Perchance to Dream

Directed by Michel Knowles

Warning – This review may contain spoilers.

Perchance to Dream grabbed my attention right away with its creative blend of modern technology and classic Shakespearean tragedy. The film tells the story of a Shakespeare-obsessed stalker who live-streams his break-in at the home of a woman he’s fixated on. The idea of using an Instagram Live format to narrate a crime adds a uniquely disturbing layer to the story, making the viewer feel like a bystander to the madness unfolding in real-time. As the stalker wanders through the house reciting Shakespearean verses, I found myself immersed in the eerie blend of high art and slasher vibes.

The technical aspects of Perchance to Dream are striking. The use of vertical video editing to mimic a live stream is clever, and the cinematography felt true to the concept. There’s something unsettling about watching a phone-filmed home invasion, as it creates an intimacy that draws the audience into the protagonist’s warped mindset. The lighting, especially, stood out to me. It effectively created mood and tension, with the contrast between soft bedroom light and the shadowed figure of the intruder heightening the sense of danger. Sound design was also well executed, with clear dialogue and subtle background noise that felt immersive. However, there was a noticeable transition back to traditional filmmaking toward the end that felt somewhat jarring. Maintaining the live-stream style for a bit longer would have helped sustain the tension.

What I appreciated most about Perchance to Dream is the way it connects Shakespeare’s words to the modern-day madness of its protagonist. There’s a fascinating dissonance between the beauty of Hamlet’s language and the horror of the intruder’s actions. His obsessive need to recite lines from Shakespeare while committing a violent crime speaks to how easily art can be warped into something grotesque. The idea of turning Hamlet into a figure who lives in the toxic echo chambers of the internet is both unsettling and, strangely, believable. The use of live-stream comments as a narrative device also adds a clever touch, making it feel like a performance for an invisible audience that’s complicit in the stalker’s actions.

That said, the story itself felt thin in some areas. While the concept is strong and the technical execution is impressive, the film doesn’t delve deeply enough into its characters, particularly the woman being stalked. She wakes up and takes action, but we never really get to know her beyond her role as the victim. Her character feels underdeveloped, which lessens the impact of the final confrontation. I found myself wanting more insight into her story and her perspective.

Despite the minor flaws, I think Perchance to Dream is a compelling and original short film. The combination of Shakespearean tragedy and modern-day stalking offers a fresh take on both genres, and the film’s creative use of live-streaming technology makes it stand out. The ending, while not completely satisfying, does deliver an unexpected twist that left me thinking about the blurred lines between performance, reality, and obsession. For viewers who appreciate experimental filmmaking and are fans of Shakespeare, this film offers a unique experience worth checking out.

Perchance to Dream succeeds in creating an unsettling atmosphere with its innovative use of format and Shakespearean obsession, even if the narrative could have been more fleshed out. It’s a bold piece of filmmaking that lingers in the mind, leaving audiences to contemplate the darker side of art and technology.