Possibly the most disturbing picture I've seen since "Seven". Also, the most aptly named film ever, for as a powerful dream or nightmare tends to appear fragmented and senseless after one wakes, "In Dreams" provides a gut-wrenching story with hellish imagery that falls apart once the lights come up and logic is applied.
Annette Bening does a fine job as a woman being driven slowly insane (although whether this is due to the dreams of a psychotic killer or her own hellish reality, which involves the murder of her daughter and being comitted to one of the worst mental hospitals depicted on film since "The Snake Pit"), And Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly creepy as psycho serial killer Vivian, but the story doesn't stand up to further examination.
Examples: Does Vivian also have the capability of mind control that extends to pets, or is the family dog just the most intelligent mutt since Rin Tin Tin? And how does this mental power also extend to computers and portable radios? Since Vivian's psychosis seems to stem from his abusive mother, what is the significance of of the oft-quoted verse, "My Daddy is A Dollar..."? The whole relationship between Vivian and his mother is also not very well presented, being told in quick, disjointed flashbacks. Why, for instance, did she leave her son to die when their hometown was flooded to make room for a resevoir? Yes, I know the easy answer is "because she was crazier than an outhouse rat" but I would have liked something with a little more substance.
The high point of this film is its ability to instill a true sense of dread and uneasiness in the viewer. There is not one minute of relief from the disturbing imagery, right up to the somewhat disappointing "twist" ending, which seems to be inspired by countless stories in the old EC Comics.
"In Dreams" packs a pretty good punch for a serious horror film. Just don't analyse it too much on your way home from the theater.
Annette Bening does a fine job as a woman being driven slowly insane (although whether this is due to the dreams of a psychotic killer or her own hellish reality, which involves the murder of her daughter and being comitted to one of the worst mental hospitals depicted on film since "The Snake Pit"), And Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly creepy as psycho serial killer Vivian, but the story doesn't stand up to further examination.
Examples: Does Vivian also have the capability of mind control that extends to pets, or is the family dog just the most intelligent mutt since Rin Tin Tin? And how does this mental power also extend to computers and portable radios? Since Vivian's psychosis seems to stem from his abusive mother, what is the significance of of the oft-quoted verse, "My Daddy is A Dollar..."? The whole relationship between Vivian and his mother is also not very well presented, being told in quick, disjointed flashbacks. Why, for instance, did she leave her son to die when their hometown was flooded to make room for a resevoir? Yes, I know the easy answer is "because she was crazier than an outhouse rat" but I would have liked something with a little more substance.
The high point of this film is its ability to instill a true sense of dread and uneasiness in the viewer. There is not one minute of relief from the disturbing imagery, right up to the somewhat disappointing "twist" ending, which seems to be inspired by countless stories in the old EC Comics.
"In Dreams" packs a pretty good punch for a serious horror film. Just don't analyse it too much on your way home from the theater.