A young artist seeks the help of an elixir for relieving creative block, only to find herself trapped in a nightmarish world of monsters, trauma, and inner demons.
Women are having a moment in body horror, especially behind the camera. Following in the heels of The Substance, Lucid is an almost spiritual successor, addressing yet another layer of the female struggle in life. This time, in place of beauty standards and aging, it’s suppressed emotions and traumas, and the inner demons we all fight on a daily basis as we struggle to fit into a male dominated society. Delving into the psyche of a woman, and a creative, in a visually trippy and hallucinogenic thrill ride of monstrosities, bad memories, and fractured mind, Lucid attempts to commit the interior of the mind to film, and does so in a somewhat effective, if flawed way, and a few questionable moments drag the film down. I’m certainly not a prude, but not every film with a female protagonist needs to show her masturbating, especially if it’s useless to the plot. Can we please stop appealing to male viewers with this unnecessary crap?
I want to say I loved every minute of Lucid, and I can tell that Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall had a vision in mind, but that vision becomes weirdly muddled and incoherent thanks to an incessant need to lean a bit too hard on shock value visuals and trying to be unique. It’s certainly unlike most anything you’ll see elsewhere, but I’m not so sure if that’s an entirely good thing. This is very much a case of trying too hard to be different, and instead becoming messy and incapable of making sense. Joined by Claire E. Robertson in writing the project, it almost feels like too many clashing ideas and plotlines that became a mishmash of concepts, none of which fully land.
This is compounded by the somewhat overdone performance from the lead, Caitlin Acken Taylor. She does a good job, but in a film like this, you need to have a great one in the protagonist’s seat. Though it isn’t helped by the fact that most everyone is overacting here. One standout amongst the group is Georgia Acken, who definitely performed get little heart out, but she can’t rise above the overbaked cast around her. There’s sequences that feel like they should be really captivating and enthralling, but with performances that come across as ingenuine and unbelievable, it just doesn’t quite work.
The effects are pretty stellar, though, especially the practical body horror elements and sequences of blood and gore. Nothing in that regard is overdone, though certain bits of cinematography, also done by Ramsey Fendall, and choices of angles can cheapen their effectiveness and realism. And yes, I know this is supposed to be a dream world, but most people’s inner demons and turmoil present themselves as frightening, not rubberized and obviously prosthetic. Marta Jaciubek-McKeever’s score is genuinely trippy and fits with the themes of the film fantastically, but the rest of the film comes up short in a lot of ways.
You might be asking if I liked Lucid or not. The truth is, even I don’t know. I would suggest you watch it for yourself and make your own decision. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel like the film managed to kneecap itself by trying too hard to be shocking when it could’ve instead delved deeper into some really interesting and unique concepts that wind up left untouched.
Fantasia 2025 runs from July 16th to August 3rd 2025