The Dreadful Place

The Dreadful Place follows a lead named Willow (Keaton McLachlan) navigating her father’s death. Embroiled in grief, she’s trapped in a never-ending nightmare she can’t seem to escape.

The premise of the film is set up early on. Willow’s father, Thomas (Matt Fling), is a famous musician with alcoholism and is involved in a traumatic car crash. This constantly haunts Willow as she is trying to piece her life back together. Along the way, we meet fellow friends and colleagues, most notably her childhood best friend, Emma (Abigail Fawn), and ex-boyfriend, Chris (Daved Olivencia). We see Willow consistently struggling with sleep and entering dream sequences, at first subtle but as we delve deeper, we have to figure out what’s real and what’s not.

Tortured by this psychological journey, Willow tries to determine what it all means and who she can trust. This film is an amalgamation of grief, trauma, and self-reflection. Without going into spoilers, they cleverly use recurring characters and easter eggs that spill over into other scenes, leaving the audience in an emotional minefield just like Willow. A standout in the film is played by Cole Daniel Hills himself, who not only wrote and directed this but also stars in it as the host. He provides an uneasiness throughout but also offers comedic relief as we try to make sense of it all.

The cinematography is strong throughout and the editing is important to accomplish the storyline, particularly in scenes that are ever-changing. The transitions sell the idea of a hopeless maze and how Willow has to face not only the death of her dad but herself. The use of different environments and lighting portrays the bizarre and warped reality Willow finds herself in.

Generational trauma is a constant theme here. Willow doesn’t want to be like her dad and wants to break that cycle. The spotlight is figuratively and literally shone on her and how she’s losing grip on reality. In particular, the sequence when she is on a talk show and being questioned about her father, the acting really shines through in isolated moments like these.

Whilst it conveys the sense of paranormal and ghostly characters, the main threat is our own inner demons and how we face them. Whilst Willow’s dad caused a lot of pain, love and empathy can co-exist here and overcoming that loss is something that we all experience.

This film tries to maintain momentum throughout. At times, it feels chaotic and the run time could have been shortened to create a bigger impact. However, the deranged nature enhances the feeling of entrapment and how Willow is fighting herself.

The Dreadful Place was made on a shoestring budget, which is impressive in itself. You can tell this was a passion project and was made with a labour of love from a talented cast and crew. The main cast perform convincing roles and capture the harsh world within our minds, especially Keaton McLachlan as Willow. Ultimately, learning to give yourself grace and time to heal.