The Dreaming (film)

Lore & Background

The Dreaming 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 local landmarks such as Seal Bay and Admiral's Arch.

The film's plot follows Dr. Cathy Thornton, whose father opens an aboriginal tomb on an island off the south coast of Australia. After treating a young aboriginal girl who dies in the emergency room, Cathy experiences visions of the girl and of brutal whaling fisherman. She later learns that in 1856, whalers massacred an aboriginal tribe on the island, creating a rift in the aborigine's spirit realm. The spirits of the aboriginal tribe themselves possess her father, leading to a confrontation in a lighthouse.

The film includes an H. P. Lovecraft in-joke: as Penny Cook's character drives to Kangaroo Island, her car passes a roadsign reading '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.

Reader's Guide

The Dreaming is notable as a late-1980s Australian horror film that directly addresses the historical mistreatment of Aboriginal people by European whalers. The director later stated that the original script tackled the issue of the past treatment of aborigines and the white-black conflict, but that the script was changed against his wishes by others who said, 'No, you can't make that film, you've got to make this film.' This reflects the challenges faced by a first-time director with no track record. The film's use of Kangaroo Island's actual history of whaling and abduction of Aboriginal women grounds its supernatural horror in real colonial violence. The Lovecraft reference to 'Innsmouth' adds a layer of genre homage. Released direct-to-video in Australia on 29 December 1988 through Filmpac, the film represents a specific moment in Australian genre cinema, blending horror with social commentary, though its production was compromised by creative interference.

Did You Know?

• The film was originally meant to be directed by Craig Lahiff, but he dropped out before filming and was replaced by Mario Andreacchio.
• The film includes an H. P. Lovecraft in-joke: a roadsign reading 'Innsmouth 2 km' appears as Penny Cook's character drives to Kangaroo Island.
• The film was pre-sold to US distributor Goldfarb for $1.32 million, but Goldfarb encountered financial difficulties.
• The vengeful spirits in the film are those of the aboriginal tribe massacred by whalers, not the whalers themselves.