Nightmare

... and dream of better horror films, perhaps?

Believe me, I honestly don't like writing harsh and negative things about a film like "Marerittet". I want to encourage ambitious and intelligent new horror stories, especially when they come from one of my favorite countries in the world, but unfortunately "Nightmare" is mostly dull, unremarkable, implausible, and featuring far too many phony jump-scares than tolerable.

The Brussels' Film Festival, where I saw the film, describes "Marerittet" as mixture between "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Rosemary's Baby". That's fairly accurate plot-wise, but obviously not in terms of quality or impact. Terrible events from the lead girl's dreams manifest themselves when she wakes up, and there are demonic babies that desperately want to be born, but "Marerittet" undoubtedly won't ever be considered as genre classic like the other two. Notably the first full hour is too slow-paced and too clichéd. The final act touches upon some taboo subjects (like abortion and insights in the concept of lucid dreaming) and contains a handful of strong moments, but the overall result remains unsatisfying. The strong performance of Eili Harboe does make me want to seek out the acclaimed fantasy/thriller "Thelma", in which she plays the titular role.