Somniphobia (2021) - Short Horror Film

Who's there? Who's there!? I've got a knife! Please leave! Please just get out of here, okay!? I'm gonna call the cops! Then i wake up... Screaming. She wakes up screaming, almost  every night now, whereas before it was just a bad dream here and there you  know? And it's the same every time? What do you think it means? Hey man, we've  already seen a bunch of shrinks about this. We came here for your... your voodoo  magic or whatever it is you do? I beg your pardon? Ryley read the threads online 

that says you have a special talent of some kind? I don't know, it says you're a witch doctor  or something? Look, I don't know what rumors you've heard, but i'm just a Somnologist, or  was at least.... so no, I don't do magic tricks. See babe? I told you we just need to  call another psychologist- But it's real! The ghoul is real, I'm-I'm not crazy! You're  probably suffering from some traumatic event- No no no no! The ghoul is attacking me in my dream  and nobody can help me because nobody be

lieves me! Hey, hold up, Ryley, I believe you, okay!? Just  take it easy, all right? Let me handle it. Doc, we drove over 12 hours to get here.  We're sorry to barge in on you like this, we're just looking for a little guidance. Ryley  hasn't had a decent night's sleep in months. If you don't want to help her, fine, the least you  can do is just point us to someone who can. Look, I don't know how you two found my home. Now  I only invited you inside out of courtesy. I'm truly sorry for what you'

re going  through but I'm not practicing anymore, so i cannot offer you any professional help... unfortunately, now if you'll excuse me. Please! Wait! Dr. Brady, you don't know what this  dream is like. You've gotta help me, please!? Show him your arms babe. Show him. Hey look, I... I don't know what it is you do for  people but between you and me I just think she needs a pseudo-reassurance, you know what I mean?  Forgive me, but you said your name was...? Brian. Well, Brian, I don't think she s

hould be  lied to either. Help me out here, man. Obviously, she's hurting herself. I don't  know who else to turn to? You know she really thinks you're the only person that can help  her. You gotta give me something here man? I want you to wait outside. Why? Because if you do, then  I might be able to help her. Trust me. I hope you don't mind me saying, but  I think Ryley Rose is a lovely name. Years back, I had this patient... for privacy, I'll just call her Miss Madison.  Older woman, very swe

et. She came to me about this nightmare she'd been having over and over. She'd  hear sounds coming from her yard late at night. It was horrifying for her... but we both knew this dream had to  mean something and so I pressed on it. Then she broke down, told me her son was  killed in a car accident six months prior... his dead body haunting her; a zombie,  if you will. What are you getting at? Nightmares are almost always correlated with traumatic experiences and there's times where  we repress t

hese memories in order to cope... So maybe something happened to you that you have  forgotten? But i haven't forgotten anything. The ghoul in my dream is what's attacking me. You know I treated a patient who  thought as you do. He told me there was this witch that stalked him every  night in his dreams. She would watch in the dark. It took us a long time to go through his  memories; figure out where it came from. We dug through everything and eventually we found out  what it was: An old film had

seen as a child. It was that simple. Look, I'm not dealing with  Freddy Krueger here all right? The point... is that even the silliest things can  traumatize us, Ms. Rose. Our brains, they repress these kinds of memories all the  time. But how do you explain how I got these!? Huh? Do you really think I did this to myself? I believe the trauma has caused you to  repress it, but I need you to remember. So you really, you really don't believe me then? You think that my nightmares are fake? Why wou

ld a  ghost want to hurt you in the first place my dear? Because they're psychopaths! They're deranged and  ruthless and they find pleasure in hurting people! Please! I haven't slept in months. I'm scared all  the time and I swear to you, Dr. Brady, I'm not crazy! Nobody believes me and I'm all alone and  if you can't help me, then this- it's all over! It's over. Can i trust you to keep a secret? Can I? Miss Madison's son... I met him. What do you mean? Like in person? In her dream... in the nig

htmare. It's all  true, I have a talent. I merge with dreams. You really see them? Yes. And the ghosts, they're real aren't they?  No, no, Ms. Rose... they're just reflections; a mirror of the real evil. They are not the source  of your trauma. But how does it work then? Do you you kill the ghost in the dream? You're  not hearing me... The ghost is the effect, it's not the cause, it's... I need you to  focus on what's actually causing the nightmare! But that's not why I came here, Dr. Brady. I c

ame here for your gift. Tell me, Ms. Rose, how  many times have you looked the devil in the eye? Me? I've lost count. You see ever since i was a little boy, I've known  what it feels like... to walk the halls of hell. What's going on? Visiting a nightmare is  not my idea of a good time. But if they're just dreams... why are you so  scared? Cause I don't know how I'm able to do this, Ms. Rose. There is no diagnosis for it. A  mutation perhaps, I don't know? I can't explain it and no amount of tre

ating patients or  visiting dreams ever got me closer. But maybe... maybe you're right. Maybe  it is a gift, maybe even divine and... then if that's true then what do I tell God if  I don't use this gift of His? If i don't use it against the ghosts? The way i see it, Ms. Rose,  there are only two choices: face the ghosts... or the shame from God. You tell me: Which would  you choose? I think that you have this gift for a reason, Dr. Brady. Now I don't know what it is  that you do in these dreams

or how you do it... but I came a really long way today for  a little bit of God's help... so please? If I do this, if I merge with your  dream and confront this ghoul... I need you to promise me something... It's okay- it's okay, Ms. Rose, it's just me. Dr.  Brady, what are you doing here? What's going on? What was that? You listen to me: No matter  what happens, you stay here in this room, understand? But why? What are you doing? Just stay  here. Dr. Brady wait- wait wait wait wait wait! Pleas

e, Dr. Brady, come back- come back, please! What is it? What do you see?  Just stay here. No-no please, please don't leave me here! Please please  don't leave me alone, Dr. Brady, please! Dr. Brady, please come back! Please! Hello!? Dr. Brady!? Gotcha. You guys are never that  scary when you step into the light... So how about we get this over with!? Are you all right, Dr. Brady? Oh yeah... I'm all right.  You were having a nightmare. I was?... Or maybe you weren't? Do you  remember what happene

d? I don't know? I was having the same dream, but it was different  this time? How so? I think you were there... but nothing happened? I didn't see the ghoul or anything. I was- I was in my room, I was a  little scared but... nothing actually happened. Then maybe this means that you  can finally get some sleep. Did you really enter my dream or did you just make me think you could? Doesn't  matter. What matters is that you feel safe. You're going to be okay, Ms. Rose. Finally. What happened in th

ere? We were just  talking. That's it? Well what'd he say? Actually he- he would like to talk to you? To  me? Mm-hmm... Why? I don't know, he didn't say? You wanted to speak to me? Yes, I uh, I wanted to ask you something? Would  you describe a ghost as a psychopath? Excuse me? Oh, they have more in common than you think; They  are deceiving, they live to torment, and they're very difficult to spot. Why are you asking me  this?- because you are a psychopath, Brian. Tried to pass as a concerned 

boyfriend, huh? No, no you're a snake, and you've been beating that poor girl for years. Lucky for you, her trauma gave you the  perfect scapegoat: a ghost in her dreams. And now you've twisted this so well  that she can't even point to you as her abuser, all of it repressed... but I know all too well how to spot  a psychopath, Brian. It's a gift. So what does that make you? You're just a  scam artist, aren't you? Washed up, a quack. You think I'm the monster? Why don't you  have a look in the m

irror first, doc... I think that was a mistake. I agree. What's going on? Who's that!? What  is this? Let me go. Let me go! What's happening, no... What's going on!?  This... This is the mirror. The magic trick. Let me go! Let me go! Who are you!? What  do you want!? No, this isn't real... This isn't real! That's the thing,  Brian, you're still screaming. I need you to promise me something... I need you  to promise me that you will escape and no one will ever lay a hand on you again, not  here,

not anywhere. Not even in a dream.