Når dyrene drømmer

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....

Wow. What a pleasant surprise. Carefully-paced, artfully composed with some beautiful cinematography and direction, and some strong acting. The fact that it's the director's feature film debut is highly impressive, and it actually reminds me of Let The Right One In in some aspects. It's definitely a horror film, but definitely a coming-of-age drama in other ways. Definitely recommend this little gem, and further proof that 2014 was actually a good year for horror (among others like Under The Skin, Coherence, The Babadook, Honeymoon). I hope people try to seek this one out because it's definitely worth the time to, especially among sure dire horrors these days.

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...

If you appreciate the visual, pure beauty of it - this one is for You.

The story itself is OK, nothing spectacular (better told in 'The Uninvited' (2009),) developing through beautiful scenery while depicting character's actions the most, the story doesn't relay on the conversation - it's the weak point and the strong one, depends how you look at it... I love it for what it is - a piece of art, trying to tell the story within, with more or less success. Still way better than most of the movies today ;) Just go with the flow and enjoy, don't expect any revelations, that's not what this movie is about.

It is so easy to talk about all the bad and disregard the good, as it is in life. I guess, it comes down to what kind of person you are. I assure you - this movie still has a lot of great things to offer, as long as you don't expect to see what it is not there to begin with. Not many movies are that way, these days. It all comes down to a personal level of finding and appreciating the beauty presented, in front of you. Not about your expectations, the whole story you wanna see in each and every detail. Just get over it and enjoy it for what it is, cause it's pretty great ;)

Marie is sixteen and lives in a coastal town with nowt to do, no friends and a mother with a mysterious debilitating illness. The local doctor seems to take a lot of interest in Marie's condition especially when she starts to grow thick body hair and she would like to know why.

Now she gets a job at the local fish factory, where she is not exactly made to feel welcome. She makes a connection with Daniel, a kindly soul who is also a good looking man whom she takes a shine too. The thing is she starts to feel that she has not been told everything about her 'illness' and soon she will find out the hard way.

Now this is a slow burner but one that is fairly intense at the same time. There are some sterling performances especially from Lars Mikkelsen – brother of Mads but everyone is actually good even Gustav Dyekjær Giese who has a small role playing a nasty type here and was in the rather good 'Northwest'. It is short at 81 minutes and that includes the run off credits, but it does not do much wasting of screen time and is better for it. For lovers of 'horror' this may be lacking as it is a coming of age tale and a relationship story as much as the horror part and that makes it a more rounded film – recommended.