| "Phase I Clinical Trials" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | "Phase I Clinical Trials" |
| Directed by: | Adam Wingard |
| Written by: | Simon Barrett |
| Produced by: | Simon Barrett; Adam Wingard; Zak Zeman; Tom Owen; Brad Miska; Roxanne Benjamin; Gary Binkow; Chris Harding; Amy Skerkoski |
| Music by: | Steve Moore |
| Cinematography: | Seamus Tierney |
| Edited by: | Adam Wingard |
| Production | |
| Production: | Snoot Entertainment |
| Released: | January 19th, 2013 |
| Rating: | R |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | "Tape 49" |
| Next: | "A Ride in the Park" |
"Phase I Clinical Trials" is a film short featured in the V/H/S film series. It is the second of five vignettes featured in the 2013 film V/H/S/2. It was directed by Adam Wingard with a script written by Simon Barrett.
Plot[]
Herman Middleton is fitted with a cybernetic ocular implant after his right eye is lost in a car accident. The doctor informs Herman that he won't be able to turn the camera in the implant off because the company that constructed it is recording his data for research, and he may experience some "glitches" since the implant itself is still in its experimental stage. As Herman leaves the hospital, he notices a young woman staring at him intently.
After returning home, Herman plays video games, then goes to the kitchen for a cup of tea. He returns to find his game controller far from where he left it and his tea kettle suddenly drops to the floor. Herman also sees what appears to be a figure lying under his bed sheets; when he pulls the sheets backs, the bed is empty. He looks up and comes face to face with a pale, bleeding man with a scowl on his face. Herman calls his doctor to address the problem until he sees the man again, this time with a similarly pale young girl.
After the pale people keep banging on his door, Herman is forced to sleep in the bathroom overnight. The next day, after observing the mess in his bedroom, the woman from the hospital visits him. She identifies herself as Clarissa and says that she is experiencing a similar situation. Once invited in, Clarissa explains to Herman that she was born deaf and had a cochlear implant installed in her ear, which gave her the ability to hear the frequencies of ghosts. Understanding what's been happening to him, Herman suggests removing his ocular implant, but Clarissa claims that doing so will only keep him from seeing the ghosts instead of getting rid of them.
Clarissa also explains that the ghosts will get more dangerous and powerful the longer one pays attention to them, just as an overweight, bloodied man appears behind her. Herman alerts her about his presence, but she already knows he's there and that he's her abusive uncle. Clarissa then has sex with Herman to divert his attention away from the ghosts. That night, Herman awakens to find the young girl in his bed and flees when she screams at him, before he witness Clarissa being dragged into the pool by an unseen force, drowning despite his attempts to save her.
At his wit's end, Herman locks himself in the bathroom and uses a straight razor to cut out the ocular implant in a desperate attempt to escape from the ghosts. As Clarissa's ghost and her uncle appear behind him, Herman unwittingly runs into the now-invisible young girl and her father, who grabs the implant, still attached to the razor, and shoves it deep into Herman's throat, presumably killing him as the footage ends.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Adam Wingard | Herman Middleton |
| Hannah Hughes | Clarissa |
| John T. Woods | Doctor Fleischer |
| Corrie Lynn Fitzpatrick | Young girl |
| Brian Udovich | Bloody man |
| John Karyus | Uncle |
| Casey Adams | Justin |
Notes & Trivia[]
- "Phase I Clinical Trials" redirects to this page.
- YouTuber and creator of Angry Video Game Nerd James Rolfe was originally envisioned to play the role of Herman Middleton, but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with filming Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, released in 2014.
See also[]
References[]
Drowning | Eye injury | Ghosts | Hospital | Stabbings