PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Durham, North Carolina native Dexter Williams has been writing screenplays for over two decades now. Although at this time he has yet to have one of his scripts opted for production, Deter has not given up writing. As a matter of fact, his passion lies more in writing that in the actual filming process. Recently, PopHorror was contacted by the wordsmith to read his feature length script Mistresses of Sleep. Here’s what we thought.
Mistresses of Sleep is about a young woman named Laura who suffers through a strange, reoccurring nightmare that seems to make no sense yet terrifies her immensely. One day she discovers a crystal cube sitting on her bed with a note offering help from the Mistresses of Sleep, three mysterious women who say they can help Laura figure out what her dream actually means. But do they have her best interests at heart?
What Works
The story is straightforward. There are no tangents or red herrings. From beginning to end, Mistresses of Sleep tells Laura’s story without getting tangled up in anyone else’s issues. The supernatural plot itself is original. The idea that there are beings out there controlling our dreams and using them to change the world is a unique and innovative one that I very much enjoyed. I thought the characters of Sunrise, High Noon and Sunset were imaginative, distinctive and peculiar – perfect horror film additions.
What Doesn’t Work
Laura’s boyfriend, Tommy, is a jerk who is more concerned with his own beauty rest than for his long suffering girlfriend. I honestly couldn’t understand why he talked to her the way he did and why she put up with it. The character dialogue is stilted and sounds nothing like the way people talk, never mind 20-somethings. The things Laura did, like pick up a human heart and take it home with her, made no sense whatsoever. Why would anyone do that? It’s never explained.
Although I did like the script being straightforward, a bit of fleshing out would work for it, since Laura’s character is very one-note and we have no idea why she does what she does. There’s also never an explanation for the demons in the story. Mistresses of Sleep could have started and finished without a mention of demons and still been a great tale.
Final Thoughts
Although I think Mistresses of Sleep is a good starting off point for this unique story, I do believe that it needs more work. The script is a skeleton in need of some flesh and blood. The story has been chosen as an official selection by both the Oaxaca Filmfest and the Sacramento International Film Festival. There is a chance you’ll be seeing a film version of Mistresses of Sleep sometime in the future. If it does, we’ll let you know!
