The Dark Nightmare

The Nightmare was far better than I expected it to be, and about a theme that is rarely used in movies, sleep paralysis.

The film is obviously inspired by Roman Polanski. More about this later on.

The couple Mona (Eili Harboe) and Robbie (Herman Tømmeraas), both 25, should have received a fly swatter as a gift when they had a housewarming party. The buzzing from insect wings is constant every time Mona goes to bed in the evening, in the apartment in Bergen she and her boyfriend have just bought at asking price. The home is a big renovation project, and was not even properly cleaned and washed after the previous occupant died under unclear circumstances.

They got it cheap, then it may rather be that the noise from neighbors arguing and children screaming is constant. It's not just sounds that ruin Mona's night's sleep. She also suffers from sleep paralysis and somnambulism. The distinction between what are nightmares and what are hallucinations in the waking state is unclear, for her and for us. Sometimes she hurts herself when she sleeps.

Robbie is rarely present when she goes to bed, he works hard and late, and he usually comes home very late in the evening.

It gradually dawns on us that, by all accounts, Mona's restless sleep is connected to a feeling of stress she feels when she is awake: The expectations of those around her that, with a husband and a house in place - well, it is probably time to get children too? Robbie fusses all the time. They even have enough space!

Mona's fears are fueled by the young, strangely gusty couple who live in the apartment opposite them (Gine Therese Grønner and Preben Hodneland), and also the creepy sleep specialist Aksel Brun (played brilliantly by Dennis Storhøi). He wants to help her, but seems to be more concerned with superstition than with modern medical science.

Writer/director Kjersti Helen Rasmussen's chills has made a sublime horror-thriller that maks me think of not just one, but three great psychological thrillers signed by Roman Polanski. First and foremost "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), then "Repulsion" (1965) and "The Tenant" (1976). And "The Nightmare" does not shame them.

This has become a film with a lot of nerve. However - as so often happens with this kind of elevated horror, it seems that the more the movie tries to explain itself, it loses the grip of being a masterpiece.

Still it is great, and don't listen to the other reviewers, they simply don't get the references. One of the top Norwegian horrors of all times.

I really don't understand all the negative reviews of this film? Because it really isn't that bad at all.

There are obviously many many clichés and none of the horror is really original, it does get kinda campy and formulaic quite often, and it really isn't all that scary (in my opinion), but there's a solid cast with convincing acting and good enough writing to keep you engaged if you have a basic attention span, which it seems like a lot of people who saw this movie don't.

It's nice to see some folk horror with a cool modernized twist and the lore, while it's been used many times before, works in this film's favor. If you're into the sub-genre of dream horror, this is totally a film you should watch.

I don't know where to start, usually don't write negative reviews, but seeing the rating of this movie (which is quite high for a horror movie) I felt somebody needs to speak up. Boring movie, the plot could be interesting, but alas. And it paints an inproper picture of what a norwegian woman would expect in a doctor's appointment if she wants to take an abortion (here comes the sorry attempt for PC since most political parties in Norway are against abortion, but Norway stil wants to play the «democratic» card, while they're just having heavily socialist politics). All in all a bad, boring movie.

No pun intended - this is quite the interesting horror movie. The suspense works from start to finish. Yes we do get quite a few cliche stuff ... but we do have a horror movie here, so that is to be expected. The actors are really good too ... it starts off with the usual shocker (horror movies have to do that, to keep us engaged I reckon) ... and it does have a nice build up.

I reckon you might have wanted to seek out better professional help ... and maybe not stay at a place that is as horrible ... but then again, we would not have a movie ... so suspense of disbelief is quite necessary. Good effects overall ... and well told ... it's not only Freddy (Kruger) who is able to give you nightmares ...

... and dream of better horror films, perhaps?

Believe me, I honestly don't like writing harsh and negative things about a film like "Marerittet". I want to encourage ambitious and intelligent new horror stories, especially when they come from one of my favorite countries in the world, but unfortunately "Nightmare" is mostly dull, unremarkable, implausible, and featuring far too many phony jump-scares than tolerable.

The Brussels' Film Festival, where I saw the film, describes "Marerittet" as mixture between "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Rosemary's Baby". That's fairly accurate plot-wise, but obviously not in terms of quality or impact. Terrible events from the lead girl's dreams manifest themselves when she wakes up, and there are demonic babies that desperately want to be born, but "Marerittet" undoubtedly won't ever be considered as genre classic like the other two. Notably the first full hour is too slow-paced and too clichéd. The final act touches upon some taboo subjects (like abortion and insights in the concept of lucid dreaming) and contains a handful of strong moments, but the overall result remains unsatisfying. The strong performance of Eili Harboe does make me want to seek out the acclaimed fantasy/thriller "Thelma", in which she plays the titular role.