I suffer from sleep paralysis. I know people who suffer from sleepwalking. The idea of something happening to you while you’re unaware and sleeping is terrifying. So that’s why the premise of Dream Eater hits that hard. It’s all about a couple who go to stay in a remote mountain cabin to document the boyfriend’s violent parasomnia and get a little break from the outside world. Well, as they stay in the cabin, the cause of the sleepwalking crystallizes as something much more sinister.

The filmmakers stated that the movie is less so “found footage” and more so “available footage”. The camera is just as much of a character in the film as Mallory (played by co-director Mallory Drumm) and Alex (played by co-director Alex Lee Williams). That makes the film all the more terrifying with Mallory utilizing the camera as a tool in later stages of the film when the power at the cabin goes haywire. The light and night vision modes are her guardian against whatever is taking over Alex while he’s sleeping.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of found/available footage films, I’ll admit that. I like a good narrative story and sometimes they end up feeling too real or trying too hard to look real. Well, Dream Eater might have changed my mind a bit about the genre as a whole with how it presents itself and the ingenuity of the filmmakers in making absolutely EVERYTHING look like its actually happening without uglying it up unnecessarily.

I absolutely loved Dream Eater and it was also one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve had in a theater this year. So let’s dive in.

Never Sleep Again

Dream Eater was written and tri-directed by Jay Drakulic, Mallory Drumm, and Alex Lee Williams. Two of them star in the film, and the other one does a voiceover during an all-too-genius Unsolved Mysteries parody that helps the audience along with just what is causing Alex’s parasomnia. That was my favorite part of a film that is full of frightening moments and tense exchanges. The little things are on display for Dream Eater, including the banter between a couple and the stress and issues caused when someone has a debilitating condition. Mallory in particular, has to do a lot of the heavy lifting and show off her own emotional state to the audience with only her voice.

During most of the intense moments in the film, she’s behind the camera, so we just see what her camera is picking up. Alex also carries a great load on his shoulders, having to play awake Alex and parasomnia Alex, and then there’s even a third secret version of him that you only see in the latter stages of the film.

The final 15 minutes of the movie are some of the most tense I’ve seen in a film, at least this year, and possibly beyond. It just keeps building and building, the tension rising, up to points that are kind of insane. I was wearing a hat during the screening, and I’m sure the people around me thought it was weird that I was “watching” the movie with the bill in front of my eyes, but that was to shield myself from the terror.

I Thought The Robe On My Closet Door Was A Monster After Seeing This Movie

So, the verdict here is that Dream Eater is a landmark for the newly minted “available footage” genre. Yes, a small movie from three friends who decided to go for broke and make a horror movie is excellent. The performances are believable, the scares are gigantic, and the feeling overall is tense. Waking up at 2:00AM after seeing this movie is not the best experience possible, but its a testament to the filmmakers and what they’ve achieved with this movie. I did, and then thought my robe was a monster because I was still amped from seeing this.

Even with some light moments of levity between the couple and the Unsolved Mysteries parody, this is terror through and through.

Dream Eater is an excellent exploration of parasomnia, relationships, and just an all-around terrifying experience.

Dream Eater is in theaters on October 24th.

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