When Animals Dream

WHEN ANIMALS DREAM is a deceptively quiet film. Very quiet. At least at first. Marie (Sonia Suhl) spends most of her free time tending to the needs of her mother (Sonja Richter), who is physically frozen from some unknown condition. Marie's father (Lars Mikkelsen) and the family doctor are extremely secretive about it all, especially when Marie begins showing odd symtoms of her own.

Marie's job is difficult and not at all glamorous. Making matters worse, her coworkers continue to haze her in vile ways. When Marie is finally told what is going on at home, her life begins to change drastically.

This is a totally different sort of werewolf movie. It's far more subtle than most, and the cold, grey somberness of it is palpable. Some have compared it to LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, and that's appropriate when it comes to atmosphere. It also has a bit of GINGER SNAPS going on, though this is not a satire by any stretch, like GS certainly is. It is a coming-of-age film, using horror to show the awkwardness, frustration, and pain involved.

If you're a strict horror fan, have no fear, there are some gruesome surprises to be found. Ms. Suhl plays Marie as a seemingly-shy girl with an edge. A sharp edge.

An effective twist on the genre, with a satisfying finale...

So, last night I just finished watching Spring. Wow does these 2 resemble a lot! Sadly, in a bad way...

Let's see: both of them involve a woman, going through changes, becoming something different, a monster if you like. Any originality here? Of course not, just making the most of a indeed small budget, but it will easily go unnoticed, cause let's face it, this is not what anyone is looking for when searching for a horror. It is another dull ride, maybe a tad bit better than Spring indeed, nevertheless, dull, heading to a romantic ending and that's that.

I won't recommend it "When animals dream", but if you're searching for something familiar, a movie about an isolated place, you could put an eye on "The dark" or ""Dorothy Mills". Both of them, far better!

Cheers!

If you appreciate the visual, pure beauty of it - this one is for You.

The story itself is OK, nothing spectacular (better told in 'The Uninvited' (2009),) developing through beautiful scenery while depicting character's actions the most, the story doesn't relay on the conversation - it's the weak point and the strong one, depends how you look at it... I love it for what it is - a piece of art, trying to tell the story within, with more or less success. Still way better than most of the movies today ;) Just go with the flow and enjoy, don't expect any revelations, that's not what this movie is about.

It is so easy to talk about all the bad and disregard the good, as it is in life. I guess, it comes down to what kind of person you are. I assure you - this movie still has a lot of great things to offer, as long as you don't expect to see what it is not there to begin with. Not many movies are that way, these days. It all comes down to a personal level of finding and appreciating the beauty presented, in front of you. Not about your expectations, the whole story you wanna see in each and every detail. Just get over it and enjoy it for what it is, cause it's pretty great ;)

When Animals Dream has a lot of similarities with the Swedish masterpiece Let The Right One In. While one movie deals with Vampires and the other with Werewolves, both share a brilliant atmosphere along with sympathetic situations. When Animals Dream isn't so much about Werewolves as such, but about a family struggling to cope with hereditary illness. The power of a young female caring for her ill mother and depressed father. The whole situation is hopeless and portrays a very depressing story, but strangely at the same time, a story of beauty. The story is simplistic, but its the rich flavour that keeps the movie afloat. While Let The Right One In is a better film, When Animals Dream is yet another very memorable Scandinavian horror/drama. Highly recommended!

A teenage girl whose mother suffers from some mysterious debilitating illness notices strange changes in her body while also suffering continued harassment at her new job at a fish processing facility and has her first experience with love. Little does she know what her bodily changes will lead to....

I recently also saw the Norwegian VIKING WOLF (2022), and can't help contrasting these two Scandinavian entries into the werewolf oeuvre. Whereas VIKING WOLF is a conventional horror film in the manner of Hollywood horror (somehow the Norwegians seem to be consistently great at emulating Hollywood), WHEN ANIMALS DREAM is much less conventional, not just with respect to the basic story but also in how it is filmed and even how it changes some of the rules of werewolf lore (for example, there is no temporary full moon transformation, talk of silver bullets or rabid blind lust for killing).

I ended up rating both movies the same, just short of good, but for very different reasons. While VIKING WOLF is quite entertaining, during the last 15 minutes or so it suddenly changes gears and begins to unnecessarily pile one implausibility after another, to such an extent that I wonder whether that part of the screenplay was written by somebody other than the person who wrote the earlier parts. WHEN ANIMALS DREAM, in contrast, stays consistent, though it is so understated that this takes a bite out of its entertainment value. Fans of more conventional horror fare will likely find this film too boring, and even the climax in which multiple people are dispatched has trouble generating excitement. I guess people who like introspective, quiet movies may be the most likely audience for this film.