More Horror From Florida?

A number of years ago, I used to work for a clipping service. Basically, I scanned newspaper stories for keywords requested by clients. During most of my stay, I read only newspapers from Florida.

Florida scares the hell out of me.

Jeb Bush. Do I need to say anything else? No. Okay, I’m from the Midwest. I’m sure we probably sound weird or boring to folks in Florida, but Florida sounded like a mad house to me. Insane traffic issues (How about a head-on collision between two golf carts full of snow birds?), wonky politics, and freaking gators!!!

Before that job, I’d seen a number of films filmed in Florida, especially films by William Grefe. The world full of the Everglades and various insects and creatures ready to either suck your blood or eat you just never struck me as a grand place to visit. Screw living there. No offense meant to those who love the state.

 

I have found a reason to be thankful for Florida, and it comes in the form of an obscure regional film made in the early 70s. “My Brother Has Bad Dreams” is a bit of a revelation as I have long heard of the title, but always thought it was just another slasher flick.

So. Very. Wrong.

Karl is a rather peculiar young man. He is obviously in his 20s, yet he acts, and is treated by others, as if he is younger, giving into his sudden emotions without hesitation. Anna, his sister, cares for him and makes sure their home is maintained. They have a rather odd, and creepy, co-dependency that keeps both of them locked into repeating cycles of behavior that seem to be slowly tearing the two of them apart.

See, Karl witnessed their father beat their wheelchair-bound mother to death with the fireplace poker fifteen years earlier. That kind of a thing left a rather sizable psychic scar in Karl’s mind. He has nightmares in which he relives the murder when he isn’t being tormented by personifications of his desires, fears, and even lust, as embodied by his sister.

Anna finds herself losing control of their balanced life when Karl begins using mannequins as replacements for the people missing in his life. As she fears for their future, Karl meets and befriends a Vietnam veteran who is drifting across the United States on his motorcycle. The drifter is drawn into the siblings’ strange life, and his presence sets in motion a horrific series of events resulting in violence and death.

Admittedly, that makes the film sound fairly generic. Yet the quirkiness of the low-budget film keeps drawing you in. Karl’s madness morphs throughout the film, but each step feels organic to the purposely sparse plot. As Karl falls deeper into his delusions, Anna almost seems to condone his behavior by always making sure she never upsets him and allowing his outbursts to go unchallenged. Each scene seems to be tense with the expectation that something is about to happen. When you get an outburst, it eases a bit of that tension, but it immediately begins building again.

The key to the film is the script. It carries the whole film. Writer/director Robert Emery carefully peels away the layers of doubt, fear, and denial in which the siblings have enveloped themselves for years. The strength of the writing helps bridge the occasional off-notes you get from the performances, though they are quite good given few of them had any experience at all. Finding a cheap movie with a solid script is always a delight.

Please keep in mind that this film is all about the slow build up to the demented climax. It isn’t a bloodbath, so don’t expect a gory death every 10 minutes. Be prepared to watch scene after scene of people doing little more than talk. Focus on the siblings’ twisted relationship and Karl’s constant probing of the act of violence that started everything 15 years before. Allow the film to flow around you. When you get to the end of the final credits, you will realize just how much the film has impacted you.

Then again, you might just find it crazy boring because there are no action set pieces, gunfights, or CGI fantasies to feed your culturally-induced ADHD. Still, give it a chance; you may discover your next favorite movie.