A Blind Bargain Revives Lost Lon Chaney Horror, Opens May 8 in L.A.

Crispin Glover leads a chilling experiment in A Blind Bargain.

Crispin Glover Stars in A Blind Bargain, a Reimagining of Lost Lon Chaney Thriller, Opening May 8 in Los Angeles

A piece of lost horror history is being reimagined for modern audiences as A Blind Bargain arrives in Los Angeles on May 8, bringing a stylized psychological thriller rooted in one of silent cinema’s most elusive titles.

Directed by Paul Bunnell, the film reimagines the long-lost 1922 silent horror classic originally starring Lon Chaney, a film that has since become a “holy grail” for preservationists due to its near-total disappearance from film archives.

This new interpretation stars Crispin Glover as a morally ambiguous physician conducting radical experiments aimed at reversing aging. Opposite him, Jake Horowitz plays a troubled Vietnam veteran who makes a desperate deal—unknowingly offering up his mother as a subject in those experiments.

The film leans heavily into its 1970 setting, using the era’s visual and tonal influences to shape a story driven by addiction, desperation, and consequence. Amy Wright portrays the mother at the center of the narrative, alongside a supporting cast that includes Lucy Loken, Annalisa Cochrane, and Sean Whalen.

Shot on Kodak film and screening in select 35mm presentations, A Blind Bargain positions itself as both a narrative reimagining and a cinematic throwback. Its approach mirrors the unsettling tone of early horror while integrating a more modern psychological framework.

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The film has already built momentum following its New York debut at the Angelika Film Center, where it performed strongly during its opening weekend. It also enters Los Angeles with festival recognition, including a Best Feature Film win at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.

Screenings will take place at Nuart Theatre, as well as Laemmle locations in North Hollywood and Glendale, with select showings featuring cast and crew Q&A sessions throughout opening weekend.

As both a revival of a lost story and a standalone psychological thriller, A Blind Bargain taps into horror’s past while reinterpreting it through a more contemporary lens.

The film opens in Los Angeles May 8, with additional cities expected to follow.