IFC Midnight: Come True (2020) - Reviewed

Courtesy of IFC Films

Canadian writer-director Anthony Scott Burns’ second feature film Come True follows in the footsteps of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street by way of Altered States, Videodrome, The Cell, The Nightmare or most recently Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor.

Courtesy of IFC Films

  

Based on an original story by Daniel Weissenberger, the film is told from the perspective of a teen high-school runaway named Sarah (Julia Sarah Stone) who reluctantly enlists in a sleep study group after coping with chronic fatigue and exhaustion.  Days into the study, she begins experiencing a series of nightmarish hallucinations either stemming from the depths of her dream states or something else entirely unrelated to her.
 
Echoing the vibes and labyrinthine atmosphere of the 2012 Lithuanian sci-fi thriller Vanishing Waves which also touched on the uncharted corridors of deep sleep, Come True is a unique crossbreed of surreal hallucinatory horror stemming from sleep paralysis as well as a hazy, loosely romantic drama.  Right out of the gate, the film is a blue-green tinted subdued slow burn thanks to the film’s wunderkind director who does everything from editing to lensing the film’s monochromatic visual palette.  Made on a shoestring budget but aided by the film’s arresting photography, like Possessor before it the film opens up far more doors than it closes and leaves the viewer feeling both frightened and catching only a glimpse of what might really be happening.

 
The film’s strongest asset is the synthwave soundtrack by Canadian synthpop group Electric Youth and Pilotpriest.  Evocative, ethereal and dreamy, the film’s soundtrack practically radiates off the screen and speakers, lulling you into a false sense of comfort before the uncanny and nightmarish imagery strikes when you least expect it.  Best known for contributing to the track A Real Hero prominently used in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, the score and bevy of original songs by Electric Youth are so good you could listen to the soundtrack album and take it as it’s own unique standalone entity. 

Courtesy of IFC Films

 
Of course the sense of fear, vulnerability, confusion and being lost wouldn’t be half as powerful without the gifted central performance from Canadian actress Julia Sarah Stone.  Though she comes into contact with many side characters throughout, this is ostensibly a one woman show who is able to evoke all of those feelings from the viewer with the slightest of effort.  Paired alongside her is Landon Liboiron as a scientist assigned to her case who starts to develop feelings for her, though eventually he too becomes secondary to Sarah’s phantasmagorical journey deep within her own mind.
 
Equal parts night terrors and a music video infused character study of a young woman at crossroads mentally and emotionally, Come True more or less flew under the radar of most moviegoers still wrestling with the risks of movie watching in a post-COVID era.  A shame this one got so overlooked as it is a mean and lean little indie with teeth while donning a unique pair of neon-soaked sunglasses.  

Courtesy of IFC Films

While some may feel frustrated by the film’s ambiguous conclusion, the look and feel of the world of this film is one that nevertheless invites repeat viewings to try and catch all of the film’s riddles and moments of the rug being yanked out from under you.  Mostly the film is a cool, sleepy thriller with a dreamy soundtrack you’ll want to run out and purchase soon as the film is finished.  Definitely one of 2021’s most interesting finds from the country that continues to be the leading force in international science-fiction/horror cinema.

--Andrew Kotwicki