Beyond the Wall of Sleep
Who knows what dreams may come...
- Directed By: Nathan Fisher
- Written By: Nathan Fisher
- Country: USA
- Released: 2009
- Running Time: 34 minutes
- Links: Official Site
- Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction
Adapted from the HP Lovecraft story of the same name, Beyond the Wall of Sleep is a tale of murder, madness and the terrors that lie beyond the world. The story starts with the incarceration of Joe Slater (Greg Cannon) at a mental institution. Slater has been plagued by bad dreams all his life and frequently wakes up ranting and screaming. Things came to a head when, in full flow, he attacked and killed a neighbour and was subsequently arrested and committed.
While Lovecraft’s 1919 tale is told as an account from a young intern at the asylum (and one that reveals a lot more about Lovecraft’s attitude to the poor than his thoughts of possible horrors from beyond the void), writer/director, Nathan Fisher sensibly shifts the focus of the narrative onto Dr. Kaufman (Jason Finley), the man assigned to Slater’s case.
This approach adds some much needed coherence to the narrative and also leaves Finley to carry much of the film. In this, he does a remarkably good job, putting in a strong performance as the doctor desperate to learn exactly what is in Slater’s dreams and where these dreams are coming from. As tends to be the case with Lovecraft, discovering the source of Slater’s dreams also leads Kaufman to a greater revelation that is both unexpected and unwanted.
Even with the change in focus, the story is much more about atmosphere than narrative and in this respect the film-makers do a remarkably effective job. The largely black and white cinematography not only manages to create a sense of menace throughout but also makes the few splashes of colour in the film that much more striking. The soundtrack also works well to enhance the atmosphere and generate a real sense of creepiness throughout.
While there have been several attempts to film HP Lovecraft’s stories, much of what he wrote is not particularly cinematic depending, as it does, on half-seen and half-imagined terrors from beyond the void. In this case, however, Nathan Fisher has done a remarkably good job of capturing the author’s vision of half-hidden and uncaring horrors from beyond the void.