Dreamscape (1984) #456

 

One of my favorite horror movies when I was a kid was "Dreamscape", starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Capshaw, David Patrick Kelly, and Max Von Sydow. It's only PG-13, there's no excessive profanity or sexual situations, but there are some truly effective scary scenes in this movie and a real sense of dread in some of the dream sequences. Once again, a PG-13 film proves it can be just as effective as an R rated movie when it comes to horror. 

A very young Dennis Quaid plays Alex Gardner, a gifted psychic who spends his days using his unique abilities to win horse races and charming women. He is recruited by a secret government agency that is experimenting with technology that allows psychics to enter and influence peoples dreams. Alex is gifted and highly intelligent, and Mr. Quaid plays Alex as arrogant, confident, but caring. He delivers a great performance and shows a real sense of vulnerability and fright when he comes face to face with a little boy's nightmare. 

David Patrick Kelly, best known to horror fans as T-Bird from "The Crow", steals the show as the psychopathic Tommy Ray Glatman. Tommy Ray is the original psychic at the agency and considers himself as the master of the dream world. When Alex and Tommy Ray first meet, Tommy Ray makes it clear that he's the best and the only one that can influence peoples dreams. Without the agency finding out, Tommy Ray has learned how to control his surroundings and manipulate the dreams from within.

The supporting cast is rounded out with Max Von Sydow ("The Exorcist") as Dr. Paul Novotny and Kate Capshaw as his assistant Jane DeVries. Both of their performances are great and their characters greatly add to the narrative. Dr. Novotny has previous history with Alex and is the reason why Alex decides to stay. Jane becomes Alex's love interest and helps him when the agency is taken over from the good doctor. 

An important theme that is a driving narrative point in "Dreamscape" is the fear of nuclear war. Like "The Dead Zone", flashes of nuclear use haunt the dreamer, and in this case it's the President of the United States. Unlike Greg Stillson, this President wants to avoid this horrible outcome. This was a real threat and fear to many at this time and it's interesting to see how it's used in film as a narrative device.