An entertaining Indie about nightmares.
“Come True” has no household names or endorsements, but it’s still a riveting and entertaining horror film about the horrifying results of dreams. We’ve seen it explored quite well in other movies (like “Inception” for example), and the way writer/director Anthony Scott Burns examines it is on an emotional and psychedelic level.
I’ve had a discussion with a friend of mine the other day about how I dislike the jump-scare genre for overdosing on the screams, unless they have wise stories to tell and characters worth supporting. This movie has some scares, but they’re more patient and gloomy, which is a good thing.
We meet Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone), a teenage loner and runaway, who has trouble sleeping, and finds an ad about getting paid for a sleep study. She decides to apply to undergo the experiment. She often has dreams about entering a black and white world through caves, and holes and finding a black figure at the end. Other times, they’re different worlds with different figures and shapes. And being an IFC Midnight release, “Come True” captures the atmosphere and chills very well.
She gets the job, and finds out that there are more guys than girls undergoing the experiment. Why is that? The doctor Anita (Carlee Ryski) can’t tell her. And what are the doctors studying? Anita can’t tell her that either. After the experiment and seeing the dream pictures, Sarah suffers from a terrible panic attack with no reason why.
She begins to get more scared, and demands an answer from a scientist named Jeremy (Landon Liboiron), whom she accuses of stalking her. He tells her the experiments allow the scientists to view their dreams, and the results are endless. Her nightmares are more bizarre than most sleepers, and they even begin to affect the other experimental guinea pigs.
“Come True” isn’t always understandable or interesting. In fact, segments of the movie are dull and don’t make much sense. But it does creep you out with the dream demons and how the main heroine develops the fear of them. I don’t know who Julia Sarah Stone is, and I didn’t recognize her name in the credits, but she gives an excellent and reserved performance as her. For the most part, you’re interested in this girl and wonder where she’s going in her life, and you’re even more so, once you see her undergo the experiments and suffer from its unprecedented side effects.
And fine supporting work also goes to Liboiron, Ryski, and Christopher Heatherington as the doctor in charge of the lab. They’re not evil and they’re not keeping these patients hostage. They’re trying to attempt things that have never been done before, and they’re also worried about the risks that may come up. And I admire how Stone and Liboiron’s characters are able to connect during the nightmares.
Again, “Come True” is not a mass market horror movie with the jump-scares or big names. It’s an independent film with unfamiliar faces, who prove there’s more to them than meets the eye. Kudos to Anthony Scott Burns for making this picture.
In Select Theaters and On Demand
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