The Dreaming (1988 film)

Plot

After an aboriginal tomb is opened by archaeologist (Arthur Dignam), his daughter, a doctor (Penny Cook) treats a young aboriginal girl (Kristina Nehm) in a hospital emergency room for some unspecified injury.The girl dies and immediately afterwards the attending doctor begins to have bad dreams and waking visions of a horrible past event in aboriginal history.These threatening images from the Dreamtime involve a group of whalers who came ashore two centuries earlier to rape and murder a defenseless aboriginal tribe. This event formed a taint or stain within the Dreaming. Now incorporated into the spiritual landscape, the evil spirits of these murderers roam the imaginal realm seeking whom they may destroy. They have set their sights on the doctor, who is led to solve the mystery of the slaughter of the aboriginal tribe.

Production

It was originally meant to be directed by Craig Lahiff but he dropped out before filming and was replaced by Mario Andreacchio.

The film was made on Kangaroo Island and features shots of many of the island's local landmarks such as Seal Bay and Admiral's Arch. Kangaroo Island has a genuine history of being visited by rough whaling men who had often kidnapped Aboriginal women from Tasmania and other places on Australia's southernmost coastline.

There is an H.P. Lovecraft related in-joke in the film. As Penny Cook's character drives to Kangaroo Island towards the end of the movie, in search of her father, her car passes a roadsign which reads "Innsmouth 2 km"

Funds were raised through Antony I. Ginnane's FGH company and the South Australian Film Corporation. The film was pre-sold to US distributor Goldfarb for $1.32 million but Goldfarb encountered financial difficulties and IFM sought other distributors.

The director later said that:

[It] was originally a script that was tackling, quite strongly, the issue of the past treatment of aborigines, the white-black conflict. Unfortunately, there was a time when the script was changed right in front of me and I was subject to other people saying, "No, you can't make that film, you've got to make this film". So, when you're in that position where you're starting out and where nobody trusts you, nobody really has total faith in your vision because you haven't actually got a track record. Then they take the prominent position.

Cast

Principal Cast:

Movie taglines

"She uncovered a place where ancient mysteries survive and nightmares are real" [DVD] "A burial ground is unearthed, a girl dies, an ancient curse lives on". "Are they dreams or nightmares...Nightmares or premonitions?"