Dreamcrasher

A short horror film written and directed by Joseph Ringland and starring Lyud Hristov, Adie Mueller and Charlie Smith.

Things are not going well for young Norman (Hristov). He is being regularly plagued during night-time by some otherwordly supernatural and sinister-looking figure that magically appears in his bedroom. Not knowing whether this entity is real or not, he seeks the help of Dr Thorne (Mueller) in an effort to find a way to deal with this.

This short starts as a supernatural psychological horror story, before getting into comedy and finally into heavy drama. The narrative alternates between Norman being tormented by the mysterious apparition and attending his therapy sessions with Dr Thorne. Things take an unexpected turn when he proceeds to develop a friendly rapport with the frequent and unwanted visitor. Clues appear here and there and they include the time three thirty-three in the morning, which seems to be significant and related to a fateful past event that severely impacted Norman's life.

It is worth acknowledging the horror DVDs and posters, whose presence is probably to highlight the fact that this is a horror film. Arguably, the highlights occur when the humanlike creature appears (although it is not indicated in the film, this could be the titular Dreamcrasher). Dressed in what appears to be a hooded black robe, this being has a monstrous appearance, with branched horns on the head, a deer-like skull for a face and glowing white eyes. It does not speak and moves slowly. Are its intentions good or bad? Its presence is often accompanied by unsettling and ominous music by Thomas Pearce, who also provides dramatic music at times. The creativity involving the sinister sound of a clock ticking is also worth noting and so is Ringland's use of unconventional camera angles.

As the main character, Norman is a tormented young man. Trying to secure himself a job, he is unable to do so due to the trouble that he is going through because of the entity. He is quite distressed and believes he might be losing his mind. However, it becomes evident that he is suffering the effects of a devastating experience. Mueller is sympathetic as a supportive and concerned therapist.

The screenplay contains a variety of themes that involve mental health, including high anxiety, paranoia, having nightmares and insomnia. Mainly though, this is a story that deals with loss, trauma and grief and it is rather apparent that it aims to communicate the message that people must try to come to terms with their misfortunes and move on.

A horror film that is frightening and also very emotional. On one hand it is about things that go bump in the night and on the other it concerns a terrible loss that has not been reconciled and it is the latter that gives this short the highest quality.