A professor disturbs an Aboriginal burial ground and, by doing so, begins a chain of events that eventually leads to his downfall. Before that happens, though, his daughter Cathy, as played by Penny Cook, starts to have bizarre dreams, unknowingly tied to her father’s work. All of them involve a group of whalers who torment indigenous women while killing others. She feels like she is going crazy, so she runs to her father on the island, where he keeps digging despite her arguments that he should not. After she leaves her husband behind with a lie, he eventually follows, also unknowingly rushing to his doom. The spirits of the Dreaming are upset and reach out, with Cathy, her father, and her husband as victims in it all.

When it comes to Ozploitation and horror, The Dreaming, released in 1988, is not the worst example that one will find of those particular genres. Director Mario Andreacchio, who also helped write this feature, creates some extremely effective atmosphere throughout. It is a spooky film for the most part, as one never knows if these visions are simply that or something far more sinister. There are moments where it seems those within the Dreaming are reaching out, as if they recognize Cathy as an observer and can see her as she sees them, time and space be damned. At times, it feels heavy, the weight of those scenes pressing down on the viewer as if we, too, are witnessing something both terrible and momentous. The horror builds slowly throughout, almost as if you know what is to come, though you wonder if it could all veer in an alternate direction at the last minute. It keeps the audience engaged for the most part, though at times the pace tests the viewer’s patience. Atmosphere and slowly rising horror aside, it needs a little more to keep it afloat.

Thankfully, a capable cast warrants your attention. Penny Cook, known for A Country Practice and Neighbours, stars as Cathy, the young doctor cursed with the visions of what her father has unearthed. Arthur Dignam plays her father, Professor Bernard, while Gary Sweet portrays Cathy’s husband, Geoff. Everyone does an effective job, making viewers believe in the horror unfolding. That all being said, a little more blood here and there might have proved a little more effective at driving home the impact of those murderous whalers, but for the most part, the psychological aspect was more than enough to drive home what Andreacchio was trying to put across. A nice bonus was seeing John Noble put in an appearance in a small supporting role. It had little substance, but he added a bit of star power to a film that needed it.

Like anything, The Dreaming may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It is slowly paced, perhaps a bit too slow at times, and there are moments where nothing of import really happens. One could say it was used for characterization, or it could have been padding to meet the runtime quota, but either way, a little trim would not have hurt the movie and might have heightened the tension throughout. As it is, this might not be a great film, but it’s an effective slice of folk horror that will entertain.

3 out of 5