The Nightmare (2016) - Achim Bornhak

Achim Bornhak's The Nightmare is a visual and auditory assault on the senses, a film that oscillates between horror film and adolescent drama, never revealing its true intentions to the viewer, opting instead to let its immersive, disorienting experience wash over the viewer, leaving its true intentions up to interpretation.  Centered around Tina, a young teenage girl, The Nightmare chronicles a woman who spends a lot of her time trying to fit in, whether it be going to extravagant parties with her friends or attempting to draw the eye of Adam, a boy she seems to have interest in.  After a long night of partying, Tina begins to experience strange happenings and discomforting sounds, soon beginning to suspect she is being haunted by a mysterious creature, one which she can only see.  The clubbing lifestyle, one full of mind-alternating substances, is the perfect introduction to Tina, setting up a film early on which makes it completely impossible to decipher reality from Tina's own imagination.  Beguiling and enigmatic in approach, Achim Bornhak's The Nightmare is a film intent on deconstructing the psychological nature of adolescent life, detailing in Tina a character who feels alienated by those around her, with her insecurities manifesting themselves in the form of this mysterious creature.  While not didactic in the slightest, The Nightmare methodically reveals a character in Tina who is a bit of a loner, one who has succumbed to the pressures of adolescence in which fitting in is paramount and being an independent presence is particularly frowned upon.  Nearly all of Tina's interactions with this creature in one way or another are symbolic representations of adolescence-fueled struggles, whether it be late night binge eating, self-harming, or peer-pressure induced decision-making, the interactions between Tina and this mysterious creature continually evoke aspects of Tina's internal alienation, insecurities, and struggle to fit in.  While certainly up to interpretation, the finale, in which Tina shows off her newfound, mysterious friend to her school friends with Pride is a perfect conclusion to a strange, beguiling experience, a sequence which in itself seems to suggest that Tina has conquered her own insecurities, proud of her imperfections, with the mysterious creature representing all of her imperfections and insecurities that left her in a state of alienation, with her now showing them off, as if to symbolize her independence to the world.  Featuring a bombastic, electronica soundtrack, and heavy use of handheld photography, which gives the whole film a more chaotic, lived-in feeling, The Nightmare is a film which invites the viewer to enjoy its strange, beguiling ride, being a film that manages to remain enigmatic while simultaneously touching deep-seeded aspects related to the pain, alienation, and self-inflicted pain which make up the tough road of adolescence.  

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