‘Mr. Sandman’ VOD Review
Stars: Hailey Kate Schmidt, Mackenzie Newbury, Sherry Hoffman | Written and Directed by Matthew I. Schmidt
Running a brisk thirty minutes, Mr. Sandman from writer/director Matthew I. Schmidt (Happy Birthday Hannah, Tales of Found Footage) is an exercise in suspense and dread based on something most of us can relate to, especially those of us whose childhood involved staying up late watching scary movies.
Zoe (Hailey Kate Schmidt; Happy Birthday Hannah) is staying up late watching an old George Melies silent movie, The Astronomer’s Dream. Her mother (Mackenzie Newbury; District City, Tales of Found Footage) tells her she has to go to bed in half an hour. Her grandmother (Sherry Hoffman; One Last Glance, Pick Up), looks creepy enough as is, but compounds it by telling the young girl about the soul-stealing Mr. Sandman and warns her she needs to be in bed by midnight if she doesn’t want to meet him. Unfortunately for Zoe, she falls asleep in front of the TV and now must make her way through the dark house to her bedroom.
The film does a great job of making the fear the girl feels – as she makes her way from one dark room to the next – unsure if there’s anything but her imagination waiting for her. For the most part, Schmidt resists the urge to punctuate her trip with jump scares and lets the tension build. And left like that, Mr. Sandman would have been a great fifteen-minute short.
Instead, he adds extra layers to the story with dreams and even dreams within dreams, Thankfully it isn’t overdone, with just enough use to add a disorienting touch and keep the viewer further off guard.
For a young actress, Hailey Kate Schmidt gives an excellent performance as Zoe, conveying the character’s fear of what might be lurking in the dark. She’s on the screen for the majority of the film, most of the time alone, and is always convincing. Combined with her father’s cinematography, they get a lot of atmosphere without needing effects.
Overall, Mr. Sandman is a creepy little film that shows what can be done with minimal cast and money. And at just half an hour, it won’t take up too much of your time. Just don’t watch it late at night.
***½ 3.5/5
Mr. Sandman is available to watch on YouTube as well as on Tubi. On Tubi it has some interviews added onto the end to bring the length up to forty-seven minutes and get it past the platform’s forty-minute minimum length. Think of it as getting extras without having to buy a Blu-ray.
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