Review: I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2017)

Directed by: Mike Lombardo
Starring: Holly Andrew, Hope Bikle, Reeve Blazi
Written by: Mike Lombardo
Music by: Erik Myrnes, Jonathan Yudkin
Country: United States
Available on: Blu-ray/DVD (Scream Team Releasing)
IMDb

I kept putting off watching I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday (2017) because I heard it was super bleak. And yes, it was. This was a 70-minute slow-motion train to emotional devastation. It follows a small family who have survived some kind of apocalyptic event and now live in a bunker. With food running out and Christmas approaching, the dad sets out for supplies. When he doesn’t return, the mom prepares to take very desperate measures for her and her young son. Every element of this movie is designed to break you. The pacing, which is fairly glacial; the great minimalist, droning music; the broken characters; the barren, lifeless setting; the juxtaposition against the “merriest” holiday — it all coalesces into perhaps the most oppressively desolate Christmas movie ever made. While there is some gore, this movie is mostly horrific in its portrayal of the terrible decisions we’re sometimes forced to make to survive. The ending injects some surprising magical realism that fell a little flat for me, primarily because it kind of came out of nowhere and resolved very suddenly. But for the most part, writer/director Mike Lombardo’s debut feature film achieves what it’s after and does it with style and confidence. If you’re searching for something darker for your holiday, give this a go (but you might want a rom-com chaser).

Rating: 7 out of 10