Dream Demon (1988)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Despite being saddled with one of those supremely irritating "dream vs. reality" type plots, DREAM DEMON is a surprisingly well-made British horror film which could be considered the British equivalent of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. The budget may have been low (especially considering the state of British cinema in the '80s) but the producers of this movie picked some fairly good actors and mixed them into a complicated plot involving a girl's dreams which become reality. This is a film which manages to be pretty suspenseful in places and even - wow! - scary on occasion. I wouldn't consider it a great movie but it passes the time nicely and has some over-the-top splatter for gore fans to enjoy, while displaying an imagination usually lacking in late '80s cinema.Opening with a superbly crafted shock scene involving a decapitation at a wedding of all places, the film alternates between reality and dreamscapes repeatedly with the lines between the two becoming ever more blurred. Shots of heroines running down weirdly-lit netherworldly corridors deserve a nod to HELLRAISER, that other major late '80s British horror movie, but the script remains unpredictable at all times. The cast is an interesting one, with Jemma Redgrave giving a powerful performance in the leading role as the dreamer, with Kathleen Wilhoite as her imported American friend (shame about that dated haircut though). Surprisingly the heavies are played by Timothy Spall and Jimmy Nail, two well-known British comedy actors. The surprising thing is that they're actually very good as the two loathsome reporters, with Spall being particularly repulsive.The splatter effects are kept to a minimum but tend to go over-the-top when they do appear. In all the film doesn't really make much sense (at least to this viewer), and with the flashback to the burning figure I wasn't really sure how that linked to all of the terror. Still, there is plenty to be entertained by for the horror fan including walls which crack and bleed and lots of shadowy menace. An intriguing effort.

Two women - one about to be married, the other having returned to the area recently - find they are able to bring each other into their dreams, and that their dreams are connected with a house one of the women is due to move into.Though it might require more than one viewing to work it all out, this film is a first-rate ghost story. It is nothing too demanding, but still manages to be entertaining, creepy, well-written and filled with surrealism. Especially good are the nightmare images, many of which involve two unsavoury reporters (played by Jimmy Nail and Timothy Spall) who are sucked into the dreams and start becoming more nightmarish with each encounter.

"Dream Demon" features some imaginative visuals and clever camera shots, but is doomed by its terribly confusing, almost indecipherable plot. When it's all over, few answers have been given to the viewer and the rules of the dream-vs-reality game are never explained. This picture remains a blurry enigma from beginning to end. (*1/2)

I was very pleased when I saw this film. I rented it thinking it would be a cheesy, unlikable horror film, but it is a lot better than that. I'd say it is a gem in its own right.Made in 1988 but not released on video until 1993, Dream Demon is about an English bride-to-be who begins to have terrible, horrifying dreams. Not sure why she is experiencing them, and not able to find help from those close to her, she confides her trouble to an American woman (played by Kathleen Wilhoite, who is a very underrated actress) visiting London, who seems to be connected to the dreams in some way. It is then that the dreams turn more serious, as anyone unfortunate enough to be around the bride-to-be when she falls asleep can be pulled into the dream itself!From the opening scene (I was caught by surprise there, a rarity for me) this movie grasps you. It is a clear and rare case of a movie that could have been done extremely poorly done very well thanks to fine performances by the two female leads and a director who knew what to do when others would flop. It isn't an edge-of-your-seat horror film, but it is freaky and well-done; worth checking out. Zanatos's score: 7 out of 10.