I Am Nightmare

I've always loved M Dot Strange's movie. It steers away from conventional directing, invokes a lot of thinking, and usually have a very deep meaning if you look out for it. Overtime from the time of his 1st production in "We are the Strange," and 2nd production in "Heart String Marionette," I have learned to appreciate that every little thing or detail in his movies are there for a purpose. Hence I thoroughly enjoy looking out for tiny references and patterns in nooks and crannies in the film.

But back to the film.

It has a different flavour, a different style. Feels less dark but mysterious and easy to appreciate. Storyline's unique and visually stunning. Would wanna see this on Blue-Ray someday, and an extended cut of this.

It's definitely a must watch for people looking for a refreshing different film and is in it for twists and something deeper and interesting.

A dark but entertaining animated film with a unique visual style and writing. With I Am Nightmare MdotStrange has succeeded in making a feature length film that keeps the viewer's attention throughout. These days the writing in most Hollywood films is appalling: the stories are incredibly flat, all being variations on a theme with little real originality and few risks taken; equally many independent animated feature films focus purely on animation, appearance and action and as a result little attention is paid to the writing. I Am Nightmare is at times funny, at times creepy and has a real sense of mystery in it; it leaves the viewer constantly wondering what will happen next. At a time when most films have a skeletal plot and are made without heart, this film has clearly been fleshed out and filled with heart. With this film MdotStrange has gotten it right and paid due attention to all elements, including music, acting, story and animation. I hope that he will continue with filmmaking, and add a fourth feature length animated film to his catalogue.

Broader Implications of this film: I Am Nightmare is an example of "personal cinema", the entire film was animated, written and directed by one man. This movement has become possible because of the massive technological developments that have made in recent years. The computing power to make high quality animated feature length films is no longer out of reach for those with the necessary passion, and new developments and opportunities with regards self publishing and distribution will give rise to a new age of outsider cinema. The old gatekeepers are no longer as relevant as they used to be. This new movement is here and it is not going to disappear. As technology continues to develop and change the face of work as we know it, many of the jobs that we currently know are going to disappear and as a result many people are going to have to find new ways to spend their time. We are going to have more time to consume and more time to create. MdotStrange and a handful of others are pioneers that show us but a glimpse of what is to come.

I will say right off the bat, this film is definitely for a small demographic. That being teenage punk/goth/scene. If you dont find yourself one of those types of people, this probably will not be a film for you. As it stands, this film was not for me either. First, let me get some of the positives out of the way. The plot of children who have to hunt nightmares in their town every night as adults just party is pretty interesting. The idea of nightmares themselves being grotesque and an actual threat is also nice. The aesthetics that this is going for is the reason I watched it. I do enjoy some of the look and 'idea' of some of the designs and imagery. However, there is a bit of a problem with the execution and display, which takes me into the bad.. The animation is stiff and amateur. I know it will be passed off as "they are dolls" but honestly its more along the lines of "this person can't make an animation cycle". They especially cant talk properly, that's for sure. I have to assume a lot of this was done in Unity, as the lighting is pretty sickening to look at. Way to bright, to the point that some of the imagery or aesthetic they were aiming for get lost in the yellow lighting in just about every scene. The voice acting is ok at best. not great, just ..... ok. I think the writing is what makes it almost unwatchable though. The dialogue is not great, and a lot of the lines should have been looked over and probably rewritten. A lot of useless swearing. Like, it was just used to sound edgy, but didn't actually sound cool when said. But again, maybe this reaches more to a younger crowd who thinks its hardcore and funny? I also saw some jokes from other media or series, which kind of drives the "not well written" nail all the way into the board. While I did say I enjoyed the actual plot, I will say the execution of it was horrible. The story itself took far to long, especially the climax, which felt like it took for ever. It shouldn't have had to last more then 10 minuets, but I think it went as long as 30. Now that I think about it, I feel like the whole story went on longer then it should have. This shouldn't have been a 2 hour story, or if so, it should have felt more whole. The music and audio is so-so. It feels like I have been listening to the same generic horror track over and over again through out the film. I will say I think once the climax hits, the audio actually becomes noticeable. But for the most part, it felt like the same thing over and over again. The sound effects though... I cant tell if they were meant for comedy... or because they didn't feel like searching the sound banks for something more fitting. All sound effects are obviously free sound bank related files. A lot of "boing" and bouncy sounds for the creatures, its to goofy and lowers the threat level of the creatures. I have to assume this was done by a very small team. If this is a team of like 4-5 people, Id have to give them some props on the attempt and hopefully first independent film. But from what I am seeing on IMDB, this isn't their first work, and the have been doing some work for years. For a younger watcher, who is into the "hot topic" look or just into light goth/punk/scene type aesthetic, you might have some type of enjoyment out of this. However, I know there are better films with a similar look out there, and although the premises is interesting, the delivery and work of it is lacking. For the average animation fan or just movie watcher, this is not worth the 2 hour sit.

This is like some guy wrote it himself and animated it at home on his computer, including the music, had his friends voice-act it, and then wrote these reviews for 8 or 9 stars.

Maybe kids could be entertained by this, but if they are young enough to be entertained, then it is probably too dark for them. I let it run while I was writing this review, and it gets very creepy at the 14 min mark.

This "film" is so bad it's slightly funny sometimes, and is ironically summed up by a character introduction at the 19:30 mark "My name's Bore, on account of my amazing way with words that just seems to keep people on the edge of their seat. You excited, you enthralled? Didn't think so."

Upfront, I'm a bit of an M dot Strange fanboy, so take my words with a grain of salt if you have to, but bear in mind I try and be fair in regards to film and how well it can entertain. And does it ever!

The strongest sell as always is the visual. M dot Strange seems to have mastered Cinema 4D and the accompanying tools, and it shows especially with the use of light. Prior animations have all taken place inside or within a dark atmosphere, and it's refreshing to see sun and shadows. Thanks to M dot's arsenal of characters already modeled (with slight retooling), this film was also finished within a year, which is a feat in consideration that most animated films take over 4 years, and this is just one man and whomever is willing to take the ride with him. How can anyone not appreciate that?

In terms of the story, the tried and true themes of oppression and rising against it return once more in M dot's work, but this time told in a very straight forward manner (no hidden meanings, plenty of characters talking with each other, clear motives, etc.). This thankfully doesn't take away from the mystery of the world we are thrust into, and part of the fun in film (to me) is deciphering the story as it unfolds.

The M dot fanboy within me would like to give the film a solid 10, but that would be unfair to filmmaking at large, so I have to give in what I think are faults. The lengths of certain scenes feel too long at times, sometimes making me sit forward and wonder if something was going to happen. At a little over two hours, some shots could have easily been slimmed down to keep the story going, and it would have paced a lot better with the rest of the shots which were spot on with editing.

Then there's the lip sync animation, which I recall being the bane of M dot's existence. Mouth movements are hit and miss, with painfully crafted motions that grab at your heartstrings, only to be balanced with audio and animation not lining up or jerky motions on the model. It's the least of the viewer's worries, due to animation as a whole is gorgeous, but the nitpicky will nitpick (hatters gonna hate).

...But that's pretty much it. We otherwise have a clever animation tale about children being a slave to "the man" with promises of a future, all leading to a climax that is nuts in the best of ways. M dot continues to impress with what he can do, and this film shows his continuing evolution. No, seriously, elements of all his work can be seen in I Am Nightmare, and it's quite the treat for fans to take in.