A student of Miskatonic University discovers that three planes in his room (which are completely non-Euclidian) allow a witch to enter his universe and try to steal the souls of children. Being the babysitter for one such child, he does what any good sitter would do and faces the witch.
Director Stuart Gordon and writer H.P. Lovecraft go together like dogs, a bottle of Wild Turkey and dead bears. Really, the only thing better than these two combined is the addition of Jeffrey Combs (who was sadly absent for this movie, despite being previously attached to the project). Gordon knows the mythos and he's not afraid to use it to his advantage while both updating it and making fun of it in a respectful way (underneath it all, this film and "Re-Animator" are both comedies to a degree).
The blood and gore in this were more than the usual from Gordon. While he has been known to have some very mutilated bodies, they do not often bleed. Blood is everywhere here as flesh is torn from bones and animals chew through sinew and muscle.
The main character, Walter, was great and I enjoyed his lack of skill with the ladies (this is what happens when you spend all day studying string theory, an aspect of the story that was cleverly updated from the short story). The old man (which was supposed to be played by Combs) was good, the witch very nice. Even the rat was pretty cool.
I can't talk about the movie much without giving it away (the best scenes are towards the end), but let's say if you like blood, nudity and Gordon's brand of Lovecraft, you'll want this in your collection. If you're a Lovecraft fan who worries about adaptations, I suggest a listen to the commentary -- Gordon painstakingly goes through the process of film-making and explains why things need to be changed as you switch mediums. (I found this the best part of the commentary.) "Dreams" is easily one of the best films in the "Masters of Horror" series.
Director Stuart Gordon and writer H.P. Lovecraft go together like dogs, a bottle of Wild Turkey and dead bears. Really, the only thing better than these two combined is the addition of Jeffrey Combs (who was sadly absent for this movie, despite being previously attached to the project). Gordon knows the mythos and he's not afraid to use it to his advantage while both updating it and making fun of it in a respectful way (underneath it all, this film and "Re-Animator" are both comedies to a degree).
The blood and gore in this were more than the usual from Gordon. While he has been known to have some very mutilated bodies, they do not often bleed. Blood is everywhere here as flesh is torn from bones and animals chew through sinew and muscle.
The main character, Walter, was great and I enjoyed his lack of skill with the ladies (this is what happens when you spend all day studying string theory, an aspect of the story that was cleverly updated from the short story). The old man (which was supposed to be played by Combs) was good, the witch very nice. Even the rat was pretty cool.
I can't talk about the movie much without giving it away (the best scenes are towards the end), but let's say if you like blood, nudity and Gordon's brand of Lovecraft, you'll want this in your collection. If you're a Lovecraft fan who worries about adaptations, I suggest a listen to the commentary -- Gordon painstakingly goes through the process of film-making and explains why things need to be changed as you switch mediums. (I found this the best part of the commentary.) "Dreams" is easily one of the best films in the "Masters of Horror" series.