Above: Poster for Daytime Nightmare (C) 2020 Grey Films - used with permission not monetized.
Update: October 15th 2020! Daytime nightmare screening now! New Review!
La Femme Film Festival October 15-18th! https://www.cya.live/event/5364?fbclid=IwAR3dwRIrjJXBHds_oN5gNWGKLqLcUydZEPO_OVPbVAuTwztB8oSD6F3GYPQ
Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers, across my desk today comes a brand new film from Producer/writer/actress Katrina Grey. Katrina has been featured on my site numerous times with various interviews and film reviews. Daytime Nightmare is her first foray into a behind a camera setting. Katrina always made observations of the various film makers she worked for and with during her career, what to do and what not to do, and Daytime Nightmare is a culmination of over two years of hard work.
Since this is a first review no spoilers of any kind will be given. In fact spoiling any plot points actually will spoil the movie. Daytime Nightmare is a hard film to classify as it does not fit into a single genre, more of a maelstrom of the mind thriller. The film opens in one setting, taking time to establish the characters, and then descends into Katrina Grey's Lucy's cranium filled with more questions then answers. We learn about the various actors in the film, because they are actors in the opening scene, an allegorical view at life. The actors all are damaged in a certain way, be prepared for a subtle, yet truculent ride!
Daytime Nightmare establishes reality, and then establishes mental instability. The lines are blurred, yet somewhat firm, a descent into a psychotic state is not clean cut, and never should be portrayed as such. Katrina makes sure of it.
The film opens in a small acting group. What I like here is Katrina establishes her character during this scene and takes time to introduce us to the cast, and by doing this the audience is already invested in, and learning about everyone. Actor Ron Smoorenburg, who has starred in numerous action films, including Triple Threat, and the upcoming film, The Legend Hunters, plays Ryan, and has the opportunity to use his acting skills, also serving as the film's action coordinator, which is essentially the same as stunt coordinator.. Back to the acting, Katrina Grey has a tight script, allowing the actors to explore, yet stay firmly in character, by showing emotions. All actors are on an equal level, no one is upstaging anyone, natural and in the moment.
Another element of the film is Executive Producer Randi Kalsi. Randi serves as the sound designer, mixer, editor and theme music creator, Daytime Nightmare sounds amazing, the dialogue is clear and easy to understand, the music is fitting to the mood and scenes, really setting the tone of the film.
Yan Frame is the cinematographer, and really does a great job, in a variety of locations and settings. Unlike many claustrophobic thrillers, Daytime Nightmare has some great locations, and Yan frames them to full effect. Katrina Grey serves also as the location scout and makes amazing use of the Thailand settings.
Daytime Nightmare avoids the pitfalls of many thrillers; bad lighting, distant dialogue, and throw away characters. Clocking in at just a hair over 85 minutes, the film has a balance of storytelling, ethereal aspects, elemental merging of film genres and styles. Katrina Grey has established a strong story, and along with great acting, Daytime Nightmare will be enjoyed by thriller,drama, horror and even action fans Worldwide, yes it is 'that good'! Daytime Nightmare rates a solid 9 out of 10, a must own. I hope that when film festivals start having screenings again audiences can see this on a theater screen!
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