The Dreaming (1988) – Director: Mario Andreacchio – 5/10 (okay/decent)
Though the motion picture opts for the right tone and primarily focuses on atmosphere as opposed to senseless jump scares or gore, the overall composition feels somewhat paroxysmic in that every second or third scene features the titular ‘dreaming’ which means that there is very little leeway left for building tension and balancing the more hallucinatory moments with the meat-and-potatoes of the story. The constant oscillation between the two effects a rather bipolar appearance, whereas the heavy-handed social commentary comes to weigh down on film’s one-dimensional storyline, necessarily contributing to the idea that the movie takes itself a little too seriously. This self-importance is rendered all the more preposterous the instant the motion picture lapses into banality with much of the second half rehashing the customary horror clichés. While the pic does include some undoubtedly valuable assets such as its compelling cinematography and the spacious, droning soundtrack, by their being confined to the so-so product, their resonance is greatly diminished and subdued; by extension, the final product feels analogously stunted in that it turns out to be a bit of a mixed bag with its strong points getting cancelled out by the more questionable creative choices and the latently pretentious tone.
