Nigel P On beginning her new job, shy Marie (Sonia Suhl) is greeted with ominous words, 'Since you're new, you'll have to get rid of the fish waste.' Marie is shy, occasionally sullen, and seems to be suffering from an un-diagnosable disease which leaves marks over her body. Getting rid of the fish waste is only the start of her challenges, in this film set in a Denmark fishing village … At first, the abuse she receives at work seems like vicious, testosterone-fuelled cruelty disguised as high jinks, and it isn't until later we discover there is reason for the resentment the locals have against her family. Marie's mother (Sonja Richter) is catatonic, and late one night, Marie spies her father Thor (Lars Mikkelsen) shaving her shoulders and back. This is doubly cause for concern for Marie, as blemishes she is beginning to exhibit also feature the sprouting of down-like hair.Thor's history is revealed slowly. His wife is heavily medicated because her disease has a history of turning her into a killer. When it appears Marie is similarly afflicted, the local doctor, under Thor's instruction, takes steps to anaesthetise her, when her mother springs into life and kills him. Shortly after, he is secretly buried in the garden, and she drowns herself in the bath.Online reviews compare this to 'Let the Right One In (2008)', in that it can be seen as a kind of coming-of-age drama as well as a horror film. There are similarities.When her work-mates continue to torment her, their wariness of her family giving them an excuse to act in their vindictive manner, it is hugely satisfying when Marie's lycanthropic rage leads her to kill main protagonist Esben (Gustav Giese) – in fact, it's a pity his suffering isn't greater! Eventually, Marie is taken aboard a trawler where the locals intend to kill her, most likely dump her in the waters. Her subsequent slaughter of the entire crew puts me in mind of Dracula's exploits aboard the Demeter – it is last seen as a ghost shop, drifting aimlessly. On board, only Marie remains, sleeping and child-like again, alongside Daniel (Jakob Oftebro), the only person to show her consistent kindness.The sedate pacing may not appeal to everyone, but this unspectacular direction allows the story to tell itself, and for the characters to breathe, and is the way a truly atmospheric horror story should be told. Highly recommended.

SpannersGerm669 When Animals Dream has a lot of similarities with the Swedish masterpiece Let The Right One In. While one movie deals with Vampires and the other with Werewolves, both share a brilliant atmosphere along with sympathetic situations. When Animals Dream isn't so much about Werewolves as such, but about a family struggling to cope with hereditary illness. The power of a young female caring for her ill mother and depressed father. The whole situation is hopeless and portrays a very depressing story, but strangely at the same time, a story of beauty. The story is simplistic, but its the rich flavour that keeps the movie afloat. While Let The Right One In is a better film, When Animals Dream is yet another very memorable Scandinavian horror/drama. Highly recommended!

Red_Identity Wow. What a pleasant surprise. Carefully-paced, artfully composed with some beautiful cinematography and direction, and some strong acting. The fact that it's the director's feature film debut is highly impressive, and it actually reminds me of Let The Right One In in some aspects. It's definitely a horror film, but definitely a coming-of-age drama in other ways. Definitely recommend this little gem, and further proof that 2014 was actually a good year for horror (among others like Under The Skin, Coherence, The Babadook, Honeymoon). I hope people try to seek this one out because it's definitely worth the time to, especially among sure dire horrors these days.

euroGary Danish film 'When Animals Dream' is about a teenaged girl called Marie (Sonia Suhl), who lives in a small fishing village with her mother (Sonja Richter, who looks about the same age as Suhl) and father (Lars Mikkelsen, who doesn't). Already concerned by a mysterious rash on her body, Marie definitely realises that something is wrong when she catches her father shaving her mother's back.For Marie, it's downhill from there: hair starts growing over her body, her fingernails bleed, and even those co-workers at the fish factory who have previously been friendly to her start to whisper in corners - some of them remember what happened with her mother all those years ago. Then the doctor tries to inject her with the same medicine that keeps her mother a wheelchair-bound invalid...But it's not all bad, and that's where the film is as much a romance as a horror flick: Marie catches the eye of Daniel (genetic lottery winner Jakob Ostebro), a kindly soul who isn't phased when, in a moment of passion, he discovers a coating of hair on Marie's back: "You're beautiful", he smoulders. It is Daniel who comes to her aid when the townsfolk turn violently against her and Marie's physical changes reach their peak.In a film like this the make-up department are important and they do a good job in the early stages of Marie's transformation: soft, floaty hair on her cheeks and neck. Conversely, they go overboard in the final stages of her transformation and she ends up looking less real - and less horrific as a result. But this is still an entertaining film - a bit subtler than your average schlockfest.