Come True

An insomniac student signs up for a sleep study, only to find her dreams mean more than she knew ...

Good performances in a story that reaches to another dimension in the exploration of character. The dreamscapes are macabre and well shot, and while the pace is patchy there is a moment of deep fear as the threat is fully revealed. The score is also interesting, except for ten minutes around the middle point when it seems to tread water just as the tension should be piled on.

A couple of points where credulity is stretched, but by the end I found myself having to rethink them because of the change in the logic of the story telling. There is a key to this, but I haven't figured out how far back the crucial change occurred. The director points to a Jungian framework, with captions naming four aspects of the psyche - the persona, anima and animus, the shadow, and the self. At the start we encounter the shadow, which is clearly part of a dream, but looking back it's unclear whether we touch base with reality at all - and so the heroine's odd domestic circumstances are never explained. There are a few more clues, like the change of eye colour, the disappearance of the other female volunteer, the simultaneity of the dreams, and some deep point about having sex with one's own opposite, but I'd have to watch more closely to piece it together.

The danger with hanging a story from a framework is that you lose touch with the character and drama. This does a good job, but I'd really have to trust the director's skill to commit to rewatching.

Overall: Ambitious, but I wasn't sure what it was offering me.

Canadian movie, it opens with visions of blurred, shadowy male figures with glowing eyes. We sense it is a dream then we see a teenage girl waking up in a sleeping bag on the bottom part of a slide in a town park. Then later by chance she sees an ad on a bulletin board for volunteers for a sleep study. She hasn't been sleeping well, has recurring nightmares, and frequently falls asleep in class. So she snaps at the chance, also because it will pay her.

So the movie goes on and I found it very interesting. There is a 30-odd year old movie called "Jacob's Ladder" and of that movie I wrote "everything in the film depicts dreams, hallucinations, and memories during those few minutes before death, as he is fighting for his life." That was my interpretation and there are things in this movie that remind me of that.

The big reveal, the "twist", comes at the very end of the movie with a message on her cell phone. Intellectually I know what happened during the movie but I can't put it all together in a coherent summary. I don't fully grasp what the filmmaker was depicting. There are certain symbols, like the two times 7:11 and 10:01 which apparently mean something to those who study spiritualism but escape me.

Am I glad I spent the time watching it? Yes, I am, even though I can't fully explain what the movie is saying. Would I watch it again? Probably not. The main actress is interesting, she plays an 18-yr-old (needed for the sex scene) and was probably 20 during filming, but with her short blond hair and youthful features looked almost like my 12-yr-old blond headed grandson. I don't say that in any negative way, I found her to be very appropriate for the role and her acting was very effective.

On DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, not her kind of movie.

This is one of those movies that will only resonate with a certain type of audience. Even then, I believe that, in order for its magic to truly work, it must be watched under the right conditions. You'll need a place that is dark and quiet, with little potential for interruptions -- like phones ringing, or that sort of thing.

Despite what anyone says, I easily don't consider this to be a horror movie. So if you're a huge horror fan, and are looking to be scared, or you're looking for lots of gore, then this isn't what you're looking for. Also, if you're an impatient viewer, who needs lots of crazy things happening, in order to constantly keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat, then you should pass on this one. This movie is for the type of person who can appreciate a slower-paced, simple story. It's not boring. However, you have to be the type of person who doesn't need a lot of stimulation, or a complex plot, in order to be intrigued. It basically has the pace of a tempered drama -- although, it's not a drama.

I watched this movie, early in the morning, while it was still dark, and while the world was quiet and still. I truly believe that, if I hadn't watched it in that setting, I wouldn't have appreciate it, as well. This is because it's an atmosphere-driven movie.

One of the things that quickly stuck out, for me, is some of the music, and the overall tone of the film. By the end, I knew that I would likely purchase the soundtrack, and since, have. This is one of those movies where the music plays a critical role.

The casting, for this movie, is done well. I've never seen the lead actress before. However, had someone else been cast in this role, you'd certainly have a different movie. I was impressed by her performance, since she made her character feel authentic, even though there isn't a ton of dialogue. She also has a certain look that easily fits the part.

I truly believe that most people won't like this movie. However, if you're the type of person who can appreciate atmosphere, and doesn't need a lot of loud, fast-paced stimulation, then you may enjoy this movie.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and visuals of this movie. The dream scene's designs are so cool, I would watch them all in a row, really dark art there.

This is the strongest aspect of the movie.

The sound is really good too, adds up a lot to the atmosphere, creating a creepy, mysterious vibe.

Good performances throughout, most of the characters are quite solid in their parts.

Story wise, there's a good tension and mystery feeling through the first two acts, but the third one feels stretched and even a bit incoherent by times. This is fixed my the very ending's twist, but I'm not too sure I liked the it. It's a valid one, but it might feel cheap or overdone for some people. I don't think it's a brilliant ending, but it serves well to a decent movie.

As I say on the title, there's a massive spoiler on the images of this movie on IMDB, so don't look at them if you haven't watch the movie yet.

I recommend this movie to visual lovers and if you're in the mood of a very slow paced movie.

Come True is an interesting one. The title has multiple meanings, the ending message also seems to have them.

Yet I still wanted it to be so much better. All the visual substance I enjoyed quite a lot. The soundtrack was strangely recognizable but still good. The production design was very reminiscent of Posessor (2020), as well as some of the lighting choices were. Also, the CGI nightmare cut-ins were creative, they felt inspired by some dark art themes, some videogame inspirations even, like Dark Souls and especially Darkwood, or maybe something else I'm not aware of.

Story-wise it is somewhat messy, there is a justification for this, but sometimes it feels really disconnected. The twist felt surprising but in a weaker way. At some point, it becomes clear that they are building up to something they cannot deliver cause they literally have like 2-3 long segments of build-ups that lead to nothing. The problem is that the type of story that they are using requires vague hints or better understandable symbolism. I've seen a couple of similar films but I don't want to name them to avoid spoilers. The way they did it just doesn't connect. Also, the idea of merging the real world with the subconscious nightmare world was awesome, but they still messed it up with that awkward twist.

There isn't much in terms of characters or character development. Some of the dialogue is interesting, but as I've said the characters do not drive the story, they could've been doing anything else or not doing anything at all, the ending would still be the same. This concept is similar to the Evil Within game series, actually.

I really hope that I've just missed the bigger picture (and possible hints) and the film is better than I understood it, but when I re-think what I just saw, I just can't find more good stuff to endorse. Worth a watch.