Basically...Kate Bush lets a complete stranger, Cyndi Lauper, into her house one day and together they unfold the psychological complexities of their personal turmoils through nightmares that seem to slowly be manifesting into their reality.
For such a buried film from the late 80's horror bunch, Dream Demon has an awful lot to offer. I watched this with a group of 4 and it left us questioning a bundle of things. Funnily enough, the biggest question was whether or not the film even had any deeper meaning in general, but when a film leaves you wondering, it's generally done something right.
Dream Demon is certainly one of those films, as many 80's horror films are, that sticks to its building formula of wandering through dreamlike landscapes while capitalizing on the concept of being chased or followed, for a majority of its runtime, especially in the second half, but its far more intriguing here than it is in your average slasher film, mostly because of the way that dream logic is presented and implemented. Many times in these dreamscapes the film reaches an almost Lynchian realm, and it is much welcomed. Mirror universes, distorted faces, men on fire running at you in slow mo...etc. It all works rather well. The further into the film you get, the more metaphorical and obscure it feels, all leading to a surprisingly epic climax. The film has some really cool music score cues and some pretty fierce cinematography at times.
Beyond everything else though, the thing that sticks the most is seeing character actor Timothy Stall, who you'll probably recognize from a bundle of films throughout the 90's and 2000's, in such a relentless and disturbing role. He always had the face for something so creepy - it's nice to see it capitalized on so thoroughly here. He just gets scarier and scarier as the movie goes on, and the same goes for his henchman played by Jimmy Nail. They really reach an iconic level in this film as far as horror villains go, but the movie is so slept on that people don't know. The lead woman's husband also stands out bringing a certain Den Harrow-like pompousness to his role - very amusing. There are a couple of gory scenes featuring these characters that you will never be able to forget.
Dream Demon is a buried gem that all fans of 80's horror should see!
For such a buried film from the late 80's horror bunch, Dream Demon has an awful lot to offer. I watched this with a group of 4 and it left us questioning a bundle of things. Funnily enough, the biggest question was whether or not the film even had any deeper meaning in general, but when a film leaves you wondering, it's generally done something right.
Dream Demon is certainly one of those films, as many 80's horror films are, that sticks to its building formula of wandering through dreamlike landscapes while capitalizing on the concept of being chased or followed, for a majority of its runtime, especially in the second half, but its far more intriguing here than it is in your average slasher film, mostly because of the way that dream logic is presented and implemented. Many times in these dreamscapes the film reaches an almost Lynchian realm, and it is much welcomed. Mirror universes, distorted faces, men on fire running at you in slow mo...etc. It all works rather well. The further into the film you get, the more metaphorical and obscure it feels, all leading to a surprisingly epic climax. The film has some really cool music score cues and some pretty fierce cinematography at times.
Beyond everything else though, the thing that sticks the most is seeing character actor Timothy Stall, who you'll probably recognize from a bundle of films throughout the 90's and 2000's, in such a relentless and disturbing role. He always had the face for something so creepy - it's nice to see it capitalized on so thoroughly here. He just gets scarier and scarier as the movie goes on, and the same goes for his henchman played by Jimmy Nail. They really reach an iconic level in this film as far as horror villains go, but the movie is so slept on that people don't know. The lead woman's husband also stands out bringing a certain Den Harrow-like pompousness to his role - very amusing. There are a couple of gory scenes featuring these characters that you will never be able to forget.
Dream Demon is a buried gem that all fans of 80's horror should see!