Når dyrene drømmer

It's not as exploitative as some may think (especially considering the English title), but more Art-house. So while this is a different beast (no pun intended) than "Let the right one in" (your dreams?), this still has a similar feeling to it. Not to mention a female character in the center of it. A really good movie (coming of age and other things that is) if you like your drama spiced.

Acting wise this is great and it may need some time to get rolling, but when it does there seems to be no stopping. Many people can also identify with the main actress/character, the way she feels and is being treated. There is more than a connection (though it does stop there of course ... hopefully) and that is being exploited, if anything.

WHEN ANIMALS DREAM is a deceptively quiet film. Very quiet. At least at first. Marie (Sonia Suhl) spends most of her free time tending to the needs of her mother (Sonja Richter), who is physically frozen from some unknown condition. Marie's father (Lars Mikkelsen) and the family doctor are extremely secretive about it all, especially when Marie begins showing odd symtoms of her own.

Marie's job is difficult and not at all glamorous. Making matters worse, her coworkers continue to haze her in vile ways. When Marie is finally told what is going on at home, her life begins to change drastically.

This is a totally different sort of werewolf movie. It's far more subtle than most, and the cold, grey somberness of it is palpable. Some have compared it to LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, and that's appropriate when it comes to atmosphere. It also has a bit of GINGER SNAPS going on, though this is not a satire by any stretch, like GS certainly is. It is a coming-of-age film, using horror to show the awkwardness, frustration, and pain involved.

If you're a strict horror fan, have no fear, there are some gruesome surprises to be found. Ms. Suhl plays Marie as a seemingly-shy girl with an edge. A sharp edge.

An effective twist on the genre, with a satisfying finale...

When Animals Dream has a lot of similarities with the Swedish masterpiece Let The Right One In. While one movie deals with Vampires and the other with Werewolves, both share a brilliant atmosphere along with sympathetic situations. When Animals Dream isn't so much about Werewolves as such, but about a family struggling to cope with hereditary illness. The power of a young female caring for her ill mother and depressed father. The whole situation is hopeless and portrays a very depressing story, but strangely at the same time, a story of beauty. The story is simplistic, but its the rich flavour that keeps the movie afloat. While Let The Right One In is a better film, When Animals Dream is yet another very memorable Scandinavian horror/drama. Highly recommended!

In the vein of Let the Right One In and Raw, When Animals Dream presents a familiar horror trope through a low key delivery in an effort to re-frame a well known monster. It's artistic by way of minimalism, getting off to an especially dull start that almost dares you to get bored. If you're the "I turned it off in 15 minutes" type, I can save you 15 minutes and tell you to skip this altogether. If you have the patience to stay with it, things do come together and serve to justify the more mundane moments. It never adds up to horror proper, and even the dramatic elements come from understated characters intent on saying more with less. But it has an interesting way of weaving werewolf lore around a it's coming of age themes, and though many points are predictable for both genres, the blend of melancholy moodiness and cathartic violence is actually quite satisfying.

*********SPOILER SECTION********

I had mixed feelings on the ending, as riding off into the sunset with your true love was unusually positive for the otherwise dire tone. Not to mention why would that guy continue to love a girl who now seems to be half dog and just killed a literal boat load of people? On reflection, that is a pretty dark outcome though. Since the film flops between sympathizing and condemning the character, I feel like we ultimately land on she's a murderer, right? I mean, bullies suck, so we want them to get there's, but she is a bloody monster who's now loose in society. My only hope was for the guy to hug her and be like "I accept you, no matter what" then she just bites his head off anyway, 'cause you can't trust a wolf. Maybe that's just me though....

A teenage girl whose mother suffers from some mysterious debilitating illness notices strange changes in her body while also suffering continued harassment at her new job at a fish processing facility and has her first experience with love. Little does she know what her bodily changes will lead to....

I recently also saw the Norwegian VIKING WOLF (2022), and can't help contrasting these two Scandinavian entries into the werewolf oeuvre. Whereas VIKING WOLF is a conventional horror film in the manner of Hollywood horror (somehow the Norwegians seem to be consistently great at emulating Hollywood), WHEN ANIMALS DREAM is much less conventional, not just with respect to the basic story but also in how it is filmed and even how it changes some of the rules of werewolf lore (for example, there is no temporary full moon transformation, talk of silver bullets or rabid blind lust for killing).

I ended up rating both movies the same, just short of good, but for very different reasons. While VIKING WOLF is quite entertaining, during the last 15 minutes or so it suddenly changes gears and begins to unnecessarily pile one implausibility after another, to such an extent that I wonder whether that part of the screenplay was written by somebody other than the person who wrote the earlier parts. WHEN ANIMALS DREAM, in contrast, stays consistent, though it is so understated that this takes a bite out of its entertainment value. Fans of more conventional horror fare will likely find this film too boring, and even the climax in which multiple people are dispatched has trouble generating excitement. I guess people who like introspective, quiet movies may be the most likely audience for this film.