30 Day Horror Challenge-Day 16: A frightening dream sequence/hallucination

For the next 30 days (or whenever I stop being lazy and finish it), I will be giving my fingers short bursts of exercise by completing the 30 Day Horror Challenge, found here. Hopefully it will give you a bit of insight into what horror is for me. Don't forget to check back every day for a new installment.

Day 16: A frightening dream sequence/hallucination

This entry comes care of Wes 'responsible for some of the arguably greatest horror films of the last 40 years, so you shouldn't need any titles here to help you out' Craven; The Serpent and The Rainbow. Starring Bill Pullman (or is it Bill Paxton... whichever blew up the aliens. You know which aliens I mean, right?), The Serpent and The Rainbow is Craven's most underrated work, possibly because a lot of viewers thought they were experiencing some mass nightmare and not a film. Now, I'll admit, this film isn't scary, and there are more terrifying dreams sequences out there, but there is no film that captures the essence of a dream as this film. There is never a moment where you are able to be sure if you are in the sane, waking world, or on your way down the rabbit hole. One moment, you're walking through the forest, the next, you are plummeting into a pit with disembodied hands reaching out for you. The film is an examination of drugs that turn people in to zombies and a Westerner's entitled ignorance in the subject, so not only is the topic rife for crossing boundaries, there is an added element of an entire culture resenting this man who is questioning their beliefs. It is difficult enough to tell the real world from the dream, but  the frequency and intensity of the movement between the two makes The Serpent and The Rainbow one of the most masterful displays of unreality in cinema.