Crazy Eights
The date of the experiments listed in the opening align with the known dates of MKUltra, a series of experiments conducted for the CIA through various fronts posing as private companies. These experiments included the use of LSD, other drugs, electroshock, surgical procedures, and implants on unwitting subjects with the express goals of mind control, mind wiping, and reconditioning. These are key elements in this movie.,[first lines]
Title Card: Between 1954 to 1976, nearly 600 children were voluntarily submitted for participation in a number of behavioral studies. These experimental facilities were privately funded and tucked away in secluded regions of the south.,Featured in Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy (2018),I had higher hopes for Crazy Eights than previous films I had seen from the Afterdark Horrorfests' 8 Films to Die For lines, because after seeing a few, I thought I had acquired the ability to pick out the ones that would be good by then. That incident just goes to show you can never be too sure about a movie. Do not get me wrong, this movie was indeed entertaining, but only so because of how much you are wishing it will pick up at any moment, and it does not do so.

To start off, the main premise is interesting. "Circumstance brings six childhood friends together to face their past, and a secret they share." The performances are not bad; not Oscar-worthy, but worthy of being deemed tolerable. The film itself is watchable, in a sense, but that's all it really is and all that should be expected. It's the way the actual story/plot is played out that makes it so frustrating. There is little to no suspense, and that is only because the pace is so abrupt and confusing at times. The premise as I said is interesting, but the plot ultimately defeats this plus-side, never giving us anything short of excitement or empathy for the characters. It's like the director and writer were drunk on the job, but had potential.

I barely remember the climax/ending because I was put off by that moment, and just ready for the film to be over. I might sound a little harsh, seeing as how I did say I was entertained, but I was expecting a lot more than I got, even if this is a B-movie and much can rarely ever be expected from a wide variety of them. Maybe it is time for me to give this film another watch, but it is only for the fact that I am willing to give it another chance, as I give any film I do not enjoy that much on a first watch another chance so long as I did not hate it, and not because I am ready to watch it again out of satisfaction.,