"Mr. Sandman" follows the short story of a child (which, by the way, she's the cutest ever) that doesn't do what is told and well, she pays for it (or does she not?). Horror, amiright?
So, let's go with why you're going to love it. The first factor is that it's simple (in a good way). Honestly, I'm a bit tired of difficult stories which I don't even get to fully understand. This one, you can relate. We've all been kids and some of us have kids, which is even more enlightening to make you remember how unbearable we were as kids. You know you would COMPLETELY be that kid.
Secondly, who is Mr. Sandman? Do we really get to unfold this dark figure? Sandman's fairytale, for those who don't know yet, tells the story of a terrifying figure who throws sand into children's eyes if they won't go to sleep, making their eyes fall out. He then collects those eyes and feeds them to his own children who live in the moon.
Schmidt keeps it really dark and suspenseful, playing with blacks and voids of the scene. The child is a really good actress, she doesn't look like a kid trying to act (you know what I mean), she genuinely looks terrified and kind of... hypnotized at some points in the film.
We have a (horrific) jump from one of the characters when you think you're too smart and you know what's next. I loved that. I also very much appreciated the "kid's" show they are watching at night on the TV. Have you ever played the videogame "Little Nightmares?" If you haven't, GO DO IT. It's the bestest and saddestest game you'll ever play. Well, the show they are watching, reminds me so much of the atmosphere that videogame evokes. It's an element of our past (past, past), which awakens a ton of nostalgia, mixed with the creepiness of what we used to watch as kids, the scary song, disturbing animatronic-wannabe scenarios and... the dark of the night.
We have the grandmother, who prophesies Mr. Sandman's threat. We don't see her a lot, but her intervention is crucial for the viewer to understand what's going on.
Everything occurs in a normal, what seems to be a small family house. It's silent, dark, and not creepy by sight but by atmosphere. The tension is constant although Schmidt loosens up here and there so you guard down.
A monster you can't escape from (or so they say), a kid who learns a lesson, two awkward parents who play a 'puppet' role (not literal), and an indoor hunt where you can run nowhere.
This film has sown different horror elements into a fabric that's very easy to enjoy. It pulls several nostalgia strings and it's really creepy which, at the end, that's what we're here for, aren't we?
