FrightFest 2020: ‘Blinders,’ a grim examination of obsession and delusion

We are all addicted to our phones. Constantly scrolling for that next adrenaline high, a dark and dangerous desire to be seen consumes us. We may not even realize what’s happening until it is too late. Such a thesis lies at the heart of Tyler Savage’s second feature, Blinders, playing this year’s FrightFest. With a script co-written with Dash Hawkins, the film puts social illusions and a hunger for human connection under the microscope.

Vincent Van Horn (Inheritance) plays Andy, a Los Angeles transplant seeking a fresh start after an emotional breakup. He packs up his entire life, even his dog named JuiceBox, and leaves Texas behind in his rear view. He hopes LA’s shimmering lights could open up a whole new world of adventure for him, and in many ways, he’s most certainly right. Within the first few days, he decides to hit up a local watering hole called The Roost, where he strikes up conversation (and maybe something more) with a woman named Sam (Christine Ko, Hawaii Five-O). They share several drinks and some laughs, before heading back to her place for a nightcap and some cuddling. Their ride-share driver Roger (Michael Joplin, #Slaughterhouse) appears nice enough, if just a little odd and compulsive.

What seemed like an innocent enough ride home tailspins out of control. Roger begins to obsess over Andy, stalking him to a coffee shop the next morning and offering to meet up for drinks. Andy obliges, and how could he say no? He’s new to the city and needs to make friends. They sling back a few brews at The Roost, exchanging lamentations about the dating scene, and part ways later in the evening.

While a romantic relationship blossoms with Sam, Roger continues to hound Andy at nearly every turn. It’s very clear he is quite unhinged, a textbook sociopath; he’s hella awkward with clear social and personal boundary issues, but something much more sinister bubbles below the surface. Our collective hunger to be needed, a totally fine response in the digital age, distills entirely into Roger’s character arc, one wrought of gutter desperation and slammed up 100 clicks.

Blinders pulls no punches, and as Roger chips away at Andy’s life ⏤ going as far as high-jacking his phone, installing secret cameras in his apartment, getting him fired from his tutoring jobs, and draining his bank account ⏤ it is as grim as it gets. Tyler Savage pulverizes you by the third act, in which a series of shocking twists hammer home his message. The devices in our hands that seem so important to existence today may just be our ultimate undoing tomorrow.

Follow B-Sides & Badlands on our socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram