Nightmare

Reese wakes up from a nightmare where he's killed his girlfriend. Reese wakes up fro ma nightmare where he kills a homeless man. Reese wakes up from a nightmare where he kills everyone he knows. What happens if one of these times he wakes up, and finds out he was never asleep?

This film was directed by Brent Nowak (Lost Love, Harvest Moon) and written by Brad Ashten. Ashten, who you may have seen on "Veronica Mars", also stars in this short film. I've praised Nowak enough in other reviews so I won't do it here (other than to say he's kept up his pattern of quality). I will give a lot of credit to Ashten, though -- apart from the fine acting, he really found a way to make a very deep, layered story in a limited amount of time. The characters are ones we can identify with, and the depth of this film is amazing for coming in around 14 minutes.

What is best about the depth isn't just that it's well-crafted: it's that we are never sure which layer we are in. Is Reese awake, asleep, or in a dream inside a dream? If you peel an onion enough times, you find the core of the onion. But the more you peel back "Nightmare" the more sure you become there's never been a core at all. And that's good writing -- I see shades of Cronenberg and Lynch in this film.

You may ask why this film isn't coming in with a perfect score. My reasoning is this: something about the blood seemed wrong to me. Quality writing, acting and directing -- but the death scenes seemed a little too unrealistic. And that's a crucial element if you're aiming to make a horror or thriller type film. But, thankfully, they didn't resort to bad CGI blood like certain other independent film-makers I could name (Lincoln Kupchak, this means you).

Check this one out. Try to unravel the onion, and see what you find inside. I know what I found, and I have my suspicions of what the true layers are. But maybe you'll find something different than I did. Certainly a solid piece, and Ashten may have a career in writing to fall back on if the acting isn't enough. (Or, do both, I suppose.)

I enjoyed the movie, it was thought provoking and it kept me interested. I have seen a couple of Brents films before and I feel that this film is one of his best works. I enjoyed the directing and editing. The guy who played the lead was good as well. My favorite shot was when the speed was modified while zooming in simultaneously. That was really cool! Overall, entertaining. Good work. Looking forward to seeing Brents next film. 10 for excellence! Nowak is an under-rated talent. Films that are thought provoking will always have a place in film-goers minds. I really enjoyed the idea behind the production. Great decisions all around!!

This is my second time to watch Nightmare since it came out and it was still interesting. The film is well done, good DP work, nice effects, and the work done by Ashten is top notch. Ashten appears very conscious of the needs of the camera without being conscious, and therefore self-conscious, of it. The time and effort taken with this project shows when one watches other short films that look like they were done with a home video camera. The variance in screen shots contributes to the disorienting effect without disengaging the viewer.

The script was well-written though the imagination behind what I first read brought it to life in a way I had not anticipated. One can easily surmise that great thought and work went into Nightmare before the piece was released. It shows.

Very well done.

I'm not sure who rates this film a "1," but all I can say is that these people must have their own mental problems to deal with, because it's a good film. Maybe they think it's a documentary about themselves, and they're embarrassed. I don't know. But THE FILM IS SOLID, well-written, well-directed, excellent cinematography, and solid acting. I'm not sure what else you can ask for in a short film. Other than a little T&A.

They say I need 10 lines to post a comment, so I guess I'll have to elaborate. I feel I pretty much summed up my thoughts already, but in this case, I'll point out the weaknesses of the film, so we have both sides of the story. Production Design - creative and interesting, but definitely representative of a lower budget. Special Effects - well done, blood and guts, etc., but nothing innovative or new (well done nonetheless). I don't know what else. It's hard to critique it because it was all good. And I don't mean to single out the departments mentioned above, but I have to get those 10 lines! Really, given a limited budget and resources, it was the best it could be, in my opinion. A well made short film worth watching!