When Animals Dream

R

Released Aug 28, 2015

1h 25m

Horror

Drama

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for When Animals Dream: Trailer 1

List

73%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Teenage Marie lives on a small island with her father and catatonic mother. Virtually friendless and sullen, Marie begins to experience frightening changes in her body that mark her as a dangerous threat.

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Critics Consensus

This Danish feast may leave you wanting more, but When Animals Dream remains a solid attempt to redefine female adolescence through a lycanthropic lens.

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Taylor L

I don't care how threatening you make the atmosphere, mopeds just aren't a scary vehicle to be chased by. When Animals Dream takes the 'werewolf = female coming-of-age' mechanic of Ginger Snaps and slows it way down, presenting it as a journey of self-discovery and familial right in a small Danish fishing village. Protagonist Marie (Sonia Suhle) suffers in near-isolation without much in the way of emotional connectivity as she suffers abuses at the hands of her coworkers and neighbors, who all seem to be strangely aware and moderately accepting of the fact that the family that lives down the street can get pretty furry and violent, albeit only when threatened. Somber in tone and light on action for the most part, many have already pointed out that a lot in this debut from director Jonas Alexander Arnby can be traced back to Let the Right One In, with the exception being that When Animals Dream has a much more one-dimensional conflict and straightforward characters. The film is slow without being subtle, which is a rather unusual combination that I doubt will bring in too many new fans; even a wholesale slaughter seems light on the tension. There are pieces that seem designed to flesh out Marie's character (including relationships with both parents and a potential love interest), but none are deep enough to give more than a surface-level depiction of her personality and fears. Ambitious but not all there. (2.5/5)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/22

Full Review

Audience Member

A decent flick thats part love story, part revenge tale and part monster movie. The film was interesting. It started off being a slow burn before picking up for Act 3.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Shiron A

Uses just the perfect amount of blood. Not a single drop more.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/18

Full Review

Audience Member

Like so many indies you can stream, it's got more good/blah stuff than great stuff. But I've definitely seen worse.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Boring, uneven, and too serious for its own good, When Animals Dream is a tasteless film that shows good direction and acting, but is missing an interesting story and characters to boot.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

original film, abit scattered in the way that it spends to much time on things we dont care about vs things we would like to see more about. overall a good watch and a different take on a werewolf indie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Jonas Alexander Arnby

Director

Sonia Suhl

Marie

Lars Mikkelsen

Thor

Sonja Richter

Mor

Jakob Oftebro

Daniel

Stig Hoffmeyer

Dr. Larsen

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No Escape Is Tense but Problematic

When Animals Dream: Trailer 1

2:08

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

When Animals Dream has all the markings of a first film, but there's enough going on to make it a memorable and important entry in the intriguing, complex werewolf subgenre.

Aug 25, 2018

Full Review

A.O. Scott

New York Times

Mr. Arnby knows all the genre codes, and how to subvert them when necessary.

Aug 27, 2015

Full Review

Katie Rife

AV Club

When Animals Dream congeals its influences into something intimate, intelligent, and occasionally quite haunting.

Rated: B

Aug 27, 2015

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Projected Figures

if Jonas Alexander Arnby's feature debut is a tale of a young woman's coming of age amidst smalltown narrow-mindedness, the film amplifies these familiar elements through the tropes of a different genre.

Jan 30, 2020

Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

Danish horror thriller When Animals Dream (Nr dyrene drmmer) takes a brooding art-house approach for [its] dark coming-of-age story, but given that the mood here is more dull than eerie, a touch of schlocky exploitation might not have gone amiss.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 10, 2016

Full Review

Amanda Waltz

The Film Stage

A Danish export with a surprisingly tender take on the werewolf myth.

Rated: B

Feb 21, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

Teenage Marie lives on a small island with her father and catatonic mother. Virtually friendless and sullen, Marie begins to experience frightening changes in her body that mark her as a dangerous threat.

Director: Jonas Alexander Arnby
Producer: Tine Grew Pfeiffer, Henrik Zein
Screenwriter: Rasmus Birch
Distributor: Radius TWC
Production Co: AlphaVille Pictures Copenhagen, Danmarks Radio, Det Danske Filminstitut
Rating: R (Some Violence|Sexuality/Nudity|Drug Use)
Genre: Horror, Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 24, 2016
Runtime: 1h 25m

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