Come True – A Sci-Fi Horror Tale With Wasted Potential

What is it about the dream world that fascinates us? Is it a sense of not knowing what triggers the dreams that we have? Why do we dream in the first place? And why do some people have frightening, recurring nightmares when some of us never do? What if you could look into a person’s dreams and see exactly what it is that they see? Come True tries to answer some of these questions by delving deeply into the hidden world of recurring dreams.

Dreams can really mess with us, and Sarah (Stone) knows all about it. As we are introduced to Sarah, she lives on the streets as a homeless person but isn’t actually homeless. She’s homeless only because she chooses not to stay in the same house as her family. Suffice it to say that something is definitely up with her, and we are invited into Sarah’s world when she is awarded the opportunity to make sense of her recurring dreams.

At her school, Sarah spotted an ad for a sleep clinic offering a job where she was essentially “paid to sleep” for a clinical study. Looking to sleep without dreaming, this was a no-brainer for her. Come True then gains momentum as we follow Sarah into her dreams where some will wonder whether or not they’re the ones who are dreaming. What seemed innocuous at first only worsened as the scientists running the experiment noticed something very peculiar about Sarah’s dreams. What’s amazing about the film was how it takes viewers behind Sarah’s dreams. Full of surreal imagery, her dreams weren’t always as they seemed as the darkness that Sarah experienced became increasingly real.

Come True, unfortunately, can’t keep up the momentum from its well-written and incredibly engaging start. Viewers want answers about Sarah and her dreams as there’s clearly something very dark that is waiting for Sarah to fall asleep. The scientists decide to question Sarah about her nightmares and show her a series of images taken from her dreams. While the film’s premise might be a little “out there”, it is delivered in such a way that really works – it doesn’t seem too far-fetched. From there, the film begins to lose its appeal pretty fast as it fails to venture further into Sarah’s dreams. This was such a shame as the story became too predictable before, resulting in a complete downer of an ending.

The use of technology in Come True is fascinating, and even the concept of looking at what someone is dreaming works quite well. But this feeling of awe doesn’t last, and it’s almost as if someone grabbed two different parts of the film and edited them together. The first half is amazing, and the second half is just forgettable. And that ending… Please promise me you won’t put your fist through the screen if you get that far.

Stone portrays troubled teenager Sarah and brings a certain naive sensitivity to the character while also displaying a “stand-offish” and anti-social persona at the same time. She is supported by Liboiron who plays Sarah’s love interest Jeremy, an oddball reminiscent of the type of guy you were always told to avoid at parties. As a couple, there’s almost no chemistry between them and in some scenes, it’s like an unnatural bonding. Perhaps that is the feeling the writer and director were aiming for? If so, it worked incredibly well. In fact, everything about this film leaves viewers with an uneasiness that is hard to shake. In that respect, the film delivers but not without a few kinks that too obvious to overlook.

In the end, Come True could have been awesome with a unique and appealing premise that draws viewers into the main character’s world. Instead, the film is let down by writing that falls flat and an ending that is far too predictable to work.

still courtesy of IFC Films

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