Teen runaway Sarah (Stone) volunteers for a sleep study, not realising that the scientists are testing a system for filming people's dreams. We all like a good dream sequence, but they are nonsense. No dream sequence ever committed to film bears even a slight comparison to any dream a human being has actually had.
And they don't here, but the nightmares conjured up by director/writer/editor/cameraman/visual effects supervisor and soundtrack composer Burns are closer than most and incredibly unnerving. And they do at least look like they're trying to capture the helpless propulsion of the dream state rather than just being a convenient outlet for the director's outlandish visual ideas.
This is a Canadian horror film made in the Canadian horror film style: empty streets, anonymous scientific institutes and cold-blooded restraint. No gaudy jump shocks, just an ongoing effort to worm its way under your skin. Few things make me as happy as a good Canadian horror film and this is a decent one: detached, thoughtful and determined to follow its own path. It is only let down by a couple of clunky moments that really jerk you out of the nightmare. 4/5 stars.
Directed by Anthony Scott Burns. Starring Julia Sarah Stone, Landon Liboiron, Carlee Ryski, Tedra Rogers and Christopher Heatherington. Available on VOD from March 15. Running time: 105 mins.
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