When Animals Dream (2015)
Starring Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelson, Sonja Richter
Directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby
Breaking boundaries, breaking stereotypes, breaking the mold of rational thought, apparently – these are just a few of the steps that were most likely circumvented when Jonas Alexander Arnby worked his magic behind the lens on When Animals Dream. In his feature film maiden voyage, he manages to twist the horror genre in such a way that you’d never expect what comes a crawlin’ at you in this movie.
The film centers around Maria (Suhl), a young woman creeping towards womanhood in a remote Danish fishing village, and if the pain of spending your adolescent years crammed into a commonality where the surplus is more important than the populous, then it’s the fact that Maria’s mother has grown increasingly debilitated over the past few years and confined to a wheelchair, reducing Maria to a simplistic role of caretaker, sharing duties with her father (Mikkelson).
As she works in the town’s packing plant, her newness to the occupation is complicated by not only hazing from her co-workers, but the pressure of an unwanted relationship with a man named Esben… and when Esben doesn’t get what he wants, NO ONE is going to be happy. Aside from the unfortunate harassment and burdening hardship of caring for an incapacitated parental unit, Maria notices a very tiny collection of hairs beginning to show up in the middle of a rash on her chest – some people just have no luck at all.
Maria’s willingness to discover not only her own sexual awakening, as well as her newfound follicular patch that appears to be sprouting with each passing day, works in a multitude of pathways, none of which will be beneficial to those around her, especially the ones that have done her wrong. Interestingly enough, as the movie moves (at an alarmingly idle pace), Maria’s thoughts, actions, and reactions change as her needs begin to swell, and we’ve now got somewhat of a creature film already on top of one of those dramatically presented “ascent into femininity” films, and it ain’t all that bad to look at!
Suhl’s role looks facile enough, with the low amount of dialogue, and moderate usage of a face devoid of emotion at times, but on the contrary she packs every single sentiment into her portrayal, and showcases it to a full extent, thereby delivering a very solid performance. Even Suhl’s co-stars act as if they are subdued to an extent; yet, their likenesses to hardworking regulars in a small village is very true, and it only adds to the realness of their situation (aside from the predatory, hairy monster that shows its fangs on occasion).
Overall, When Animals Dream is an overly interesting mix of monster and woman, fused together, and the progression can be a bit slow, but when teeth are bared, all the men had better run to the hills, cause it’s going to get bloody real quick. A one-timer, for sure.
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Film
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