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  1. Hypnotherapist reviews Netflix Movie Hypnotic.

    Is it realistic or fake hypnosis? Could what happens in the Netflix film happen with a real life case using hypnosis?

    HypnoticPosterartmainimagebig5991

    So, Netflix has dropped its latest movie Hypnotic. I have already written some thoughts about this based on the information that netflix released before the movie came out.

    Now here is a chance to read a synopsis and review of Hypnotic and also a chance for me, as a clinical hypnotherapist to talk about how realistic the movie is and whether the things that happen could happen for real.

    Spoiler alerts: This is a review and Synopsis of Hypnotic the movie on Netflix so will contain details about the plot, spoilers and also details on what can and cannot happen with hypnosis.

    Hypnotic Ending explained...

    We open on a scared woman in an office calling a detective and asking for help. She leaves a message on his answerphone as he is unavailable. She takes the lift and whilst in it her phone rings and someone says some words to her that trigger a panic attack as she feels the lift closing in on her and crushing her. Clearly someone has planted something in her mind and now she is living a nightmare. Knowing this is a movie about hypnotism we doubt that this is happening for real. It feels like perhaps this is all in her mind.

    After the title card Jen meets a doctor called Colin Meade who is a therapist. He tells her that he follows the rules 99 per cent of the time, maybe 95 per cent. Let's face it that is already quite creepy and inappropriate even if he is trying to flirt!

    We find out that Jen is a software engineer. At the end of the party he gives her his card...in case she is interested. So far perhaps he is just a creepy flirt. We also see that Jenny had split up with her ex Brian, who was also at the party and that he missed her a lot. He offers her a ride home and in the next seen we see that she has spent the night with him and regrets it.

    She has breakfast with a friend who has already booked an appointment with Collin the creepy therapist.

     His office is clean and the waiting room almost empty with strange lighting and a water feature. Whilst she waits to see him a previous patient comes about and tells her Dr Meade will fix it.

    When she enters he is feeding his fish. He tells her he finds them calming and their session begins. In the background of his office is a clock with a pendulum that swings back and forth. Hypnosis is often shown as something where a swinging pendulum can hypnotise you.

    In fact you can do this for yourself. Here's a video where you can hypnotise yourself with a swinging watch...

     

    Dr Meade suggests to her that she should try hypnotherapy with her telling her that he had a mentor called Dr. Xavier Sullivan, who had a brilliant mind, and a name like someone from a marvel movie!

    Jennifer says she just wants to be happy.

    Meade says let me help you...and proceeds to use hypnosis on her. He uses a real method where he helps her to relax each part of her body at a time, we use this in hypnosis or you may have even used this as a meditation where you body scan. It happens much quicker, although this is s film of course.

    She opens her eyes and an hour is gone. She remembers nothing.

    Do you forget what happens in hypnosis? Well you are not asleep you are normally aware of what is being said. Your mind may wander, and sometimes people fall asleep. It is common that people lose track of time, but not so common that you would have no idea at all about what is happening.

    Time moves on and it seems that Jen has now had a few sessions with Dr Meade. She has told him that she lost a child a while back and when she spots people with children she notices them more than she did before.

    She bumps into the Dr whilst out and about and he takes her for a drink. This isn't something any therapist would be, or should be doing, he would and should have explained this to her. It is crossing boundaries, so the fact he is doing it is yet more evidence that he is not on the level.

    He goes on to talk to her about things that perhaps would be more appropriate in the therapy room. He tells her she should invite her ex Brian to dinner. She does. He accepts.

    Her phone rings with a call from an unknown caller and when she answers she zones out and wakes up at dinner. She hears a ticking clock and then she hears choking. She finds Brian in the bathroom choking and having a fit. She manages to get his epi pen in time to call for help. What has happened? How did she get there? She can remember nothing.

    Again, we move into the territory of things that just don't happen like that. If she had passed out then someone would have found her. But she somehow went home cooked dinner and remembers nothing of this. I can't see anyone under hypnosis using an over or hob without burning themselves or the dinner! It cannot happen like this. Which is good news if you are worried about it!

    We see Jennifer in Dr. Meade's office again where he is berating her for not doing the work. His tone is creepy and controlling and as time goes on this film is just getting more ridiculous! He is coming across as deranged and yet noone seems to have noticed. I am starting to find this much funnier than I was expecting. It's becoming more ridiculous, by the minute.

    Whilst back at home she has a flashback to the fact that perhaps she caused Brian's problems.

    Off she pops to the internet where she finds out that Collin Meade ( I am still not sure if he is a one or two L Colin!) has been involved in a lot of weird cases where the police were involved. She runs a background check which shows that he is almost a ghost.

    The words that are coming to me right now are ALARM BELLS!!!! but of course she has a friend who tells her that all of this is absolutely fine!  Maybe it is time to get a new friend.

    Anyway, off they pop to see a policeman who tells us that the lady in the elevator died after lots of things that are strangely similar to what is happening to Jen. She decided to go visit Dr. Meade again and record what happens. What could go wrong?!

    He hypnotises her again. The strange bit now is that she could really just resist anything that he tries, you can't just hypnotise people and make them do things. If she didn't want to listen and just blocked him out then nothing would have happened.

    As she leaves she starts to listen to the recording. She hears him asking her questions about why she was there. He asks her about if she is recording him and she tells him that she knows about Andrea Bowen and he knows that she was at the police station with her friend Gina.

    GET OUT OF THERE NOW...oh and DON'T answer the phone would be the kind of thing I would be thinking.

    They race to Gina but whilst she is driving Dr. Meade calls and of course she answers. He tells her this is how the world ends and she starts to see a spider and we see her crash her car.

    Cut to Dr Meade stirring a whisky with a spoon. I guess this is a homage to Get Out a much more enjoyable, although also silly movie.

    The detective arrives and tells him that Gina has died in an accident. He was working with her on her fear of spiders. It was interesting that the detective just turned up for a chat when clearly...this man is doing some pretty bad stuff. But hey, we are all in on this movie now.

    Hmmmm, now the doctor is offering to hypnotise the detective to help with his insomnia. He declines, phew!  Actually Hypnotherapy is great for insomnia, it is how I first came to hypnosis myself many years ago and I sleep like a log.

    Off the detective pops and ooh it's the doctor pushing his way into her house and telling her to keep doing what he says. Hold on, how did the detective miss him!  The more this film goes crazy the more coffee I am needing just to keep me awake.

    Now there is a strange creaking noise in the detective's house. He is just trying to watch tv and like any off duty detective he is watching a crime show. Oh looks like a patient of the doctor has broken in and is trying to kill him with a knife. He fights her off but even when he ends up in the hospital he doesn't want to bring anyone else in on the case.  ALARM BELLS AGAIN!!!

    Jen decides to go to a police hypnotherapist suggested by the detective. Why is she not going anywhere else for help? Down the hall Brian, her ex is still in a coma. Lucky they were in the same part of the hospital.

    Next, we see Jen at the police hypnotherapist who tells her in the wrong hands hypnosis can be dangerous. I think the wrong hands means a psychopath who kills people. In those hands anything can be dangerous. She also uses a ticking metronome to hypnotise Jen.

    She asks her to recall all that happened in the sessions and Jen sinks deep on the sofa. She tries to wake her but is unable. If someone is hypnotised and you shook them they would come back to the room as they are simply very relaxed. Not Jen though, until a big flashback. 

    The hypnotherapist is a bit shook and has never seen anything like it. Probably because YOU CAN'T do this stuff.

    I am on the final half hour and wondering if anyone will ever read this far. I could have been out walking the dog and enjoying some fresh air, instead of this fresh hell.

    Anyway, after some more research she finds out about the CIA doing hypnosis experiments. This is true they did try this. I think they found that trying to hypnotise people to do murders doesn't work though. You can't make anyone do something that they do not want to do.

    Jen decided to go visit Mr Sullivan, a man who was involved in all of this. When she arrives she goes on in, like you do!  Oh dear, turns out that it was Dr. Meade's father!! He puts her straight to sleep. She probably could have just run off, but hey things are preposterous still.

    She comes round in his office and calls the detective. HELP she says and he is on his way. The police arrive and get ready to storm his office. They are all getting ready to run in. We are clearly all recalling all the films where this happens. There is no way they are all in the wrong place! They will burst in at any time. It's not like he would have a replica office in his home. They burst into the office. He has a replica office in his home. Yep, we worked that out ages ago!  There are few surprises in this film. More coffee needed.

    She comes round and he has dressed her as his dea wife. I really feel that we could all have avoided this mess if she just hadn't gone to see him after he was creepy the very first time he met her!

    He tells her that he is not insane. He is insane.

    The police are now racing to his house. Hopefully the right place this time. He puts make up on her. This man is a real villain. What is he going to do next give her her dead wife's bracelet!  He gives her his dead wife's bracelet. It's their anniversary.

    The detective arrives. At last!! We must be on the final straight. Rather than save her he goes after the baddie. 

    Netflix allows you to play things at a faster speed I am playing this sequence at double speed and it is still going on for ages. I feel like I have been hypnotised to watch this.

    A fight now and Jen is sent to sleep but manages to pick up the gun and Bang....a gunshot.

    Cut to. Rollins the detective and he is waking up Jen telling her everything is going to be Ok. He has called for backup and gives her a lovely hug. He says..

    "You're going to be fine..my love"

    She remembers that the police hypnotherapist added a post hypnotic suggestion to see the world as it is. Suddenly she realises it wasn't Rollins!!! It was Dr Meade with her. Off she runs and this time she shoots Meade and finds Rollins who isn't dead yet. Mean slumps in the chair, blood pouring down his face.

    What happens at the end of Netflix Hypnotic - Ending explained

    It's the final scene!! Once month later. Brian is still in a coma. Jen is with him saying that all will be ok when he wakes up. She goes to see Rollins. He gives her a present and tells her to take care of herself. She leaves and opens the present. It is a sleep hypnosis CD and she smiles.

    And we are done!! I thought there may have been a final twist, but no, of course not. So, In summary this is a silly film and perhaps if you have nothing much else to do it will pass some time. Personally I think I may just get back to watching Succession. Nothing to do with hypnosis, but a great show!
    Thanks for getting this far. You deserve so fun hypnosis after all that...so here's a video where I hypnotise your fingers..and if you like that check out the one with my dog mind reading.

    Hypnotic, the latest from filmmakers Suzanne Coote & Matt Angel (of The Open House previously). Is now streaming on Netflix this October. A young woman seeking self-improvement enlists the help of a renowned hypnotherapist. But after a handful of intense sessions, she soon discovers unexpected and deadly consequences. She finds herself caught in a dangerous mind game, unsure who she can trust or how to regain control over her mind again. Kate Siegel stars in Hypnotic, with a cast including Jason O'Mara as Dr. Meade, Dulé Hill, Lucie Guest, and Jaime M. Callica.

     Reviews for the film Hypnotic..

     If you want to read more reviews about Hypnotic Roger Ebert said "This slick and cheesy Netflix movie only occasionally rises to the potential of its wild premise, thanks mostly to a crazy-eyed, licking-his-chops performance from Jason O’Mara."

    The New York Times says of Hypnotic... The twists in “Hypnotic” may not be brilliant, but they are abundant, making for the sort of straight-to-streaming treat best enjoyed on a couch, with company who will laugh with you and let you yell at the screen."

     

     

  2. Is Netflix’s Hypnotic fake hypnosis?

    Is the hypnosis in the Netflix movie Hypnotic real or fake?

    Can you actually hypnotise someone in the same way as the Netflix film Hypnotic shows?

    There is a history of films and TV showing hypnosis in a way that can create fear and misunderstanding.  If you watch a film such as Now you see Me or even the sequel Now you see me 2 both of them show amazing feats where people just drop into a deep trance at the drop of a hat. The excellent thriller Get Out by Jordan Peele also showed how hypnosis could control a character and make him unable to control himself. But are these portrayals of hypnosis real? Is Hypnotherapy really like that?

    HypnoticPosterart real or fake

    Hypnotic By Netflix the thriller where mind control takes place.

    For a full review of Hypnotic on Netflix we will all have to see the movie which is released on October 27th. According to Netflix here’s a synopsis of the plot...

    Update: I have watched the Hypnotic Movie and here is a full review with Spoliers... Only read if you don't mind finding out what happens in the movie including the Ending..

    Review of Netflix Hypnotic By Clinical Hypnotherapist.

    “Feeling stuck both personally and professionally, Jenn (Kate Siegel), a young woman reeling from a series of traumatic events, enlists a renowned hypnotherapist, Dr. Meade (Jason O'Mara), to help on her road to recovery. After a handful of intense sessions, terrifying events, and mysterious blackouts, Jenn soon finds herself caught in a dangerous mind game. With the help of Detective Wade Rollins (Dulé Hill), Jen looks to put the pieces together before it's too late and there are deadly consequences. Hypnotic is co-directed by filmmakers Suzanne Coote & Matt Angel both writers & directors of the Netflix thriller The Open House previously. The screenplay is written by Richard D’Ovidio. Produced by Michael J. Luisi. Netflix will release Hypnotic streaming on Netflix starting October 27th, 2021Ready to be hypnotized?”

    An idea planted in the mind will blossom into a whole new reality." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a psychological thriller titled Hypnotic, the latest from filmmakers Suzanne Coote & Matt Angel (of The Open House previously). This will be streaming on Netflix at the end of the month. A young woman seeking self-improvement enlists the help of a renowned hypnotherapist. But after a handful of intense sessions, she soon discovers unexpected and deadly consequences. She finds herself caught in a dangerous mind game, unsure who she can trust or how to regain control over her mind again. Kate Siegel stars in Hypnotic, with a cast including Jason O'Mara as Dr. Meade, Dulé HillLucie Guest, and Jaime M. Callica.

    So how does Hypnosis work and are any of these films realistic in the way that they portray the use of hypnotherapy?

    Well. The short answer is NO!  That’s the quick version but of course it is more involved than that. If the people in these films could do the things that they do then life would probably be a little different for all of us.

    The biggest thing that most films get wrong is simply the fact that Hypnosis can’t make you do something that you would not do anyway. You can’t get control of someone’s mind. In hypnotherapy we are helping people to do things that they WANT to do. That probably makes sense to you.

    If you would like to try a little something yourself and decide if hypnosis is real or fake then here's a quick youtube video... Can I hypnotise you in 30 seconds! Have a watch and see what you think about what the mind can do to change a physical aspect of your body...

     I have written lots before about how Film and Tv show hypnosis in a way that isn't quite truthful.

    You may remember a TV gameshow called "You're Back in the Room" This was a rehash of the type of stage show that many people are familiar with.

     

    Keith Barry starred in the British and Australian incarnations of the show, and is also a consultant on the upcoming feature film "Now You See Me: The Second Act," which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe and Mark Ruffalo. He taught Woody Harrelson to hypnotise people and also do magic tricks for the first film in the series.

    In the American Version Taye Diggs hosted, although the show was not received well. So many people could see that rather than being hypnotised, people were just playing up for the cameras and for a chance to win money.

    Stage Hypnosis versus Hypnotherapy to help people

     

    There are some big differences in the perception of stage hypnosis between Great Britain and The United States. Here in the UK where I am based and a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, I and all other members of professional bodies are not allowed to practice stage hypnosis. There are a great many rules around using hypnosis in stage entertainment and even an act of parliament: The Hypnotism act of 1952 which governs the use of hypnosis in entertainment. Of course, there are in fact a great deal of medical studies into the efficacy of hypnosis in helping with things such as giving up smoking, losing weight, helping with fears and phobias, learning to deal with stress and anxiety and even pain control. What happens on stage is different! There are many differences, and not just the fact that in the UK we spell it hypnotised and in the US hypnotized!

     

    In the US the profession of hypnotist can go hand in hand with stage hypnosis and many who practice hypnotherapy are also hypnotists on stage performing to crowds of students and at country fairs amongst other venues.

     

    The attitude towards stage hypnosis differs greatly so the reaction to the show will be interesting to watch. The show has been widely panned across the world on social media and in the press for being fake. Part of the reason for this is because in stage hypnotism then there really is no need to actually hypnotise someone, it is all about compliance.

     

    You can watch a short video below all about the secrets of Back in the Room: The way that compliance is used shows why the type of use that we see in Netflix Hypnotic Movie is far removed from real life.

     

    Does any of this really matter?

    Does it Matter if the movies and TV show hypnosis in a scary way?

    Well, if you can tell the difference then I am all for some entertainment and laughter too. The only think to bear in mind is that after watching a film like Hypnotic on Netflix some people may choose not to get help using hypnotherapy because they are worried about mind control.

    So, as I started this blog I want to end it... You can't make people do things that they do not want to do with hypnosis....but you can help them with things that they do want to do!

    And now....why not take just a moment to try One Minute Mindfulness and see how using your mind to relax can be easier than you imagine...

    Netflix Hypnotix Reviews...

    Well, the movie has appeared on Netflix and the first reviews are in. Let's be honest, they are not good.

    The Guardian say Hypnotic is a cheap, deeply silly film relying on too many people acting stupidly. They say that it will send you to sleep, mostly out of boredom. 

    "It’s the kind of half-assed slop that has sadly come to dominate much of the streamer’s original film content, slapdash TV movies made on the cheap and trucked out in mass for an audience who have now come to expect and accept such subterranean quality as the norm. A low budget does not, of course, have to mean low effort but it’s hard to see where any of the energy is here, making it impossible to muster up any as one watches – a film about being put to sleep that sends us there too."

    In fact most of the reviews focus on the fact that watching this film will send you to sleep. I suppose that is one of the problems when you make a film that purports to be about hypnosis. Also, its a problem when you make a boring film.

    The SF chronicle says Hypnotic is like a columbo episode and a made for cable tv movie with a pedestian script. 

     

    Den of Geek says Hypnotic is another mediocre time killer. "Hypnotic mainly suffers from being a thriller sorely lacking in thrills. The film introduces “hypnotic suggestion” sequences where a character sees something, usually one of their phobias, that isn’t there, but these dalliances into conventional horror are too few and far between. "

     

     

     If you want to read more reviews about Hypnotic Roger Ebert said "This slick and cheesy Netflix movie only occasionally rises to the potential of its wild premise, thanks mostly to a crazy-eyed, licking-his-chops performance from Jason O’Mara."

     

    The New York Times says of Hypnotic... The twists in “Hypnotic” may not be brilliant, but they are abundant, making for the sort of straight-to-streaming treat best enjoyed on a couch, with company who will laugh with you and let you yell at the screen."