Lucid, written, directed, produced, edited, and starring by P.J. Woodside, tries very hard to be a complex, thought provoking film about lucid dreaming. Everyone involved in the project shows their enthusiasm and dedication.

Monica has been suffering from lucid dreams in which she is constantly murdering her boyfriend, or what appears to be a molesting relative from her past. She is desperate for assistance and begins to seek out the help of Dr. Aaron Night, a sleep therapist. His special techniques are highly sought after and even recommended by Faith, Monica’s psychologist. We find out that Monica may have “accidentally” done something in her sleep once upon a time. It’s actually a bit confusing to follow. A lot of the film is revelations that are shown in very long, drawn out sequences. There is even an homage to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in which Monica’s brain and memories are explored.

The writing of Lucid is matter of fact. Dialogue is abrupt. After most dreams experienced by the characters, they wake in an unknown place and immediately ask why they are in the specific location without any need to take in their surroundings. Again, the actors are obviously fully enthralled with their work. However, with the level of script, their amateur performances come off forced, which removes one from the movie experience the majority of the time. Simply put, it is hard to believe the story and hard to believe the actors trying to tell it. Scenes simply go on for too long, the same events and concepts are constantly repeated, and the editing causes confusion as to what exactly is going on at all. With lack of editing to the majority of long running scenes, it is interesting that there are extended and deleted scenes, along with a blooper real and audio commentary on the dvd.

While Lucid isn’t the a cookie cutter Hollywood release, it is very apparent it is made by people who full heartedly believe in it. Lucid is definitely a labor of love.