267 (2026) Review: What If The Pill That Cures You Is Killing You?

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source: tv.lk21

Published: March 25, 2026 | Edited: November 10, 2026
Synopsis:

267 (2026) is a psychological thriller with a duration of 1 hour 59 minutes and released on January 25, 2026. Directed by Jesse Frank. This film is included in the category of indie or festival films.

This film tells the story of a brother and sister who are reunited after years of separation. Instead of a warm reunion, that meeting opens a Pandora's box. They discover a dark secret about one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. A secret that should never have been known by them. Before that meeting, the man wakes up in a closed room without a clear memory of how he could be there. The only clue is the number 267 that keeps appearing on the digital screen, walls, and voice recordings. Because they want to expose the truth to the public, they have no choice but to face their deepest fears together.

The film has a cold and haunting nuance, with psychological pressure that increases as the revelation of patient number 267 unfolds. The man begins to realize that the number is not just decoration, but a symbol of a limit, a countdown, and mental pressure that slowly destroys sanity. This film refuses black-and-white answers, choosing ambiguity that forces reflection. The film's visuals rely on narrow spaces, symmetrical compositions, and monotonous mechanical sounds.

This film is considered to have potential because its premise is very relatable. Everyone has taken medicine. Everyone has trusted a pharmaceutical company. This film plays on that fear, "What if the medicine that cures you, turns out to be what makes you sick?" The sibling theme is emotional. This is not a film about superheroes. This is about a family separated by the system. If the execution is good, this could be like Erin Brockovich meets Dark Waters in a family drama version. The film title uses a number = mystery. Like 3670, Se7en, Room 237. A number title makes the audience immediately think: "What is 267?"

From all that potential, this film also has shortcomings. This film is prone to becoming an exaggerated conspiracy film. If the film insists too much on saying "all pharmaceutical companies are evil", the film could become cringe and not be believed. This film actually needs strong research. A film about pharmaceuticals is difficult. A slight mistake about medical terms, it will immediately be known as a lie by the audience who understands. Family drama pacing is easy to get boring. If 2 hours is just talking and crying, the audience who hopes for a thriller will be disappointed.

This film stars: Rachel Petsiavas, Franny Titus, Michael James Sewell Jr., Wade Hammond and more.

In my opinion:

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Hmm... How do I say it? Seeing from the poster of this film I have started to doubt. The title is "267" and the poster shows like a psychological thriller film. But once again a film poster has fooled me, sometimes I find a simple poster but the film is good, but this time I with a heavy heart say that this film is quite messy.

Playing on the theme of science involving the brain and memory, I feel this is quite heavy. Unless you are really a person who likes to think hard. But I see it, this film seems to want to appear classy with a smart idea, but actually they did not succeed in doing it.

In terms of cinematography and visuals it is already quite good even though the audio is mediocre, and what is quite confusing is the characters. Why? In my opinion, too many kinds of characters appear in this film and it seems all want to get the main spotlight. Besides making the story weak, there are some detailed things that look odd and make this story become 'weird and funny', you know what I mean, right? I think it needs more deepening and maturation to raise a film with a science story like this. Especially if it wants to be collaborated with a tense and mystery story.

This is a film that must be watched with the expectation of an investigative drama, not an action film. If you like Dark Waters (2019), The Constant Gardener (2005), or the Dopesick series, this film will be really suitable for you.

For me this one is 5/10.

Knowledge Center:

In 267 (2026), a brother and sister discover a dark secret about one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies. It sounds like fiction. It isn't. Thalidomide. OxyContin. Tuskegee. These were real. Real companies. Real pills. Real victims. The scariest horror story is not about a monster in the forest. It's about the pill in your medicine cabinet. Who do you trust when the cure is the poison?

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In the film 267 (2026), a brother and sister discover a dark secret about one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. It sounds like a film story. Like an exaggerated conspiracy. In fact, real world history is much crazier than that film. Because in the real world, we are not fighting monsters or aliens. We are fighting something much closer, namely the medicine we drink, the company we trust, and the system that should protect us.

In this KC column, I will briefly discuss the 3 biggest pharmaceutical scandals that really happened. And after reading this, you will understand why the film 267 feels so real.

First case: Thalidomide, medicine for pregnant mothers that made 10,000 babies disabled.

In the 1950s, in Germany, there was a company called Chemie Grünenthal. They made a new drug called Thalidomide. This drug was sold as a safe sleeping pill, and a drug to overcome morning nausea for pregnant women. Its advertisement said: "Completely safe. Can be taken by pregnant women." And that drug sold very well. Sold in 46 countries. In Germany, that drug could even be bought without a doctor's prescription. Then, starting in 1959, doctors began to see something strange and terrible. Babies were born with very short hands, or had no hands at all. Some had legs that did not develop. Some had no ears. In 5 years, more than 10,000 babies around the world were born with severe disabilities due to this drug. The most terrible thing is that the company had already received reports about its side effects from the beginning. But they covered it up. They kept selling it until the drug was finally banned in 1961.

Thalidomide changed the world of medicine forever. After this case, the world finally made strict rules, medicine for pregnant women must be tested for years before it can be sold. But the price for that rule was 10,000 babies. In Indonesia, this case may sound far away. But don't be wrong. Thalidomide had also circulated and became a global warning. Imagine you are that pregnant mother. You take medicine because you trust your doctor. You trust the drug company. And it turns out, the medicine you take to protect your baby, is what destroys your baby. That is the real horror.

Second case: Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis, medicine that made America addicted.

If Thalidomide was a tragedy in the 50s, this one is a tragedy that is still happening until now. In 1996, the Sackler family company in America, Purdue Pharma, launched a new drug, OxyContin. OxyContin is a very strong painkiller, opioid-based, derived from opium or morphine. To sell it, Purdue Pharma did very aggressive marketing. They told doctors all over America: "OxyContin is different. This drug does not cause addiction. Its addiction rate is less than 1%." All of that was a lie. OxyContin is very addictive. But doctors believed, they prescribed it for back pain, toothache, knee pain and the answer was OxyContin. The result? America experienced the worst opioid crisis in history. People who initially just had back pain, became addicted to the drug. If the prescription ran out, they bought it on the black market. If the black market was expensive, they moved to heroin. If heroin was expensive, they moved to fentanyl which is 50x stronger. Since 1999 until now, more than 500,000 people in America have died from opioid overdose.

The Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, became one of the richest families in America from the sale of this drug. They donated to museums, to universities, their names were attached to magnificent art buildings. Meanwhile, in small towns in America, there are towns nicknamed "zombie towns", because so many of their residents overdosed and died on the streets. Only in 2019, after 20 years, Purdue Pharma finally went bankrupt and was charged. The Sackler family had to pay billions of dollars in compensation. But not a single one of them went to prison. This case is the basis of the Dopesick series and the film Pain Hustlers. And this is also the main inspiration for films like 267. Because the story is the same, namely the company knows its drug is dangerous, but they choose money over human lives.

Third case: Tuskegee, 40 years of humans being used as guinea pigs.

This is not a pharmaceutical company scandal. This is even more evil. This is a scandal committed by the American government itself. In 1932, in Tuskegee, Alabama, the American government started a study called the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. They recruited 600 poor Black men, most of whom were farmers. 399 of them already had syphilis. The other 201 were healthy as a comparison. These men were promised: "You will get free medical treatment, free food, and free burial costs if you die." It sounds good, right? But it was a lie. Those researchers never intended to treat them. The purpose of that study was to see what happens if syphilis is left alone without treatment until the sufferer dies. So for 40 years, from 1932 to 1972, these men were left sick. They were not told that they had syphilis. They were told that they had "bad blood". Even when penicillin was discovered in the 1940s and proven to cure syphilis, those researchers deliberately did NOT give penicillin to them. They even prevented those men from going to see other doctors. As a result, many of them died, many became blind, many became insane, many of their wives were infected, and many of their children were born with congenital syphilis.

This study only stopped in 1972, after a whistleblower leaked it to journalists. Imagine, for 40 years, there were doctors, nurses, and scientists who every day saw humans suffering and deliberately let them, for the sake of "science". This Tuskegee case is what made the world finally make very strict research ethics rules, no human research without consent, without explanation, and without the right to stop at any time. But again, the price for that rule was the lives of hundreds of people.

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After reading the 3 cases above, it is natural if you ask: "So, are all drug companies evil? Are all drugs dangerous?" The answer is: NO. This is important to understand so that we do not fall into conspiracy theories. Pharmaceutical companies are also the ones that make vaccines, antibiotics, cancer drugs, diabetes drugs, which save billions of human lives every day. Without them, the average human lifespan might still be 40 years. The problem is not in the medicine. The problem is in the system. A system that makes pharmaceutical companies have to chase the biggest profit possible. A system that makes research can be hidden if the results are bad. A system that makes doctors can be "bought" with gifts and money from drug companies. The film 267 does not say "don't take medicine". The film 267 says: "Don't trust blindly. Always ask. Always check." Because as said in the film, the most dangerous monster is not in the forest. But the one wearing a white coat, sitting in a tall building, and saying "Believe me, this is safe."

If you find a file. In that file it is written that the medicine taken by millions of people turns out to have a deadly side effect, and the company knew from the beginning. You know if you leak it, your life will be destroyed. You will be threatened, fired, sued, even possibly eliminated. But if you are silent, millions of other people will continue to be victims. What will you do? Be silent, or speak? In the real world, there are people who choose to speak. They are called whistleblowers. And thanks to them, the Thalidomide case was revealed, the Purdue Pharma case was revealed, the Tuskegee case was revealed. They are not superheroes. They are just ordinary people who cannot stand seeing lies.