask for
forgiveness than for permission.
You see Robert, the
mind controls the body.
And as a psychologist, I took
the opportunity of further
studying the human mind in
a controlled environment.
And what attracted you to work
there?
What do you mean?
What made you wanna work
in a place that treated people
like human guinea pigs?
You could say that I was
brainwashed into thinking
that what I was doing was for
greater good of the British
Empire.
The things we did, as horrible
as they were,
brought about a lot of good to
the world.
It's just unfortunate
about the bad.
Interesting.
Because you were the one who
designed the experiment.
Now that's not true!
I only worked as a psychologist
during my time at Porton Down.
But not in
this experiment.
We know you were the one who
designed the experiment and gave
Roger Morgan the
plans to conduct.
DAVID: Along with Roger, all the
other people who worked on that
experiment said that
you designed it.
CHRISTOPHER:
Luck.
I was young.
Trying to impress my superiors.
And I was afraid that we would
not get funding due to my
inexperience.
So why does an
inexperienced psychologist
design an experiment testing the
physical side effects of sleep
deprivation for the military?
And then deny it.
DAVID:
Christopher, I don't think
you're telling us the truth.
[]
Whose up for a game of cards?
Yeah, I'm in.
-EDWARD: Patrick?
-Oh ah, no thanks.
Not really into it. I'll just
uh, observe.
Luke?
What's in it for me?
It's just
a game of cards.
LUKE:
No, no, no. You got to uh,
spice it up a bit.
You know, uh,
how about the winner
gets to piss in a cup
and all the losers have
to take a sip from it.
-No.
-Fuck off.
LUKE:
Well, how the
game be intense?
-But can't we just have an
ordinary game of cards?
-You're sick in the head.
Anyway, why
are you doing this?
SEAN:
Ah, you know yourself.
I just wanna get out.
[indistinct speech] You know.
Nah, I think
there's something else.
Need to get back home.
LUKE:
Why?
Just because.
Want to see your family?
SEAN:
Sort of.
[]
What, your mother? Your
girlfriend?
You know, I used to do
a bit of drama when I was in
school as a young lad.
I always wanted to be an actor,
but couldn't uh,
me mum came along.
One day,
seeing her after the
play and I said to her,
"Why are you crying, Ma?
" She was crying.
She said to me she was so proud.
One line I had, one line.
I got a bit older.
I started acting like shit, you
know hanging around with a few
dodgy heads.
Stopped coming home on time.
I'd stay out on the
weekends and stuff.
Me mum, when I come home you
know,
she'd be waiting up for me.
I'd be like, "Ma, what
are you doing staying up?
" She would sit and talk to me.
Sean-- [indistinct speech] .
And I'd just be like, "Fuck off
Ma, go to bed.
I can't be talking.
" [indistinct speech]
And up she goes.
Can't get to sleep
until I get home.
Moved off to England.
Didn't tell her, I
just disappeared.
I had been away from home
for don't know how long.
I know she'd stop me.
I know she'd try to get me home.
Anyway, I roll home and a week
later, a good week later,
I got a letter from me aunty.
Saying,
"your mother's dead".
One fucking person in this world
that loved me, that believed in
me.
She died without knowing where
I was, what happened to me.
Fucking broke her heart.
Is it a coincidence of
all the men chosen
suffered from significant trauma
in their past?
I shouldn't be here.
I'm innocent.
CHRISTOPHER:
If you look
at the lives of most criminals,
you'll see they all experience
something traumatic.
Did not matter what they
had done in the past.
We just wanted them to complete
the experiment, and that's why
they were chosen.
About three years ago,
my daughter never came home one
night after being out.
CHRISTOPHER:
If you wish to
understand Robert, how we could
do all of those horrible things,
then you must realize that we
were doing our job.
ROBERT:
Your job was
running unethical experiments on
naive, vulnerable men--
Those men volunteered by choice.
They would have rotted away in
jail if we didn't give them a
second chance to
redeem themselves.
She was 14.
She always came home.
This night she didn't.
See, I-- I'm not sure
those men were fully aware of
what they were signing
themselves up for.
-Christopher, you personally-
-DAVID: My time--
Designed an
experiment that resulted in the
deaths of nine people.
What are you writing?
It's just you've been
writing for some time now.
One of the tapes, uh
tape number 24 was missing.
I just have a lot on my mind.
DAVID:
For certain
procedures and protocols,
that are put in place to
protect the subjects.
Not only did you break them,
you completely ignored them.
What are you
in here for Eric?
They were either in for
murder or attempted murder.
Even a child could see, they're
putting all those men in the
same room for 30 days without
sleep is a recipe for disaster.
Are you still
not gonna tell us?
Eric strangled a
man to death for God's sake!
Eric wasn't some kind of
cold-hearted killer.
He had been bullied
his whole life.
Poor Eric.
He ended up living
a miserable life.
Now, I'm not just defying
that what he did was right.
But the poor man was
a ticking time bomb.
Like us all.
There's only so
much one can take.
[]
[Patrick coughing]
You stop breathing please?
Just not-- not so loud, please.
Just stop breathing loud.
Nobody's breathing loudly.
I don't know-- I
don't why it's annoying me.
It's just-- just please stop.
Do you want us
to kill ourselves?
What? No.
He wants us to
stop breathing, right?
[coughing in background]
ERIC:
Can you stop eating too please,
loudly?
Just I'm sorry, please stop.
I'll eat and breathe
if I want to, mate.
Just-- just not loud. Just not
loud, please.
Just stop!
Can you stop?
[Patrick coughing]
ERIC:
It's hurting my head.
Stop coughing so loud.
It's hurting my head.
He's fucking dying!
-ERIC: Stop that!
-[Patrick coughing]
EDWARD:
Patrick, you okay? Patrick?
What's wrong?
We need help with him!
RICK:
We are opening the doors to
the room.
Step away from the door
and stand with your back
against
the opposite wall.
[]
[Patrick breathing heavily]
[]
[]
[]
RICK:
Everyone, stop what you're
doing. The door will be opened.
Stand up and stand at the
opposite wall to the
door.
EDWARD:
Hey.
What happened to you?
Ah, um, they said that my system
reacted badly to the gas.
Something to do with that.
So, I've bad asthma.
LUKE:
Asthma?
Yeah, asthma.
What type of asthma?
[chuckles]
Umm, I don't know.
I just know that I have asthma.
LUKE:
You're not allergic to anything?
No.
There's six different types
of asthma.
Right, well, I've
always just been told since I
was a child that I have asthma.
You were away for a while.
PATRICK:
I know.
What happened?
Ahh, doctors
injected me with something.
Um, they ran a few
tests on my body.
I really don't
know, to be honest.
EDWARD:
Did they keep you awake?
Oh yeah. Yeah, of course.
So why are you here?
Sorry?
LUKE:
You said it
yourself the gas was reacting
badly with your system.
So why did they put
you back in here?
Oh, they've said that
they've lowered the amount of
gas entering the room.
LUKE:
That doesn't make sense.
You should've either had an
asthma attack when you first
entered or should be
having one right now.
How do you know so much?
LUKE:
I just do.
Maybe you
should work for them.
So it was your decision
to ultimately break protocol?
Myself and the others just tried
to get the best possible result.
You were the
one who designed it.
Correct? So therefore,
you are the one at fault.
Everyone that worked on all the
experiments was at fault.
ROBERT:
No.
You're the one who
designed the experiment.
-You're the one who added the
diaries without any permission.
-Wrong.
You're the one who chose
unstable murderers without any
-permission.
-I know that.
But everything I did was
with good intentions.
I promise you.
I just wanted to get the best
results possible to make sure
the experiment was a success.
-Because of your good
intentions, nine people died.
-DAVID: Robert? Robert?!
-Of course, I know that!
-Robert!
How do you think that makes me
feel?
You think I wanted
this to happen?
You think I wanted
those men to die?
I was just doing my fucking job!
You realize what you
did is a criminal offence.
-And you're gonna go to prison
for a long, long time.
-Robert, stand down!
Get your fucking hands off of
me!
I left Porton Down 15 years ago,
because I could not live with
myself after what had happened.
And now I'm facing jail time.
Even though I've been minding
my own business doing my own
fucking thing for
the last 15 years.
Tell me Robert,
why is this
case so important to you?
What do you mean?
Oh, it's clear.
You have a very strong emotional
connection to the case.
Emotional connection?
Yes. It's in the way you speak.
How you ask questions and
how you react to my answers.
You ask questions hoping
that I'm guilty, don't you?
Now why is that though?
Did you know someone that
took part in the experiment?
No?
Oh yes. That's it, isn't it?
Now who was it, I wonder?
You would have been too young.
So it can't have been a friend.
It would have been
someone much closer.
It was a parent, wasn't it?
Yes.
It was your father.
You grew up with pure hatred
for Porton Down and all of the
people that worked there.
And now finally, you get to
have--
Instead of making up
stories about my partner,
just answer the questions.
Making up stories?
Why don't we ask Robert?
Burn marks all
over his face and body.
What?
Fucking what?
The kids at school used to
laugh at him, because of how he
looked. They said he looked
like a monster.
-DAVID: Robert?
-All because-- shut the fuck up!
-All because he volunteered--
-[indistinct speech]
He looked like a monster!
DAVID:
... fuck out of here.
What the fuck was that in there?
No wonder you were so keen
to get involved
in this investigation.
Why didn't you tell
me about your father?
I didn't think it mattered.
Fucking idget.
You should never have been
involved in this investigation.
This reflects poorly
on me, for fuck's sake.
I'm trying to
do the right thing.
DAVID:
You were manhandling
him in there.
Do you have any idea
who his connections are?
Fuck his connections.
DAVID:
You need to look at
this with a non-biased approach.
I am.
He was just doing his job.
Designing experiments
was not part of his job.
If it might break a procedure.
But David, I'm not
gonna argue with you.
Let's go in, finish
this fucking interview.
So, where were we?
[]
LUKE:
Here, Sean.
You'll do anything for
your mother, right?
Huh?
LUKE:
I'm serious. Imagine if your
mother was still alive.
SEAN:
You're serious, yeah?
Listen.
What lengths would you go
to to protect your mother?
To-- to-- to make sure
that she felt loved.
Would you, uh...
Why you asking me?
We have this thing in
common and it seems that we're
doing this experiment
for our mothers.
And?
I've killed people.
Oh, so the taxes
thing was bullshit?
Yes.
-Why'd you lie?
-That's no important.
Look I-- what I'm trying to say
is,
if you have a right reason
to kill someone, is
that justifiable?
No.
I don't know. I think some
people have it coming.
Who'd you kill?
Anyone that mistreated
or disrespected my mother.
Man, woman, child.
You're sick
in the fucking head.
Really?
Yes.
You would
actually murder a child?
If I had a reason to, yes.
What exactly does a
child have to do for you to
justify killing them?
Why are you even in here?
You're seriously don't have
a response to that here?
Calm down.
And listen to what
I have to say.
And then, you'll
understand why I did it.
So I'm sat at home
with my mother.
Just the two of us,
minding our own business.
When I hear this noise.
Bang, bang, bang.
I look outside and I see a
small group running away.
They threw stones at the house.
My old disabled mother's house.
Luckily, I saw one of the group.
Little girl with a
bright yellow school bag.
For a week,
I waited outside
every school in the area
to try to find that bag again.
Until eventually I did.
I saw her.
And I followed her home.
I saw she hung out with her
friends and when she was alone,
and then I kidnapped her.
I kidnapped her.
And I tied her to a post.
And I threw stones.
At her naked body.
Over and over again.
You sick fuck.
SEAN:
Fucking monster.
How sick do you have to
be to throw stones at an
-old disabled woman's home?
-RICK: Luke and Edward, step
away from each other immediately.
I repeat, step away
from each other.
Immediately.
-[indistinct speech]
-No. Look at what she was doing.
Her and all her friends.
She had it coming.
-RICK: Stand with both hands
on the wall, now.
-You bastard.
RICK:
I repeat,
stand with both
hands firmly on the wall.
Now!
[]
[choking]
[indistinct whispers]
Excuse me?
Excuse me?
It's me.
[]
I'm sorry, they're--
they're gone.
It's okay.
[]
[laughing noises]
[crying]
Please. Please, let me out.
There's too many people here.
Please.
There's nothing to do.
Supposed to be five of us.
I think I want to stop.
Please let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[screaming]
Let me out!
Let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
[screaming]
[coughing]
[]
[]
By day 12 they all began to
experience extreme
hallucinations.
[screaming]
What the fuck?
-No!
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean,
where have you gone?
No. No.
-No, please.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Why did you
leave?
Please no.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Why did you have to?
Please no. Go.
-Sorry.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Please, Sean.
I'm begging you to
come home, Sean.
SEAN: Why?
SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean?
Ma, please! What the fuck!
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Where are you?
-[screams]
SEAN'S MOTEHR:
Come back home.
You left me all alone.
SEAN:
I'm sorry.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You left me all alone.
You broke my heart!
You broke my heart!
SEAN:
Get me fucking out of here.
Get me out of here!
Get me fucking out of here!
It's fucking not ending.
[indistinct speech]
Go fucking home!
Get the fuck, get
me out of here!
You!
It's fucking animals.
[]
[laughs]
[laughing]
[]
[child crying]
[]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Why did you leave me, Sean?
What did I do?
Come back to me.
Please Sean.
I'm begging you to
come home, Sean.
Sean?
Oh Sean.
Where are you, Sean?
Come back home.
Please come home to mummy.
I miss you so much.
No. No, I don't.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
I miss you.
No, I know you're not here.
[overlapping speech]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Come on, Sean.
I love you.
I love you so, so much.
I want you to be here.
Let me hug you and love you.
Please, please.
Please ma!
Don't do that to me!
SEAN'S MOTHER:
Sean.
Don't do that to me.
Don't!
SEAN'S MOTHER (VO):
Sean, where are you?
Sean.
Sean?
-SEAN: No, I'm losing it.
-SEAN'S MOTHER: Sean, this is
your fault.
Uh-uh.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
This is your fault.
I know you're not here.
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You killed me, Sean.
You-- you made me do this.
[]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
You killed me, Sean!
Look at what you've done.
[screaming]
SEAN'S MOTHER:
How could you do this
to your own mother?
[screaming continues]
[pants]
[]
RICK:
Everyone, please stand at the
opposite wall to the door immediately
as we are opening the
door
to the testing room.
I repeat, please stand at
the
opposite wall to the door as we
are opening the door
to the testing room.
[]
[]
That's when we realized we had
made a huge mistake.
And what was that?
We weren't watching Luke.
[]
[Patrick gasping]
Excuse me?
Excuse me?
It's me.
Can you do something?
I'm sorry for the cough.
It's okay.
Please. Please let me out.
There's too many people here.
Please.
This wasn't the deal.
There's supposed
to be five of us.
Please, I wanna stop.
Please let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[Eric screams]
ERIC:
Let me out!
Please!
Let me out!
[Eric screams]
No, let me out!
Let me out!
Let me out!
Please!
[screams]
[Eric coughs]
[Eric takes deep breaths]
[]
RESEARCHER:
[indistinct speech]
Are you sure you want to go
ahead with this?
-Yes.
-Great.
There are just a few documents
that we want you to sign.
On Day 4, 12 and 21,
we will want you to fake the
asthma attacks.
How will I
know what day it is?
CHRISTOPHER:
You will hear a
church bell play through the
speakers every 24 hours.
We'll take you out
of the room on those days,
so that we can evaluate
your physical and mental
deterioration.
You will then be allocated
12 hours of sleep.
And injected with a
shot of noradrenaline.
As a safety precaution, we want
you to stay
as close as possible to the
testing room door, in case of an
emergency.
PATRICK:
In the event
that anything does happen,
I want a guarantee that my wife
and my son will be looked after.
Patrick, I promise
you everything will be okay.
[]
Remember, if anything goes
wrong, just get as close to the
door as possible and
we'll send someone in.
Yeah, I know.
Oh Patrick, take this.
What's this?
I've added these diaries for all
the men in the experiment.
There's already
stuff written in here?
That's just some background
information on the prisoners.
Are you sure
this is a good idea?
You being in the room,
I'd like you to document
what you see.
In case we miss something.
Alright.
Good luck, Patrick.
[]
[]
She's not there.
She's not there.
[girl crying]
[]
You're safe. I found you.
I found you.
Daddy's here.
You're safe now.
[indistinct speech] I promise.
I promise.
Don't leave me please.
You're safe.
LUKE:
Little girl with
a bright yellow school bag.
For a week,
I waited outside
every school in the area.
I was trying to
find that bag again.
Until eventually I did.
I kidnapped her.
And I tied her to a pole.
And I threw stones
at her naked body.
Over and over again.
[]
Bastard!
LUKE:
What are you on about?
SEAN:
Don't do it, Edward.
Think of your family.
-Think of your family!
-You killed her!
You killed her! My daughter!
-And you killed her!
-If you ever want to see
your wife and your child again,
you will let go of me right this
instant.
You killed her!
You fucking killed her.
Edward, you
are losing your mind.
Well, how could I possibly
have killed your daughter?
-Liar!
-That man is the liar.
Sorry, what?
Go on, Patrick.
Tell us your little secrets.
Tell us who you really are.
What's he on about?
Patrick hasn't been
telling us who he really is.
Is that right?
Go on. Show us your little
diary.
Oh, you don't know
where it is, do you?
There it is.
What is it, Edward?
Nope, just...
-Who are you?
-I can explain.
LUKE:
He's one of them.
He's one of the researchers.
Listen, I took part in
the experiment, like you did.
LUKE:
Patrick,
you're sweating.
Are you feeling alright?
You're very warm, Patrick.
You're not gonna have one of
those asthma attacks, are you?
[chuckles]
EDWARD:
Get away from him!
LUKE:
Why? A minute ago you were angry
at me for lying and it's just
turned out that he's been lying
to us this whole time
about everything.
I don't give a fuck about him.
It's you!
How could you even consider
giving him a second chance?
I didn't know that
he killed children.
This-- this is-- this is new.
It's new information. I'm--
EDWARD:
He's admitted it!
He's admitted it on tape.
You got it on tape.
You got evidence on tape.
Put him back in prison.
Fuck your experiment.
Put him back in prison.
Go on, Patrick. Tell him.
Tell me what?
Everything's that's
been said is strictly
confidential and used for
research purposes only.
It's all there in the fine
prints had you bothered
to read it before signing up for
this.
You better be
fucking kidding me!
I'll be sure to write you
a postcard when I get outside.
EDWARD:
I'm gonna kill you one day.
Go on. Hit me then.
I'd love to but I got
a family out there.
[chuckles]
LUKE:
This is great.
I'll tell you what, Luke.
Fuck you and fuck your
disabled whore of a mother.
[]
What colored eyes
did your daughter have?
EDWARD:
Shut up.
Green eyes and black hair,
wasn't it?
EDWARD:
Shut up!
And what color school bag
did she use?
EDWARD:
Shut it now.
It was yellow, wasn't it?
EDWARD:
Shut up!
LUKE:
I know everything about you
and you know nothing about me.
EDWARD:
Shut up.
You know what your daughter
said to me before I killed her?
EDWARD:
Shut your mouth.
She was screaming
for her daddy.
-"Daddy, daddy."
-EDWARD: Shut your mouth.
And you weren't
there to rescue her.
I told her I'd let her go
if she did things to me.
Want to know what she did?
[chuckles]
EDWARD:
Fucking nonsense!
Cunt!
I'll fucking kill you.
[chuckles]
-LUKE: You will never see
your family again.
-EDWARD: You bastard nuts!
-[Luke chuckles]
-EDWARD: Nuts!
SEAN:
Luke, you have a chance.
Edward, don't do this. Don't do
this.
What he did was wrong,
but please don't do it.
-No!
-Edward no.
SEAN:
Oh Jesus.
[Edward breathes heavily]
I'm not a killer.
I'm not a killer. I'm not a
killer. Please.
I didn't do it. I didn't do it,
please.
I-- I didn't do it.
Please. You didn't see anything.
You didn't see anything.
Please. Please.
You didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see anything.
Pretend you didn't see it.
Please.
Please.
[banging the door]
We couldn't see inside
the test room,
because Edward had completely
covered the observation window
with Luke's blood.
TOM:
What the
hell are we waiting for?
Let's get Patrick out of there.
CHRISTOPHER: Wait.
-We don't have the time to wait.
What are we meant to do? Barge
in there
and shoot them all dead?
If we go in, Patrick dies.
Let's not do
anything irrational.
Well, unless you
have a better plan, Christopher.
I suggest this is
our only option.
There is
no need for panic here.
We could turn it off.
The gas.
It's stopping the process
of melatonin, right?
That's what's
keeping them awake.
If we turn it off,
they all fall asleep.
It will just be a matter of
going in and taking Patrick out
when he's sleeping.
That could work.
CHRISTOPHER:
And how can we be absolutely
sure that they'll
fall asleep?
What if we flooded the
room with Desflurane, combined
with nitrous oxide?
Sleeping gas.
[]
[]
PATRICK:
No.
Get out!
Get out!
Get out of here!
[]
[men screaming]
[screaming]
No. Take me back to my mother.
Take me back please!
No, please.
Please.
No. Please.
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct shouting on tape]
[]
And that's
where it cuts off.
As I said before,
what happened was horrific.
But we were brainwashed by the
propaganda the government was
feeding us.
It was just devastating what
those men went through.
But I promise, all I wanted to
do, was get the best results
possible for the experiment.
[sighs]
I can't tell you enough how much
I regret it.
But listening back to
that now,
it's tough.
[sighs]
Knowing that I was a part of it,
of ever having worked in that
research facility.
Oh, and Robert,
I am truly
sorry about your father.
I'm just happy that you've
finally found justice for him.
Gentlemen, if you need anything
else,
you know where to find me.
Thank you for your time.
Robert.
David.
Thank you, gentlemen.
[]
[indistinct chatter in
background]
So what are we gonna do about
Christopher?
He's-- he's
not the worst part.
I mean, he'll do the
necessary punishment.
Come on.
I think we should continue on
with the investigation.
Look into the researches and who
knows what else will pop up.
[]
We were working with sea water.
Their candidates would drink
nothing but salt water.
And they became
completely dehydrated.
When they were put back in the
cells they would lick the floors
in the hope that some fresh
water was left behind after they
were mopped.
And what were
you trying to achieve?
We were
creating
different dissolvents to see
if they could desalinate
the salt water.
And we were unsuccessful.
What was your role in
this particular experiment?
I was one of
the chemical engineers.
You know, luckily, the lead
researcher, Christopher, he--
well he knew I couldn't
tolerate anything too graphic.
So, he made sure I saw
as little as possible.
Christopher who?
I'm-- I'm not sure.
Christopher Sampson?
Oh yes. Yes, that was it.
DAVID:
Are you sure it was him?
There's no record of
his name in this experiment?
Really?
No, he was completely adamant
about making this experiment a
reality.
In fact, he was very
enthusiastic about all the
experiments he designed.
Wait.
Are you saying he designed
other experiments?
JULIE-ANN:
Yes.
Well, I worked with him on many.
Let's go right now.
Um, uh, we're gonna have to
cut this interview short.
I'm sorry.
[]
DAVID: Christopher?
Christopher, are you there?
Christopher?
CHRISTOPHER:
Day 24.
Edward, the remaining
subject is still
conscious.
He is in critical condition
and
it's estimated that he will die
soon due to infection.
Therefore, I am going to
conduct
one final interview with him.
Hello, Edward.
My name is Christopher Sampson.
I'd like to ask you a few
questions regarding the
experiment if you don't mind.
Go fuck yourself.
Edward, this will be a lot
easier if you cooperate.
What's
gonna happen to me?
You broke
the rules, Edward.
You already know.
Let me ask one question.
I'll let you see your
family again one more time.
What do you want?
How did it feel to end the life
of another human being.
Did you feel guilty?
No.
Did you feel guilty
when you killed those two
soldiers?
No.
Can you describe how you felt
after killing them?
Alive.
Thank you, Edward.
That's all I need to know.
[]
Wait!
Did Luke kill my daughter?
Please. I deserve to know.
The human mind is amazing.
What it does to make
us feel comfort.
What it does to make us
justify our mistakes.
Luke never killed
your daughter, Edward.
He'd been in prison a long time
before she ever went missing.
It was the idea of vengeance and
revenge for your daughter
that consumed you.
Always looking for answers.
Searching for the truth.
Luke caught on to this and
you fell into his trap.
You allowed Luke to
get into your head.
That's not true.
He knew her.
He knew details about her.
CHRISTOPHER:
Did he?
Or did you just tell
yourself he did?
You don't know
what you're talking about.
CHRISTOPHER:
Look at yourself, Edward.
You killed Luke.
You ripped the organs out of
those two men's bodies with your
bare hands.
You sacrificed the only chance
you ever had of seeing your
family again.
For what?
Self-gratification?
To give yourself a
sense of purpose?
You'll never see your family
again, because of you.
That's the difference
between you and I, Edward.
I'm not pretending to
be someone I'm not.
I know what I am.
What are you? A monster?
It was very apparent that I was
quite
different from all those
around me growing up.
I was aware of other people's
actions, not matching my own.
I didn't feel as they felt.
[]
I felt nothing.
I couldn't understand what all
the fuss about murdering and
death was.
Just made me more curious to
know what it would feel like to
kill.
It started as cravings at first.
I used to torture my pet dog.
But it wasn't until I strangled
him to death that I felt
something.
And it made me feel alive.
But I had to stop, because
murder is frowned upon in
this civilized society of ours.
But that feeling of utter
dominance
you get from a kill,
it starts to grow inside.
And soon it becomes
pure compulsion.
And you have to kill
again and again.
So that's why I work here.
I designed the
experiments to go wrong.
Make them look like an accident.
Accidents happen all the
time in a place like this.
And the government just comes
along and covers them up.
But it made me wonder,
why me?
Why am I the only one like this?
Or could anyone given the right
circumstances,
take the life of another human
being and enjoy it?
So I designed this.
The Sleep Experiment.
Take away basic human needs and
you're left with war and chaos.
So I deprived you of
a basic human need.
The need to sleep.
That's why you were chosen.
That's why all of
you were chosen.
You'd all shown signs of this
madness
that I believe lurks deep inside
us all.
Deep down, suppressed,
just waiting to be unleashed.
Out of curiosity, what
are the traits of a psychopath?
CHRISTOPHER:
Some of the traits would be
dishonesty, lack
of guilt, manipulativeness.
They gravitate towards torturing
and murdering humans
and animals.
Psychopaths want to be
acknowledged for their
achievements.
How they tricked and deceived
everyone around for so long.
ROBERT:
So how do you know
when you're speaking to one?
CHRISTOPHER:
You don't.
[]
He rocks in the tree tops
all day long
Hoppin' and a-boppin'
And a-singing his song
All the little birds on
Jaybird Street
Love to hear the robin go
tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Oh, rockin' robin
'Cause we're really gonna rock
tonight
Tweet, tweet
tweedle-lee-dee
Every little swallow,
every chick-a-dee
Every little bird in the tall
oak tree
The wise old owl, the big
black crow
Flappin' their wings singing
go bird go
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweet, tweet
Rockin' robin
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Oh, rockin' robin
'Cause we're really gonna rock
tonight
Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee
Alright, yeah
[]
Well, a pretty little raven at
the bird-band stand
Taught him how to do the bop,
and it was grand
They started going steady and
bless my soul
He out-bopped the buzzard
and the oriole
He rocks in the tree top all
day long