Everyday is the same routine. Karen (Marion Kerr) wakes up, showers, makes coffee, kisses her husband (Ross Marquand) goodbye, sneaks a cigarette and tries to make a good meal for when her husband gets home. Oh, and every night she dreams that her husband is brutally murdering her. It’s a disturbing loop, it’s driving Karen mad, and it just won’t stop.
I really enjoyed Kevin K. Shah’s Lucid. For obvious reasons, it reminded me of a far darker Groundhog Day, if that film were psychological horror. Regardless of your final understanding, the film leaves itself open to a number of interesting interpretations as it rolls along, and it’s fun to let the mind work as you try to figure it all out.
My only real criticism of the film is that it felt like it had maybe one or two loops or iterations too many for me. When you’re caught up in the pacing and the energy of the edit (which is superb), you don’t think about it, but if it goes one repetition too far, then you can start to pull out of the experience, as if the narrative isn’t moving forward enough.
But, honestly, that’s a minor criticism. Overall the film is stellar. The acting is strong, the visuals accomplished and alluring and, as previously mentioned, the edit is incredible. The narrative keeps you intrigued and keeps you guessing, as the loops and repetitions fold over so often that as the audience you’re as lost as Karen as to what it all means, and what might be real or a dream.
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