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Come True
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Wikipedia article
'Come True' is a Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by Anthony Scott Burns. The film stars Julia Sarah Stone and Landon Liboiron. The film plot follows a teenage runaway who takes part in a sleep study that becomes a nightmarish descent into the depths of her mind and a frightening examination of the power of dreams.
Plot
Sara Dunn is a young woman with a troubled relationship with her mother, whom she avoids for unknown reasons. Essentially homeless, she steals food from her mothers house and sleeps in a hammock outdoors or at friends homes. She is also plagued by strange, surreal nightmares of a dark maze and a shadowy figure with glowing eyes.
In need of money, Sara agrees to be a test subject in a sleep experiment, the goal of which is classified. At first, Sara sleeps well but, after two sessions, her nightmares worsen and she has a panic attack when one of the scientists shows her a picture of the same shadowy figure from her dreams. She is also troubled by the only other woman in the study dropping out and the fact none of the scientists will divulge the purpose of the study.
One day, after passing out in a laundromat and being robbed, Sara confronts one of the scientists, a young man named Riff, insisting that the study has had a negative impact on her and she will only continue as a test subject if he divulges the studys purpose. He informs her the experiment involves monitoring subjects dreams using a brain scanning device that converts brainwaves into images.
During the next session, Sara and the rest of the experiment volunteers are shown to all dream of the same shadowy figure at the same time. Riff states that, across the world and throughout history, people have all dreamed of a similar figure, which has also haunted him since childhood. As their vitals spike, Sara wakes up in a panic, bleeding from her left eye, and runs away after telling the other scientists she knows what theyre studying. Riff pursues her as she runs to a club in search of her friend and passes out, forcing him to carry her unconscious body to his apartment.
Back at the lab, the two remaining volunteers dream again of the shadowy figure, before becoming semiconscious and seeing it standing at the foot of their beds. The scientists are deeply unsettled as the figure moves around and appears to have entered into the waking world.
Sara wakes up from a surreal nightmare involving the shadowy figure and finds herself in Riffs apartment, where she discovers he straps himself to his bed and monitors his own dreams. After seeing a dream sequence in which she and Riff kiss and he grows fangs, she now believes he has the same dream and wakes him. Traumatized and exhausted, they end up having sex, during which Sara sees two shadowy figures and passes out again, motivating Riff to take her to a hospital.
As Riff waits for a report of Sara's status, he begins to have visions of a dark maze and humanoid figure made of hands. He then learns Sara has left her room and realizes that she is a somnambulist as she wanders out of the hospital. He calls his colleague, Anita, and asks her to join him in monitoring Saras dream as she sleepwalks through the city.
Anita arrives and they attach a mobile monitor to Saras head as she unconsciously leads them to a remote, wooded area. Saras dream appears to mimic the path shes taking, with shadowy figures manifesting on the monitor, seeming to flank the trio. As they enter a field, Riff finds a cellphone ringing in the grass. When he answers the phone call, Sara wakes, screaming and bleeding from her eyes.
Riff apologizes to Sara and she identifies the phone as hers despite the fact she has never been there before. The phone screen grows staticky and, though awake, Sara sees multiple shadow figures in the trees. The trio flee, but both Riff and Anita are swallowed by darkness as Sara is approached by a shadowy figure.
Suddenly, Sara wakes up again in Riffs apartment, naked and straddling Riffs dead body, having apparently gouged out his eyes in a somnambulist episode. She goes to the bathroom, where she receives a text message that makes her laugh and examines her reflection, discovering she has fangs.
The message says she has been in a coma for twenty years, as she is being studied using a new technique, and the scientists are not sure where in her dream the message will reach her. It begs her to wake up before the screen cuts to black.
Cast
* Julia Sarah Stone as Sarah
* Landon Liboiron as Jeremy
* Tiffany Helm as Old Woman
* Chantal Perron as Erin
* Tedra Rogers as Zoe
* Orin McCusker as Peter
* Carlee Ryski as Anita
* Millie Jayne as Washroom Girl
Release
'Come True' had its world premiere in Canada at the 2020 Fantasia Film Festival on August 30, 2020. It was released in select theaters and on VOD platforms on March 12, 2021 by IFC Midnight in America. No Canadian release has been announced.
Reception
The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted and visually striking, 'Come True' offers an eerily effective reminder of how the sleeping subconscious can be fertile ground for horror." On Metacritic, the movie received a score of 68 based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
The film received two Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, for Best Director (Burns) and Best Actress (Stone).Brent Furdyk, [https://etcanada.com/news/867531/2022-canadian-screen-awards-nominees-announced/ "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, Sort Of & Scarborough Lead The Pack"]. 'ET Canada', February 15, 2022.
References
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