When his father calls him for dinner, a child is devoured by a hoard of cats in the hallway leading to the kitchen. This is the frightening preamble to his nightmares, which repeats like film credits. The resolution to this pre-nightmare anxiety is a metaphor for the transition to adulthood: overcoming fears, accepting social norms and learning to negotiate. However, the nightmares themselves continue; they are real, and they last a lifetime.