The Dreaming (1988) is a folk horror film by the director of Fair Game (1986), Mario Andreacchio. Like the earlier film The Dreaming features a plethora of dolly and tracking shots. Andreacchio’s camera is almost always in motion; traversing spaces at an uncanny speed that’s suggestive of eerie dread. The Dreaming also focuses on a young woman (Penny Cook) who is being pursued by sinister assailants though this time they exist only as dreams.
The standout feature of The Dreaming are its many dream sequences. These scenes are shot in near darkness with streaks of gold and blue light illuminating the menacing figures of ancient whalers. These phantoms come out of the shadows of familiar spaces and totally engulf them with threatening terror. These apparitions haunt the protagonist while asleep or awake, pursuing her relentlessly.
There’s one remarkable scene that doesn’t feature the whalers. This scene is set at a hospital where an x-ray seems to come to life, predicting the death of a patient. The scene is executed with animation that, in its context, is surreal and nightmarish.
Conceptually The Dreaming deals with the question of the morality of displaying the remains and artifacts of indigenous peoples without their consent. The catalyst of The Dreaming is the uncovering of the ancient remains of aboriginal Australians and their subsequent display in a museum. The film doesn’t go in depth into this debate but it does suggest that such artifacts and remains should only be displayed with consent.
The Dreaming is one of a number of Australian films collected in Severin Films’ boxed set All The Haunts Be Ours. Of the Australian films collected The Dreaming is one of the standout efforts. It perfectly synthesizes the aesthetics of folk horror with the popular horror genre tropes of its day. The Dreaming remains an excellent candidate for rediscovery.
