At one point in this British drama, Theo (Cristian Solimeno), the sharp-tongued bullying employer of protagonist Zel (Laurie Calvert), describes the latter as having all the charm of a “pubic hair in a cheese sandwich”. That’s maybe a bit harsh, but not entirely wrong. Introverted, shuffling young twentysomething Zel is far less engaging than practically every other character in the film, from his nagging mum (Sadie Frost) who swings by briefly to complain about his flat’s hygiene and is barely seen again, to the more compelling figure of Elliot (Billy Zane), Zel’s enigmatic, only-a-bit-creepy neighbour who gets him into lucid dreaming as way to deal with his social anxiety.

Writing down his dreams in a journal every morning seems to help Zel become more assertive, capable of asking out his beautiful neighbour (Felicity Gilbert), who may or may not be a dancer at the private members’ club where Zel works as a car park attendant.

Slowly the boundary between dreams and waking reality becomes blurry and porous, and by the end who knows what the hell is going on. Another pretty girl, Kat (Sophie Kennedy Clark), distinguishable from the other one thanks to her blue hair, wafts through and seems to both work at the club and live in the same block of flats as everyone else. Writer-director Adam Morse, making his feature debut after several shorts, seems to be turning the limited location budget into a plot device in itself.

Although the cinematography by Michel Dierickx, with its jewel-bright hues and hazy backgrounds, is properly oneiric and eerie, Morse isn’t quite resourceful enough to devise a satisfying final act. The film ends with an inert thud.

• Lucid is on digital platforms from 7 September.