Review: A Nightmare Wakes – “A Horror must-see”

A Nightmare Wakes, director Nora Unkel’s remarkable debut film, tells the story behind the creation of arguably the greatest gothic horror/sci-fi novel ever written, Frankenstein. Equal parts psychological thriller and tragic romance, the film is a very intimate look into author Mary Shelley’s increasingly fragile psyche as she is penning her masterpiece.  Thinly walking the line between genius and madness, Shelley gradually produces one of the most influential books ever, but at quite a cost.

We first meet Mary Godwin (Alix Wilton Regan) as she is happily dashing through a sundrenched forest to catch up with her lover, celebrated author Percy Shelley (Giullian Yao Gioiello).  Mary is radiant and visibly pregnant, and the deep love between her and Percy is obvious. The lovers are soon joined by Mary’s sister Claire (Claire Glassford). The trio are off to visit poet Lord Byron (Philippe Bowgen) at his Lake Geneva estate. Mary, Percy, and Claire have rented a humbler home nearby.

Rounding out the party is Byron’s physician and friend, Dr. John Polidori (Lee Garrett).  One evening, while rained in and telling ghost stories, Lord Byron famously challenges the group to come up with ghost stories of their own.  So begins the creation of Frankenstein. Dr. Polidori wonders how one would go about writing a ghost story, to which Byron replies that one would have to reach into the darkest corners of their imaginations. Mary whispers to herself “to awaken your nightmares”. 

The next morning, as she begins to write, she also begins to bleed profusely, her blood mixing with her spilt ink. Water, blood, and ink are frequent motifs throughout the film. Often intermixed or substituted for one another, it is a strong metaphor for how the creative process can figuratively become one’s lifeblood. Sadly, the bleeding leads to her passing out and ultimately miscarrying her child. While she is passed out, she has the first part of the nightmare that is said to have inspired the plot of Frankenstein.  Mary is holding a candle and slowly walking towards a closed door at the end of a long dark hallway, from behind which can be heard a baby crying. As the movie progresses, we see more and more of the nightmare, and it is truly terrifying.

Mary recovers, with the help and support of Percy, and continues her writing. Percy is impressed with her work which prompts Mary to reply that she feels as though she is Michelangelo chipping away at marble; the story has been within her all along. The two happily retire in each other’s arms. Despite the couple’s recent tragedy, there is still a tone of strong love and hope between them.

That tone changes dramatically the next morning. Percy, who is still legally married, gets news that his (unknown to him) pregnant wife has drowned herself and their unborn child. This news has dire impact on Percy and Mary’s relationship.  Percy starts to self-medicate with alcohol and opium. Mary begins to hallucinate her characters and settings from Frankenstein, with Percy standing in for the titular Doctor. Mary’s hallucinations eventually become so intertwined with her reality, it is hard to distinguish the two.  In fact, they begin to form a separate plotline altogether, adding depth to the film.  Mary becomes so consumed by her tale that her mental and physical health start to deteriorate.

Despite this, Mary becomes pregnant again. Percy is delighted, but Mary takes a more pragmatic approach.  Unsure how they are going to afford a child, she suggests marriage despite Percy telling her previously that he would never marry again.  The carefree Mary from the opening of the film seems absent, and Percy misses her desperately. Regardless, he agrees to marry her, in an attempt to make her happy again. Or is it for leverage? Perhaps a bit of both.

 Things get progressively worse for the couple, culminating in the film’s inevitable ending.  Mary’s work ultimately becomes her entire identity, driving her mad and making her push everyone she loves away. Mary is not entirely at fault though; Percy’s actions also contribute to her fraught mental state. It is a back-and-forth cycle of madness and abuse.  At one point Percy tells Mary that nothing remains of the girl he fell in love with.  That she has become a monster.  Mary realizes that this is indeed the case, but far too late.

It makes sense that a woman who suffered so much with childbearing and parenting would come up with a dark story about creating life. Wilton Regan is mesmerizing as Mary Shelley.  Her performance is perfectly nuanced and restrained.  It would have been easy to play the role very over-the-top, but Wilton Regin resists. Gioiello is also strong as the charismatic Percy Shelly/foreboding Victor Frankenstein. Shelley was no saint, but Gioiello balances Percy’s sympathetic and loving side perfectly with his bitter selfish side.  Bowgen and Glassford provide solid turns as Lord Byron and Claire, respectively.

While A Nightmare Wakes is not a biopic per se, it is still loosely rooted in historical fact. Director Unkel also wrote the amazing script, which brings both the era and the character’s personas to vivid life. The film is beautifully shot, from the bright forest and picnics featured early on, to the bleak gray lake landscape that permeates the last two acts.

A Nightmare Wakes is a fantastic film, although the subject matter may not appeal to everyone. For fans of gothic and/or literary horror though, this is a must-see.  Literary horror nerds love to (often obnoxiously) point out that Frankenstein is the name of the Doctor, not the monster. However, in this film, the novel Frankenstein itself turns out to be the real monster.

A Nightmare Wakes is available to Stream on Shudder Feb. 4, 2021