Somnium Digital Review

3 stars,  what are your dreams made of?

Somnium is a 2025 American sci-fi thriller written and directed by Racheal Cain in her feature directorial debut.

It is available to own on Digital Download in the UK from 8th September 2025.

“We make dreams come true. Here for the job opening? Why don’t you come back into my office, I have a few minutes before my next consultation.”

Gemma (Chloë Levine – The Sacrifice Game, Antarctica) is a young aspiring actress who has left small town Georgia for the bright lights of L.A. following a painful break-up from boyfriend Hunter (Peter Vack – Messy, The Code). She is struggling to make ends meet, traipsing from talent agencies to casting studios in hopes of a break. She needs a job and in a back street she spots a sign, “now hiring”. The company in question is called Somnium.

She heads inside where she is greeted by cool receptionist Olivia (Clarissa Thibeaux – Paradox Lost) and then invited for a quick interview with owner Dr. Katherine Shaffer (Gillian White – The Island, The Hit), former sports scientist turned dream experimenter. The job is a ‘sleep sitter’, working the graveyard shift and giving her plenty of time for auditions.

Her first night, lead dream designer Noah (Will Peltz – The Collection, In Time) shows her around and explains about their six week programme to create new personal perceptions through sensory deprivation and manipulation of dreams. Seems like an easy enough job, she only has to watch the cameras and outside of work she also makes a new contact, the enigmatic Brooks (Johnathon Schaech – Triumph, Blue Ridge), who seems like he could help her with her career goals.

However, she begins to see strange things around her, a disturbing creature that no one else can see. Is there something more sinister going on at Somnium and what has she got herself involved in?

“I can do anything. Like that acting career of yours? Just as easily as I can make him fall in love with you, I can put you on TV screens and movie billboards and you wake up thinking you’re the next big thing.”

Somnium is a very entertaining film which keeps you guessing nicely all the way through. It is well written, but in places a little too ambiguous with the story and they could have leaned into the sci-fi element a bit harder, rather than just hinting at it. It’s also somewhat confusing in places, at least for me, but the end was fun even though it leaves a few unanswered questions.

The acting is very good, Chloë Levine really throws herself into the role of Gemma and is very believable as the desperate aspiring actress, nursing a broken heart and vulnerable to outside influences. While it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, the story is good, the special effects too and it’s certainly well worth a watch.

“You have the pull, call to the unknown. All the best ones have it. Look, if an audition comes up, something that you’re right for, I’ll let you know.”

Somnium is available now on Digital Download.