Unnamed Footage Festival 2025: ‘Dream Eater’ consumes and spits you out

A B-level premise sets up an A-level execution in Alex Williams, Jay Drakulic, and Mallory Drumm’s aptly-paced and wonderfully bewitching Dream Eater. A secluded cabin in the woods, trapped by feet of snow, primes the viewer for a story we may have seen many times before. But these 87 minutes are cursed in such a way that keeps the audience hunkered down beneath their blankets. Terrible images of a possessed man and a disembodied voice are enough to keep the story hexed and unnerving, sending goosebumps down the spine and making the story slippery.

A young woman named Mallory (Drumm) eyes her next documentary despite their deteriorating finances. Along with her boyfriend Alex (Williams), the couple heads out to a house nestled in evergreen. The countryside is stunning, and you’d never expect such wicked things to happen here. Or maybe you would. We’ve seen this movie many times before. What hooks you into the narrative is Mallory and Alex’s relationship, one of adoration, communication, and understanding. You see, Alex has already started having problems. He sleepwalks, sometimes dangerously. The film opens with Mallory dialing 9-1-1 and alerting authorities to a near-death occurrence with Alex, who has slashed his wrist and bled out onto the floor. He comes close to succumbing to his self-inflicted injuries, a set-up for what’s to come…

The cabin appears cozy enough. The couple gets settled into their room and enjoys the foliage and vast views. But something lurks in the corners of every room. You get the uneasy feeling that something (or someone) is watching you. And it could be – lending to the forthcoming devolution of Alex. That first night, he sits on the edge of his bed, seemingly talking to an unknown presence. Mallory awakens, grabs the camera, and appears unshaken by the normalcy. It’s just like every other night lately. She coerces him to bed, and that’s that.

Williams, Drakulic, and Drumm stage the building blocks. Once they’re in place, all hell breaks loose. With these kinds of stories, there’s always a slow-burning, almost glacial pace to get to the latter part. The climax must feel earned out of all the character moments that are necessary to flesh out the narrative for the audience. We must care for Mallory and Alex for it all to work. And it must all be pushing like a locomotive to the same conclusion. Otherwise, it could go off the rails.

The filmmakers excel in almost every aspect. The driving urgency of Alex’s condition sends Mallory over the edge, creating friction between the couple. You have to have something to throb in the story, the central mechanism that drives the characters with intent. When Alex finds himself out in the barn, he witnesses a disembodied voice that slithers like a cold link of chain across the throat. It’s disturbing – I find nothing scarier than a well-placed disembodied voice, so kudos! And that serves as the clear turning point. It’s all downhill from there…

While the finale could have hit harder—it sort of limps across the finish line in its final moments—Dream Eater supplies plenty of nightmare-inducing flashes that are sure to keep audiences up at night. Playing this year’s Unnamed Footage Festival, Williams, Drakulic, and Drumm’s offering arrives as among the festival’s best offerings, with its stomach-turning tension, delicate, moon-lit mood, and a frantic possession that is one of the most unsettling ever.