Dreamcatcher and the “Chase Me” Debut
On January 13, 2017, Dreamcatcher made their debut with single album Nightmare and the music video for “Chase Me.” Formerly known as MINX, the original five members—JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Yoohyeon, and Dami—were rebranded and joined by Handong and Gahyeon in 2016, transitioning from the everyday wholesome girl group to the heavy metal horror queens we know them as today. Nightmare consists of four tracks, with the fourth track being an instrumental version of “Chase Me.”
The Music Video
“Chase Me” is an interesting video, melding elements of popular horror film The Shining with ghost investigation shows, as the male lead (played by Jo Donghyuk) places cameras around an old hotel and investigates the hauntings there. He begins seeing the girls as apparitions in the hallways and his room, even seeing them as he’s trying to sleep, but they disappear as soon as he turns to face them and investigate further.
Between scenes of the man experiencing paranormal activity and trying to enter locked rooms, the girls perform the choreography and show glimpses as to how they came to be haunting the hotel. One scene shows member Dami in the center of a summoning circle while the six other members form a semi-circle around her, leading to the idea that their possible haunting of the hotel came from dark origins. The video ends with the man taking an axe to a locked door and entering to see the room from his nightmares, photos of the Dreamcatcher members on the walls, and a flashback to happier times as the girls had a pillow fight—almost as if to show that the days of bright and cheery girl group songs are now long in the past.
The Debut Stage
The “Chase Me” debut stage occurred on January 19, 2017 on M!COUNTDOWN. Dreamcatcher performed in front of large screens with pulsating colors, ranging from soft pink to dark blue, while lights shone down on the stage floor. The girls all wore the same outfit—black combat boots paired with a navy blue version of the red and black dresses seen in the music video.
The Legacy
Nightmare debuted and peaked at No. 25 on the Gaon Weekly Albums Chart. It did not chart for Billboard and “Chase Me” unfortunately did not win at any of the music shows. Dreamcatcher were nominated for “Best New Female Artist” at the Mnet Asian Music Awards and “Best New Artist” at the Melon Music Awards but did not win either award.
The plot of the “Chase Me” music video was continued on in the music video for their next title track, “GOOD NIGHT” from their second single album Fall Asleep In The Mirror, showing as the man tries to summon them to harness their energy for darker reasons while still drawing inspiration from horror classics.
While the rebranding and debut of Dreamcatcher may not have caught the attention of fans worldwide immediately, it did lead them to being known as the horror queens, thus setting them apart from other girl groups. While we have seen music videos that embody elements of horror from other female acts, for example “RBB (Really Bad Boy)” by Red Velvet, these performances are few and far between and don’t seem to have a lasting impression as much as the horror-driven music videos from Dreamcatcher.