As I have said, I have to wade through a lot of crappy horror, but now and then, I find gold. Somnium was one of those movies, a real hidden gem.
We were sent a trailer for Somnium a while ago, and it took me a bit of time to watch it, but I’m glad I did. In fact, I have seen it twice now. With all openness, I saw it a second time because I had an interview with the director. I can honestly say that that has no influence on my review. If/when I shill, I will say.
Somnium stars Chloe Levine, Grace Van Dien, Johnathon Schaech, Will Peltz, Peter Vack, Clarissa Thibeaux, Draya Michel, and Gillian White. Rachael Cain writes and directs.
The Story
When I heard this was about a sleep clinic, I was in! I get insomnia and I would love to to go to a place like this:
At experimental sleep clinic, Somnium, dreams are made real. Side effects may include: hallucinations, confusion, paranoia, sleep paralysis, detachment from reality, lost sense of self, permanent nightmares.
OK, maybe not a place like this, but somewhere.
We meet Gemma (Levine) as she moves to L.A. to live the dream as an actress. She soon realises she’s in the same boat as everyone else in Hollywoodland; she can’t get work as an actress, the rent is due, and there doesn’t seem to be any hope.
She stumbles across a job at Somnium, a sleep clinic. The difference is, this sleep clinic designs people’s dreams. While they are sleeping, they are fed subliminal messages to help their future.
The job seems OK, but soon, Gemma starts to think some of the dreams are bleeding into her real life.
That’s all I’m going to say about the story, but I will talk about the writing more.
The Cast
Firstly, the cast. Levine is excellent in Somnium. She has to carry the movie, and with some leading ladies in a horror movie, you just don’t ‘click’ with them. Levine, I clicked with her straight away; she’s the girl next door type; she’s not a girl boss, she’s not a superhero, she’s just, well, normal.
You can’t help but feel for her all the way through the movie, is she living in a dream? Is her reality on the blink? I’ve not seen Levine before, but I really liked her in this.
Schaech annoyed me, only because I knew I knew him from somewhere, but couldn’t place him! I had to look him up in the end, and he was Jimmy from That Thing You Do; the leader of the group that Guy takes over. Miss Tom Hanks as a director, That Thing You Do is underrated.
The rest of the cast of Somnium is very good, Peltz in particular in his role. I won’t say too much, but he is good.
The Writing
It’s not very often in Hollywood that you find good writing. There’s no need for me to explain that, see most movies or TV series in the past 10 years.
The first time I watched Somnium, I enjoyed a solid horror movie. The second time I watched it, I appreciated what a good story, with several layers, it was. This isn’t just a horror movie; a killer on the loose, killing off teens one at a time.
Somnium is about facing your fears, about rejection, about failing, about being in a new place on your own. On top of that, there are more layers about friendship, memories and more. I want to talk about it more, but I don’t want to spoil it.
Director Cain said the movie was in the works for a long while, in fact, about 13 years. She would write, leave it for a bit, come back to it, write some more etc. You can tell there’s a lot of work that went into the script; this wasn’t The Phantom Menace and wasn’t churned out in a couple of weeks.
The Sound
The other thing I loved about Somnium was the sound design. Interesting fact: The movie, Floribbean Planet, has no music in it, it’s all done with sound effects. Somnium isn’t the same; there is music, but Cain plays with sounds and uses them, instead of music, in places.
It’s done really well, and they also created some disturbing sounds. Not like screaming or nails on a chalkboard, but just odd sounds that creep you out. It’s nicely done, not over the top, but just creepy.
Overall
Somnium is a hidden gem of a horror. It’s not going to be everyone’s cuppa tea as it is a horror, but underneath that, you have a very well-written script, great direction and a lead character you can empathise with.
My first watch, I didn’t quite ‘get’ the ending, and felt it was a little underwhelming. However, on the second watch, I was expecting it, but also understood it a little more. Again, not spoiling much, I understood Gemma’s ending (and that of the movie). The journey she goes on is about the journey, not just the destination.
It was nice to appreciate Somnium a second time, and I will probably watch it again to pick up on things I missed. I mean that in a good way, you know who some movies need a couple more watches to really pick up on what you missed, how you can understand things better.
I’m giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5. It’s not perfect, but it’s close, and my rating may hit a (modern-day) 5-star movie. It’s probably going to end up in my Top Five of 2025. It’s worth checking out.
Somnium is now on digital, and check out my interview with the director, Racheal Cain.
