Dreamscape, 1984. My Journey into Science Fiction Part 16.

 

Hello, and welcome back to my Journey into Science-Fiction Part 16. Dreamscape was directed by Joseph Ruben, and the screenplay was written by David Loughrey and Chuck Russell. The movie is based on the novel, The Dream Master 1966, By Roger Zelazny, originally called “He Who Shapes”. Zelazny won the Nebula Award in 1966 for his work, and the movie adaptation didn’t do too badly either, doubling its six million dollar budget at the box office. When I first looked at the movie poster for Dreamscape, I couldn’t wait to watch it and was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before. It is described as a science fiction adventure horror film, what could go wrong? 

The main character Alex Gardener Dennis Quaid is a gifted individual with psychic abilities. However, as a nineteen-year-old, he explored his gift under supervision until he couldn’t take anymore and disappeared. These days Alex tries to live a carefree life of gambling and women until an inconvenient meeting with local thugs goes wrong, and they want a share of his success at the racecourse. Alex’s day goes from bad to worse as he later finds himself in the back of a car with two men who are from a scientific institution and is kidnapped, but surely he should have seen that coming? At the institute, Alex meets up with former mentor Dr Paul Novotny Max von Sydow and insults are exchanged, and surprisingly resolved quickly. The Doctor decides that a quiet drink to tell Alex about his plans might be just what they need. The good old Village Pub, is full of life, pretty medieval and available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and secret meetings. The Doctor explains to Alex that he has put another person in someone else’s dream. Another person with strong abilities like Alex could manipulate a patient’s subconscious, and help with whatever trauma they are facing.

The way I normally write about the films has hit a bit of a brick wall with Dreamscape. It took me quite a few viewings to get through it the first time, and I’m struggling to sit through it again. There are some elements I like about this film that I will discuss shortly, but I want to speak about some of the things that I don’t like. I know all art is subjective, but I want to be honest and move on.  Alex has a soft spot for Jane DeVries Kate Capshaw, and he enters her dream without her consent and has sex with her. Surely that’s rape? Even worse she kind of brushes it under the rug and enjoyed it. Surely, there are some serious underlying issues going on with these two somewhere. Or, maybe I could just be thinking about things too much, but it all feels a bit weird and not thought through properly. The only character I  like is Charlie Prince George Wendt, but only because he was in Cheers. I love the idea of the President suffering apocalyptic nightmares and worrying about Nuclear War, but the director doesn’t give it any sense of importance. I’m no filmmaker, but why does he wake up screaming in the same bed for each scene? For instance, he could have been on a plane, at his desk, or even funnier, in a meeting.  I do understand there are budget issues in making a film like this, but they could have executed it a little better. 

Let’s get back to what I did enjoy about the film, and that’s the battle inside the President’s dream at the end. The soundtrack by Maurice Jarre sets the tone, and I’m becoming quite the fan of his work after Enemy Mine. David Patrick Kelly is a great actor and the line, Alex, have a heart, is something I have said in conversation once or twice. The makeup used on the mutilated passengers on the train is quite scary for a thirty-five-year-old film, and the visual effects in all the dream sequences are equally impressive. I thought the ending was a little rushed, and showed no real struggle at all but when the snake-man turned into Tommy again, I was impressed. Then there is Bob Blair Christoper Plummer, just a very creepy man, only because he never shows any emotion throughout the film. I have had wallpaper with more character than him, even in death. The signs of a great actor maybe? I am trying to be positive here. 

So, I guess we have to talk about the end as Alex and Jane set out to recreate their dream sequence from earlier. They somehow manage to find the same clothes and realise it’s the same conductor on the train, so was it all a premonition and not a dream? Whatever it is, it’s still creepy. I know there are going to be a lot of people who loved this film when it first came out, and still think highly of it today and I get that. It’s just that I’m watching it for the first time and it hasn’t aged as well as some of the other films I have watched recently. I love the idea of the film, and I have recently read the book to see if it can deliver that little bit more for me. It did, but that will also need a little time to sink in as well. However, Dreamscape is something I still can admire, and I am learning a lot, and that’s what my journey is all about.  

So, where to next in My Journey into Science Fiction Part 17? Well, my next choice is pretty simple Chuck Russell was the producer and screenwriter on Dreamscape. Also, he went on to direct The Mask, Eraser, The Scorpion King and many more movies. But it’s his 1988 remake of The Blob that I am going to discuss next time, and I hope you can join me.

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