As any long time horror fan will tell you, by 1988, the slasher well that had been prominent earlier in the decade was pretty much dried up. Horror films from this period tended to be on the comedic side with less of an emphasis on straight horror. One of the films to buck this trend however was Bad Dreams.
In the beginning of the film we see a young girl, Cynthia, a member of a cult involved in a ritual with her fellow members. The cult leader played by(Richard Lynch)is a Jim Jones/Charles Manson combination tells the group how they will be together as one following the ritual. What Cynthia soon realizes is that ol' cult leader man actually has mass suicide in mind. We soon witness various cult members dowse themselves with gasoline and set themselves alight. The house soon becomes a bonfire with the cult members trapped inside. The police and ambulances arrive but are there any survivors? In fact there is one survivor, Cynthia.
Flash forward 13 years, Cynthia,now played by Jennifer Rubin (Nightmare on Elm Street 3), wakes up from her coma. Yes, she has been kept alive all of these years. She is now a ward of the state and lives in the hospital cum mental institute. She begins a group therapy session to readjust to after being in a coma that has spanned half of her life. The doctor in charge of the therapy, is played by Bruce Abbott (from the first two Re Animator films.)Cynthia meets the assorted oddballs who are members of the group. We have our kooky love birds, our bi-polar comedian/aggressor, our bitter conspiracy theorist, and two women; one who looks like a female Steve Urkel and a tiny brunette who apparently borrowed Jennifer Tilly's voice.
Once Cynthia emerges from her coma, she begins to see her former cult leader in various places throughout the hospital. Is he still alive or is it all in her mind? The members of the group begin dying in mysterious ways. At first they are marked off as suicides but after a while it becomes apparent someone wants them dead.Does Cynthia's reawakening have anything to do with the deaths?
If you read my review of Killer Party,you know I enjoy talking about songs in movies. Bad Dreams does not have anything as awesome as "April" or "The Best Times of Our Lives", but does include "Time" by The Chambers Brothers. It's one of the more unsettling songs from the late 60s and by far the creepiest of the seemingly endless songs named "Time." If you missed it the first time it plays in the movie, don't worry. You'll hear it again and again throughout the film.
The acting, with a few exceptions, is one of the main drawbacks of the film. Jennifer Rubin, although easy on the eyes, does not exactly give a stellar performance. Her character in Nightmare on Elm Street 3 tells us that in her dreams she is "beautiful and bad." She carries the beauty into Bad Dreams but the way in which she is bad has a different connotation this time around.That's not to say she is terrible by any means,but she's not exactly Amy Steele in Friday the 13th part 2.The notable exception in Bad Dreams is Ralph, played by Dean Cameron. He gives quite a good performance as the joke and sex crazed funny man one minute, and the startling psychotic the next.I've always enjoyed his work, especially his role in one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures, Miracle Beach, in which he co-starred with the super adorable Ami Dolenz. That's a review for a different time.
Overall, Bad Dreams is parts hit and miss. I'm a slasher completest, and would find something good to say about the movie whether it was good or not. As a slasher it works for the most part. It's not the most obvious whodunit I've seen but it's in the top 10.
My rating: 6.5/10 blood pouring air vents.
In the beginning of the film we see a young girl, Cynthia, a member of a cult involved in a ritual with her fellow members. The cult leader played by(Richard Lynch)is a Jim Jones/Charles Manson combination tells the group how they will be together as one following the ritual. What Cynthia soon realizes is that ol' cult leader man actually has mass suicide in mind. We soon witness various cult members dowse themselves with gasoline and set themselves alight. The house soon becomes a bonfire with the cult members trapped inside. The police and ambulances arrive but are there any survivors? In fact there is one survivor, Cynthia.
Flash forward 13 years, Cynthia,now played by Jennifer Rubin (Nightmare on Elm Street 3), wakes up from her coma. Yes, she has been kept alive all of these years. She is now a ward of the state and lives in the hospital cum mental institute. She begins a group therapy session to readjust to after being in a coma that has spanned half of her life. The doctor in charge of the therapy, is played by Bruce Abbott (from the first two Re Animator films.)Cynthia meets the assorted oddballs who are members of the group. We have our kooky love birds, our bi-polar comedian/aggressor, our bitter conspiracy theorist, and two women; one who looks like a female Steve Urkel and a tiny brunette who apparently borrowed Jennifer Tilly's voice.
Once Cynthia emerges from her coma, she begins to see her former cult leader in various places throughout the hospital. Is he still alive or is it all in her mind? The members of the group begin dying in mysterious ways. At first they are marked off as suicides but after a while it becomes apparent someone wants them dead.Does Cynthia's reawakening have anything to do with the deaths?
If you read my review of Killer Party,you know I enjoy talking about songs in movies. Bad Dreams does not have anything as awesome as "April" or "The Best Times of Our Lives", but does include "Time" by The Chambers Brothers. It's one of the more unsettling songs from the late 60s and by far the creepiest of the seemingly endless songs named "Time." If you missed it the first time it plays in the movie, don't worry. You'll hear it again and again throughout the film.
The acting, with a few exceptions, is one of the main drawbacks of the film. Jennifer Rubin, although easy on the eyes, does not exactly give a stellar performance. Her character in Nightmare on Elm Street 3 tells us that in her dreams she is "beautiful and bad." She carries the beauty into Bad Dreams but the way in which she is bad has a different connotation this time around.That's not to say she is terrible by any means,but she's not exactly Amy Steele in Friday the 13th part 2.The notable exception in Bad Dreams is Ralph, played by Dean Cameron. He gives quite a good performance as the joke and sex crazed funny man one minute, and the startling psychotic the next.I've always enjoyed his work, especially his role in one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures, Miracle Beach, in which he co-starred with the super adorable Ami Dolenz. That's a review for a different time.
Overall, Bad Dreams is parts hit and miss. I'm a slasher completest, and would find something good to say about the movie whether it was good or not. As a slasher it works for the most part. It's not the most obvious whodunit I've seen but it's in the top 10.
My rating: 6.5/10 blood pouring air vents.