The Somnambulists (2005)

Pack: Tomb of Terrors
Disc: 3

Subgenre(s): Supernatural, Revenge, Short

Year: 2005

Rated: R
Length: 24 minutes (78 minutes according to DVD sleeve)

Director: Kevin Lane
Writer: Kevin Lane
Starring: Tara Goudreau, Jack Redman, Jordan Monaghan

Synopsis: Plagued by terrifying nightmares, Francesca finds herself waking up in tears. Her Grandfather explains the legend of The Somnambulists - the spirits of people wronged in life possessing the living in their dreams. To make matters worse, the sleepy little town Francesca lives in is being terrorized by a deranged serial killer. As Francesca loses her grip on reality, she begins to realize that the legend of The Somnambulists may be more than just a legend.

Screencaps:

Review: What a weird, wonderful and creepy little Canadian film.

The minimalist score sounds like Halloween, the setting looks like Halloween, two characters are named Loomis, one is named Carpenter, and even "Don Pleasence" gets a mention, but it's got nothing to do with Halloween (1978) whatsoever.

Without spoiling it, there isn't much I can say about The Somnambulists except that the acting is exceptional, the cinematography is beautiful, Tara Goudreau looks great, and the surprise at the end makes sense of the feeling of paranoia throughout.

I didn't completely understood the supernatural events, but I don't think that I was meant to either. The Somnambulists is one of those stories to think about after the fact rather than have all the answers handed to you on a plate.

It's just a pity that the transfer of this short movie comes in a weird widescreen format which is placed inside a 4:3 ratio wrapper with black bars at the top and bottom. On a computer, it looks windowboxed, and it's a bugger to screencap.

Most Memorable Moment(s): Francesca's final moments on screen.

Originality: Very original.

Best Line(s): "There's no Heaven. There's no Hell. Only dreams. That's where the dead go."
Worst Line(s): "Can I ask you something?"

Best Effect(s): The appearance of the somnambulists.
Worst Effect(s): There isn't one.

Goriness (out of 10): 2
Sexiness (out of 10): 1
Profanities (out of 10): 0

Hottest Actor/Actress: Tara Goudreau as Francesca Loomis.

Picture Quality: Average (but letterboxed within a 4:3 ratio)
Audio Quality: Average

Rating (out of 10): 6

Trailer:


IMDb or Wiki: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877806/

Final Thoughts: I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it was very good.