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A violent bout of parasomnia leads to a filmmaker documenting her boyfriend’s affliction at the behest of his doctor. Alex and Mallory head out to a remote cabin rental for his birthday and a (hopefully) relaxing, snow-covered break from everything. A sarcastic tour of the big-ass cabin starts things off and Alex shares his concerns with Mallory about the money spent on this trip, but she insists that the time away is needed and because they actually come off like a real couple, he agrees easily. Zoom calls with his doctor explains the seriousness of Alex’s parasomnia and hammers home the importance of why Mallory is keeping the camera rolling. Alex’s unsettling illness grows stranger and he begins claiming that some “he” is under the house and that “he” knows. Mallory finds a link to a terrifying entity and an expert on the shared boogeyman hallucination between sufferers of parasomnia which could help if Alex wanted anything to do with him. There’s tension between the couple but the kind of tension that doesn’t ring hollow because the chemistry between the leads is perfect. It’s this chemistry that everything is built around and it makes it more interesting to watch the medically accepted cause of their turmoil flip the switch into unprecedented supernatural terror. The steady escalation of disquiet and danger mixes well with the chilly atmosphere and interesting folklore working from the shadows. Alex’s clouded history (adopted and real parents were not the best of people) brings some more awful craziness to light and keeps his mental instability in question. Alex’s stubbornness and Mallory’s selfishness disguised as benevolence helps put an eye on the cracks that are forming and worsening in their relationship. It’s not magnified to any stupid level so you can still see how their playful sarcasm and affability have been able to keep things from falling apart. Freaky whistling (it has unsettled me since watching Just Before Dawn at far too young an age), a strong soundtrack, an Unsolved Mysteries nod and a truly goofy reveal that works if you’re willing to yank the stick out of your ass and just have fun with a horror film. Predictability and the inability to really let loose hamper it but I didn’t regret my time spent watching it.
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