The harm that's caused to Russell appears to be predominantly psychological. He fills out a disclaimer that absolves Blackout of any wrong-doing, but Russell's not necessarily an eager participant. We see him hesitantly counting the days until he can participate in his next Blackout trial. He doesn't know what happened to him during Blackout, but he's compelled to find out more. He wants to master his fears, but he also wants to understand himself better. He even confesses, during an especially revealing interview, that he feels like a failure. The makers of Blackout clearly prey on that fear.
It would be a waste of time to speculate about what motivates Blackout's creators since they refuse to answer any questions until the last few minutes of the film. "The Blackout Experiments" is not about the makers of Blackout, but rather guys like Russell, the ones who still aren't sure how Blackout works them over, or why they find it so compelling. In that sense, "The Blackout Experiments" mostly succeeds in capturing Russell and his peers' disorientation. I'm just not sure what the value of that experience is. Imagine meeting someone while they consider their life through the lens of a major trauma. You bond over this trauma. You've never met this person, but they come into your life only because you want to know more about what happened to them. How does that make you feel? You will never know what this person is like outside of their post-Blackout Lives. So now you, like Fox, are a little bit complicit too. You wanted to watch Russell explain himself, and put himself through a hellish experience. You're in this film, too.
I left "The Blackout Experiments" feeling like I saw something unique and disturbing. Fox doesn't go far enough, preferring instead to jolt us, and then tease us with a simplistic bottom line that deserves greater scrutiny: trauma can be good for us. I wish I could recommend "The Blackout Experiments" more strongly. His interviews could have been more thoughtful, his footage more revealing and his subjects' mindsets examined in greater detail. There's something here, but it's darker, and more elusive, than perhaps Fox even knows.
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