Opening May 8th at select theatres.
More screenings TBA. Please see below for locations:
Fans of Lon Chaney will most likely know about A Blind Bargain. It’s a film where the actor played two roles. Not only did he become a mad scientist chasing the fountain of youth, but he also played a hairy man ape! Sadly, no surviving print exists, and film historians must rely on stills and past reviews.
Based on those materials, many critics hail it as brilliant. Not every piece of horror cinema featuring the Man of a Thousand Faces can be deemed truly haunting, and when this work concerns mutating the human genome, anything can happen. Chaney played a “good doctor” whose experiments promised hope but delivered torture. That premise isn’t quite the same in the modern remake written by John Falotico and Bing Bailey and directed by Paul Bunnell, but the DNA is still there.
When Doctor Gruder, effectively played by Crispin Glover, sets his sights on the ailing mother of Dominic Fontaine (Jake Horowitz), the question becomes why. After sending a nurse to persuade the man of the house with the promise of money, everyone should be suspicious! Thankfully, the attending Health Care Assistant is. The only problem is that as long as someone reports this woman is okay, she merely checks a name off the list. As for whether this mindset still exists today, let’s hope not. To sell out one’s mother is a grim bargain. For this war veteran, likely dealing with PTSD and mounting debts, desperation takes hold. He’ll do anything to pay off the loan sharks, who are, in truth, drug dealers.
Gruder is more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He carries the same quiet menace you’d find in a Hitchcock film. While this work doesn’t quite have that auteur’s precision, the influence is clear. The strongest moments come from the set design, especially the surgery room where the horror both begins and ends. There’s a clear nod to German Expressionism. Though I’m more familiar with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this film doesn’t fully commit to that level of symbolism. Instead of stark black and white contrasts, it leans into a rich colour palette closer to Suspiria, a choice that suits its 70s setting.
The soundtrack is where the film truly finds its footing. The song used during the finale feels deliberate, delivering a payoff for viewers who recognize its origins. “Dorogoy Dlinnoyu,” the Russian tune that inspired “Those Were the Days,” carries a deeply sentimental and romantic tone. Set against the film’s events, it becomes ironic, highlighting the painful distance between youthful vitality and present exhaustion. That’s Dominic in a nutshell. When Gene Raskin adapted the song into English in the 1960s, he preserved that sense of looking back while softening it into something more nostalgic. Either way, it fits this story better than expected.
The existential dread that defined the original doesn’t come through as strongly here. Whether this adaptation holds up against the lost classic is impossible to answer. That film is gone. What remains is a piece of atmospheric, visually literate horror that understands which tropes to embrace. Much like films of the 70s, where sound plays a crucial role, this version leans on irony to convey its terror. It carries enough cult noir energy to draw fans in, and for those viewing it through the lens of a Hammer-style production, it works on that level too.
4 Stars out of 5
A Blind Bargain Trailer:
Playing in Los Angeles at:
Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, Select Showings in 35mm
11272 Santa Monica Blvd.
with Q+A With Cast & Director:
Following 35mm screenings at Landmark’s Nuart Theater
May 7, 8 & 9, evening time TBA.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown
700 W. 7th St.
Laemmle NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Blvd.
Laemmle Glendale
207 N. Maryland Ave.
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