Netflix’s creepy new thriller ‘Hypnotic’ features a villainous hypnotherapist who uses the power of suggestion to control his patients, but experts agree the premise that hypnosis could be weaponized to kill people is ‘far-fetched’ and ‘ridiculous.’
The film stars Kate Siegel as Jenn Tompson, a depressed software engineer who starts seeing renowned hypnotherapist Dr. Collin Meade, played by Jason O’Mara. She is totally enslaved by him before she even realizes what he has in mind.
Hypnotic is about the dangers and benefits of hypnotherapy. Professional hypnotists however, say that the off-the wall plot confuses both hypnosis as well as mind-control.
According to Kathy Lindert (North Carolina certified hypnotist), hypnosis would have the same power as what Hollywood has made it out to be. “If you don’t want to behypnotized you won’t be hypnotized.”
Is this real? Netflix’s creepy thriller “Hypnotic” features a evil hypnotherapist using the power of suggestion in order to control and kill patients
Not possible: ‘Hypnotic’ is about the dangers of hypnotherapy, but professional hypnotists say the off-the-wall plot muddles hypnosis and mind-control
According to American Psychological Association (APA), Hypnosis can be described as a state of consciousness involving concentrated attention and reduced peripheral awareness, characterized by an increased capacity for responding to suggestion’.
It has been used, among others, to manage anxiety, pain, depression and other disorders. The practice is often used to treat addictions such as smoking and drinking.
For someone who is trying to quit smoking, a hypnotherapist may suggest that cigarettes are gross, Lindert explained, but it doesn’t always work because the power of suggestion is merely that.
She stated, ‘You need to realize that every person has their beliefs and they cannot be changed. If they don’t wish it to work, it won’t.
Jenn is assured by Dr. Meade that she will remain in control during her first session of hypnosis with him in the film. As he leads her into a state of meditative, the light flashes in her room. He tells her to picture herself in a forest.
This scene is, although it may seem exaggerated at times, one of the most real parts of the film.
Reality Check: Dr. Collin Meade, played by Jason O’Mara in the movie, plants deadly suggestions into his victims’ heads. However, Kathy Lindert, a certified hypnotist, told DailyMail.com that ‘every bad guy would be using hypnosis’ if it was as powerful as the movie claims
Experts agree that this is true for all patients. Experts confirm that it is true for all patients
Imagery: Jenn is asked by Dr. Meade to visualize a forest. This practice is very common in hypnotherapy. Keya Murthy who is both a certified clinical and spiritual hypnotherapist, said that imagery could be used and can be by many hypnotherapists.
DailyMail.com was told by Keya Murthy M.S., certified clinical hypnotherapist at Ventura Healing Center, California that imagery is a tool available to many hypnotherapists.
She said that flashing lights and metronomes that are featured in the film were ‘old paradigms’, adding that hypnotherapy doesn’t have to be as dramatic as the movie.
Lindert also agreed with Lindert that many hypnotists go to the beach or the mountains in their sessions. It is “associated with tranquility, relaxation, and peace.”
Jenn doesn’t recall anything about the session when she wakes from hypnosis. It felt as though it took minutes.
Lindert pointed out that “Not one person has blacked-out” in her 17-years of being a Hypnotist. Although patients might have an distorted perception of time, most people hear all that is being said.
‘Clients can go deep enough to tune out the hypnotherapist’s voice, but it doesn’t happen that often,’ Katherine Zimmerman, a certified clinical hypnotherapist from San Diego, California, told DailyMail.com.
It is possible to recall what you said and bring that memory back by simply reminding yourself.
Zimmerman said that hypnotists could suggest to clients amnesia. This would make them feel uncomfortable and as though they were looking for something.
Murthy says that a person suffering from PTSD may be hyper-suggestible and go’very deeply into their subconscious, and not recall much or any at all.
“More than Hypnotherapy Dr. Meade was conducting mindwash sessions, similar to the military or terrorist organisations,” she said.
There are many scenes where the hypnotist casts an unsettling spell on his victims. He calls them from an unknown number, and says a phrase which triggers the suggestion he has placed in their heads.
Jenn is instantly under his control when he calls her in middle of movie. After a trance, she wakes up to discover that there is more. that she tried to kill her former fiancé by feeding him sesame oil, which he is deathly allergic to.
Don’t pick up: The movie is filled with a number of improbable scenes in which Dr. Meade casts a spell on his victims by calling them from an unknown number and saying a phrase that triggers the suggestions he’s planted in their heads
Yikes: An early victim who suffers from claustrophobia dies of a heart attack after he convinces her she is being crushed between an elevator’s walls
Far out: Another character, Jenn’s friend Gina, crashes her car because she thinks a large spider is crawling on her
Experts disagreed that hypnotists have the ability to influence someone into doing something against their beliefs. This includes murdering a family member.
Hypnosis is a way for clients to maintain their ethics, morals and beliefs. Zimmerman stressed the fact that clients are fully in control.
“The subconscious mind has the ability to accept and reject ideas that conflict with their beliefs or values.
Murthy observed that the human consciousness is what renders ‘100% control impossible’, regardless of how evil a hypnotist may be.
To explain how limited a hypnotist’s control really is, Lindert referenced hypnosis shows, saying the people on stage are ‘usually in a light trance’ that is ‘easily broken.’
“That’s why the Hypnotist constantly rehypnotizes the people so they remain in that state,” she said. “They can easily get out of the state by simply thinking about it.
Terrifying: After Dr. Meade calls Jenn, she wakes up from the trance to find that she tried to kill her former fiancé by feeding him sesame oil, which he is deathly allergic to
Not real: Katherine Zimmerman, a certified clinical hypnotherapist, stressed that hypnosis patients would never do ‘anything that goes against their morals, beliefs, or ethics’
FYI: Murthy said that the human conscience makes it impossible to have 100 percent control. The hypnotherapist cannot convince someone to hurt a family member.
Two women are also killed by Dr. Meade in the movie when he makes them believe their worst fears will come true. A victim of claustrophobia who was an early victim, dies after Dr. Meade convinces her that she will be crushed between elevator walls.
Jenn’s friend Gina crashes Jenns car after she believes a large spider crawling under her.
“Dr. Meade preys on people with great fears. However, for a person to say a “phrase” and for that person to then experience that fear so greatly is not realistic,’ Lindert said, noting that the ‘brain is always looking for ways to protect you.’
She said that hypnosis doesn’t allow you to lose control, or to even go to the point where you start hallucinating. With just one phrase, your mind will search for ways to rescue you and to keep you from frightening thoughts.
She said, “It doesn’t matter how many times youhypnotize someone, but to actually have them feel the spider on their face to the point where they crash, is absurd, and it’s laughable,”
Lindert stated that she’s heard from a number of hypnotherapists who took advantage of clients during hypnosis, even though the movie is erroneous.
She explained that the clients were able to recall “things” about what happened because they had unusual memories. The mind keeps track of everything. If something does not feel right, it will produce those emotions. And if you take the time to think about these feelings, you’ll see what they are.
“Unfortunately, there will always be some bad people in any profession that take advantage and steal from others.