The 2014 “Danish dramatic horror mystery” When Animals Dream is now available to buy or stream in North America. Everything I’ve seen and heard about it since it premiered at Cannes last year has been extremely compelling, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it.
It has a respectable 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Katie Rife describes it as “a solid entry into the burgeoning feminist werewolf sub-genre” in her AV Club review.
As she realizes that she comes from a line of terrifyingly untamable women, Marie refuses to take the medication that will suppress her condition. She refuses to accept her mother’s (and her mother’s mother’s, and her mother’s mother’s mother’s) fate, and her self-awareness makes her even more dangerous.
This is a great example of a premise I’d want to explore even if the hook wasn’t a werewolf. I’m in my 30s now but the idea of a young person claiming their agency in the world is still just as vicariously thrilling to me as it was when I was a 16-year-old.
When Animals Dream is available now on Amazon and iTunes. Below is the poster artwork for the North American release and the original Danish release, both of which I think are stellar.
