In the mid-70s,the members of the love cult Unity Fields sought the ultimate joining by dousing themselves with gasoline and committing mass suicide.A young girl blown clear of the fiery explosion was the only survivor.Thirteen years later,Cynthia(Jennifer Rubin)awakens from a coma inside a psychiatric hospital with only buried memories of that horrific day.But when her fellow patients start committing suicide one by one,her past slowly begins to come back to terrifying life..."Bad Dreams" is a pretty average horror flick.It's well-paced and visually interesting.The acting by Richard Lynch,Jennifer Rubin and Bruce Abbott,three actors ignored by the mainstream,is solid and there is plenty of blood and gore including knife through hand and some nasty self-mutilation.7 out of 10.
69 Reviews
S10 Reviews: Bad Dreams (1988)
suspiria1030 April 2006
Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin) wakes up after being in a coma for thirteen years. She is the sole survivor of a religious sect who burned themselves up. But the leader of the sect (Richard Lynch) wants her back and will stop at nothing to get her from beyond the grave. There might be more to Cynthia's bad dreams but will those around her die before she finds out.
'Bad Dreams' is a better than average 80's flick with a good plot and a nifty twist. Populated by some horror vets (Rubins and Bruce Abbott) and put together well by director Andrew (The Craft) Fleming. 'Bad Dreams' deserves more attention than it gets and the new DVD release is just the ticket.
'Bad Dreams' is a better than average 80's flick with a good plot and a nifty twist. Populated by some horror vets (Rubins and Bruce Abbott) and put together well by director Andrew (The Craft) Fleming. 'Bad Dreams' deserves more attention than it gets and the new DVD release is just the ticket.
Very good thriller with loads of blood (small spoilers)
Coventry13 November 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Originality isn't really Bad Dreams' biggest trump but it sure is an ideal film in case you're looking for a few scares and/or chilling entertainment. The plot involves a spiritual sect with a textbook leader type that performed a mass suicide ritual in the 70's. One girl survived and she awakes from her coma 13 years later. Immediately after, she's haunted by hallucinations and nightmares in which the leader returns comes to tell her she has to fulfill her promise to the group and commit suicide after all. When she refuses, the leader leads other victims into death and he easily finds them among the psychiatric patients of the hospital. As stated earlier, the plot of Bad Dreams isn't very unique and borrows elements from over a dozen other (horror) movies. Mostly from 'Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' (the image of the horribly burned leader even resembles the Freddy Kruger pizza-face!) and the group session looks inspired by 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. But who cares? Very few movies are completely original and at least this film offers spectacular amusement. Andrew Fleming's Bad Dreams upholds a good tempo, it has a great soundtrack (including a demented version of 'My Way' and a Guns 'n Roses classic during the end credits) and there's enough blood and gore to satisfy the most demanding horror buff. We see how people are getting burned, stabbed or thrown from high buildings. Two poor bastards even get hacked up in a ventilation system! Is that bloody enough for you? And yes, at some points, Fleming even succeeds in creating tension and eeriness. Especially the sequence where Cynthia has her first hallucination in the broken elevator is memorable. Last but not least Bad Dreams has a terrific B-movie cast filled with familiar faces. Jennifer Rubin plays the lead and she suffered from the same issues before in Nightmare on Elm Street. Bruce Abbott stars as a dedicated shrink and you'll unquestionably recognize him from the one and only Re-Animator. There also are neat supportive roles for Dean Cameron (Summer School), Harris Yulin (Scarface, 24) and even the lovely singer E.G. Daily makes an appearance! I say you better ignore the unusually large amount of negative reviews and give this one a look.
Bad Dreams on elm Street 3 :)
DrummerDude7142 December 2003
The First time I remember seeing this movie was back in the late 80s, when it was being played on HBO late one night. I remember at the time I thought the movie was pretty cool. I didnt see the movie again until about a year ago , when I picked up a used copy of it. Since then I have watched the movie a couple times, and I think its pretty awesome. its got some scary sences, and its definately got that old style 80s horror feel to it, which I miss. Its also crazy how similar this movie is to the 1987 masterpeice,A Nightmare on Elm Street 3- Dream Worriors. This movie's main star is Jennifer Ruben, who played Taryn in Nightmare 3...and just like in Nightmare 3, Bad Dreams is about a group of troubled kids who are in a mental institution, being haunted in there dreams by a burned boogeyman. It was cool to see Jennifer Ruben in another horror movie. This, and Nightmare 3, are the only two movies I can remember her in. Check out "Bad Dreams" if you want to see another cool late 80s horror movie.
Bad prescription.
Fella_shibby21 April 2021
I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs.
Revisited it recently.
When my 7 year ol nephew asked me the plot, he being a small kid, he excitedly said that its a Nightmare on Elm Street copy aft hearing the plot.
I made him see Nightmare... but used to move away the screen during gory sequences.
This movie is very slow n not at all scary.
I dont kno what the makers were trying to achieve cos even one of the cop's name is Freddy and the lead actress Jennifer Rubin was a supporting actress in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
Coming back to this movie, they shud have focused more on the cult group but alas.
The settings of the cultist's house is good but the movie terrible.
Revisited it recently.
When my 7 year ol nephew asked me the plot, he being a small kid, he excitedly said that its a Nightmare on Elm Street copy aft hearing the plot.
I made him see Nightmare... but used to move away the screen during gory sequences.
This movie is very slow n not at all scary.
I dont kno what the makers were trying to achieve cos even one of the cop's name is Freddy and the lead actress Jennifer Rubin was a supporting actress in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
Coming back to this movie, they shud have focused more on the cult group but alas.
The settings of the cultist's house is good but the movie terrible.
Bad Dreams
Scarecrow-8830 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A influential cult leader, reminiscent of Jim Jones, Harris(Richard Lynch)seduces his communal group of worshipers to take part in a suicidal fire pact which explodes the house they live in..but, one survives, Cynthia(Jennifer Rubin)who awakens twenty years later to the care of Dr. Berrisford(Harris Yulin). Spending her days in a mental hospital without any family to speak of, Cynthis attempts to revive memories of her past before the house fire which took the lives of those she cared about. Her memories will assist the police in closing a case long spent open as Detective Wasserman(Sy Richardson), working the scene at that time, remains convinced that Cynthia's not the victim she seems to be. His feelings are assisted when members of Cynthia's therapy group, each known for suicidal tendencies, each begin killing themselves, with her nearby, believing she's a possible catalyst as to their sudden decisions to end it all under grisly circumstances. Before each member of her therapy group dies, Cynthia is either visited by Harris(..either as he was in the 60's or with charred burnt flesh)or sees him following them. Her assigned psychiatric physician, Dr. Alex Karmen(Bruce Abbott), doesn't believe in Cynthia's bogeyman manifesting from her nightmares to kill members of her therapy group and is convinced there's another type of motivation causing the strange suicides which have began to emerge. Karmen pursue the truth with odd resistance from his own superior, Berrisford, as Cynthia slowly falls prey to her hallucinations(..or are they?) of Harris who beckons to join his unity where those she once knew await her on the other side. If she doesn't end her own life Harris will continue to take souls..it's up to her.
Slippery thriller, almost completely set in the mental hospital, where the viewer is to guess whether what Cynthia sees(..nightmare man, Harris, who pops up often to spook her)is real or a product of fantasy fueled by something malicious. Rubin's beauty is used rather well as she's often running around in a gown, conflicted and confused about her present mental state. Great villainous heavy Richard Lynch has a tailor-made star vehicle, often showcased in terrifying burn make-up, as the supposed supernatural killer causing the patients under Karmen's care to off themselves. Berrisford's philosophy and unorthodox methods of treatment for the patients under Karmen's care is of the utmost importance to the plot, but it's subtly infused within the story. While the similarities to "Nightmare on Elm Street" are striking(..Part 3 in particular which also starred Rubin in her first film and was set in a mental hospital), "Bad Dreams" ultimate twist at the end pries it apart from the Freddy Krueger franchise. Still, I imagine many will shrug their shoulders at this film as merely a rip from the franchise being that it concerns a nightmare man, with a burnt face no less, terrorizing Rubin. The title doesn't help the film's cause either. The film has a strong cast with Abbott(..fresh off the heels of "Re-Animator"), Yulin, as usual portraying the quietly malevolent and untrustworthy type of character who reeks of malicious intent, and Dean Cameron(Summer School)as a jokester with a nasty streak that explodes into violent rage at the very end when alone with Cynthia. Those familiar with Susan Barnes sweetheart in LA Law will find her very profane and confrontational patient Connie quite a polar opposite(..or polarizing, to be more specific). The gore is limited but there are inspired sequences of violence such as what one patient does to himself with surgical scalpels, the aftermath of a couple who decide to hurl themselves into the hospital turbines(..lots of blood spray spurting from ventilation shafts leave quite a lasting impression), and a suicidal leap onto the steps from an upper floor window. But, Lynch's burn make-up delivers the ultra-creepy goods. I think despite seeming unoriginal and rather familiar(derivative), "Bad Dreams" remains quite entertaining as the plot plays out and all the pieces fall into place. And, if anything, you have Lynch's tour-de-force performance to enjoy. Great little kill-fantasy played out in Karmen's mind after Berrisford fires him.
Slippery thriller, almost completely set in the mental hospital, where the viewer is to guess whether what Cynthia sees(..nightmare man, Harris, who pops up often to spook her)is real or a product of fantasy fueled by something malicious. Rubin's beauty is used rather well as she's often running around in a gown, conflicted and confused about her present mental state. Great villainous heavy Richard Lynch has a tailor-made star vehicle, often showcased in terrifying burn make-up, as the supposed supernatural killer causing the patients under Karmen's care to off themselves. Berrisford's philosophy and unorthodox methods of treatment for the patients under Karmen's care is of the utmost importance to the plot, but it's subtly infused within the story. While the similarities to "Nightmare on Elm Street" are striking(..Part 3 in particular which also starred Rubin in her first film and was set in a mental hospital), "Bad Dreams" ultimate twist at the end pries it apart from the Freddy Krueger franchise. Still, I imagine many will shrug their shoulders at this film as merely a rip from the franchise being that it concerns a nightmare man, with a burnt face no less, terrorizing Rubin. The title doesn't help the film's cause either. The film has a strong cast with Abbott(..fresh off the heels of "Re-Animator"), Yulin, as usual portraying the quietly malevolent and untrustworthy type of character who reeks of malicious intent, and Dean Cameron(Summer School)as a jokester with a nasty streak that explodes into violent rage at the very end when alone with Cynthia. Those familiar with Susan Barnes sweetheart in LA Law will find her very profane and confrontational patient Connie quite a polar opposite(..or polarizing, to be more specific). The gore is limited but there are inspired sequences of violence such as what one patient does to himself with surgical scalpels, the aftermath of a couple who decide to hurl themselves into the hospital turbines(..lots of blood spray spurting from ventilation shafts leave quite a lasting impression), and a suicidal leap onto the steps from an upper floor window. But, Lynch's burn make-up delivers the ultra-creepy goods. I think despite seeming unoriginal and rather familiar(derivative), "Bad Dreams" remains quite entertaining as the plot plays out and all the pieces fall into place. And, if anything, you have Lynch's tour-de-force performance to enjoy. Great little kill-fantasy played out in Karmen's mind after Berrisford fires him.
A good film in there somewhere
udar5512 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Hmmmmmmm. A burnt villain? A psych ward group slowly being killed? A sympathetic male doctor? Jennifer Rubin? Hey, this sounds exactly like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS! And that is probably exactly what 20th Century Fox was hoping audiences would think with this attempt to cash in on the late 80s ELM STREET craze. It is too bad because hidden somewhere in BAD DREAMS is a good horror movie.
With four writers getting a "story by" credit, BAD DREAMS reeks of shaping a object to fit the mold. Credited screenwriters Stephen de Souza and director Andrew Fleming present a fairly engaging mystery of a crazed doctor who is experimenting with various drugs on his patients to prove his theories on insanity. Unfortunately they unfold it in a scenario so similar to the third ELM STREET film that one wonders if litigation was ever pursued. Nowhere is this attempt more obvious than the sure to evoke Kruger title of BAD DREAMS. Shame no one in the film actually experiences bad dreams because all of the psychotic reactions are to drug induced hallucinations. I guess BAD HALLUCINATIONS didn't test well? The fact that nothing in this film comes off as original mars the plot's better aspects.
To its credit, BAD DREAMS features a great cast. Female lead Rubin, last seen in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 (!), may have hurt the film's chances of originality even more but she is good in her role. The casting of Richard Lynch as the cult leader is interesting if you know his back story. While under the influence of LSD in the 60s, Lynch actually did set himself on fire. Inspired casting or exploitation? You be the judge but Lynch is really creepy in the role. He keeps the character of cult leader Harris very sinister, something the ELM STREET series had long since abandoned with Freddy. Director Fleming should also get credit for casting Harris Yulin as the evil doctor. Yulin has very similar features to Lynch so it work well in the context of the story (Rubin sees Lynch in her hallucinations when it is really Yulin). Bruce Abbott, coming off his previous stint as a med student in RE-ANIMATOR (1985), graduates to a full fledged doctor and shows he is capable of carrying a studio backed feature, big sweaters notwithstanding. Perhaps the film's best performance is Dean Cameron as psychotic patient Ralph. Probably best known as horror fan "Chainsaw," Cameron delivers some well timed sardonic comedy (a lot of which was improvised according to his website).
On top of the acting, BAD DREAMS is a very well made film. Fleming has a nice visual style and handles the scares well. In fact, I would argue this is a better made film than most of the ELM STREET sequels (and it was actually made for less). Both the cinematography and editing are top notch. All of the murders are well staged with the 70s fire/suicide being the highlight. In terms of horror films, Fleming went on to direct the well received THE CRAFT a few years later. In addition to a creepy score by Jay Ferguson, The Chamber Brother's "Time Has Come Today" is used effectively through out the film to evoke the 70s.
Unfotunately this experiment in flattery didn't get very far with audiences, raking in only $9 million at the box office. A paltry sum when compared to the previous year's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 ($44 million) or the same year's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 ($49 million). It may not be true in the real world, but in the cinematic world Robert Englund can take Richard Lynch any day. As it stands, BAD DREAMS is a time capsule to remind genre fans how much influence Wes Craven's creation had back in the day.
With four writers getting a "story by" credit, BAD DREAMS reeks of shaping a object to fit the mold. Credited screenwriters Stephen de Souza and director Andrew Fleming present a fairly engaging mystery of a crazed doctor who is experimenting with various drugs on his patients to prove his theories on insanity. Unfortunately they unfold it in a scenario so similar to the third ELM STREET film that one wonders if litigation was ever pursued. Nowhere is this attempt more obvious than the sure to evoke Kruger title of BAD DREAMS. Shame no one in the film actually experiences bad dreams because all of the psychotic reactions are to drug induced hallucinations. I guess BAD HALLUCINATIONS didn't test well? The fact that nothing in this film comes off as original mars the plot's better aspects.
To its credit, BAD DREAMS features a great cast. Female lead Rubin, last seen in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 (!), may have hurt the film's chances of originality even more but she is good in her role. The casting of Richard Lynch as the cult leader is interesting if you know his back story. While under the influence of LSD in the 60s, Lynch actually did set himself on fire. Inspired casting or exploitation? You be the judge but Lynch is really creepy in the role. He keeps the character of cult leader Harris very sinister, something the ELM STREET series had long since abandoned with Freddy. Director Fleming should also get credit for casting Harris Yulin as the evil doctor. Yulin has very similar features to Lynch so it work well in the context of the story (Rubin sees Lynch in her hallucinations when it is really Yulin). Bruce Abbott, coming off his previous stint as a med student in RE-ANIMATOR (1985), graduates to a full fledged doctor and shows he is capable of carrying a studio backed feature, big sweaters notwithstanding. Perhaps the film's best performance is Dean Cameron as psychotic patient Ralph. Probably best known as horror fan "Chainsaw," Cameron delivers some well timed sardonic comedy (a lot of which was improvised according to his website).
On top of the acting, BAD DREAMS is a very well made film. Fleming has a nice visual style and handles the scares well. In fact, I would argue this is a better made film than most of the ELM STREET sequels (and it was actually made for less). Both the cinematography and editing are top notch. All of the murders are well staged with the 70s fire/suicide being the highlight. In terms of horror films, Fleming went on to direct the well received THE CRAFT a few years later. In addition to a creepy score by Jay Ferguson, The Chamber Brother's "Time Has Come Today" is used effectively through out the film to evoke the 70s.
Unfotunately this experiment in flattery didn't get very far with audiences, raking in only $9 million at the box office. A paltry sum when compared to the previous year's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 ($44 million) or the same year's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 ($49 million). It may not be true in the real world, but in the cinematic world Robert Englund can take Richard Lynch any day. As it stands, BAD DREAMS is a time capsule to remind genre fans how much influence Wes Craven's creation had back in the day.
No sweet dreams.
lost-in-limbo12 September 2008
I'm kind of caught here. I somewhat liked it, but came away rather under-whelmed because it was all too familiar and there was something more interesting within this strange horror/thriller premise than what was chalked up. Even with some creative cracks, it should've been better. The story's direction seems a little uneven if it wants to go out to shock (a good amount of blood splatter is spilt), or play its cards for psychological torment. Something about it never entirely fulfils. The performances are the main reason this one doesn't slip off the mind too quick. The beautiful Jennifer Rubin is exceptional in brining out a vulnerable side, which is counter-punched by determination. Alongside her are a very good Bruce Abbott and a towering Richard Lynch brings an uneasy subtly to his menacing character. Harris Yulin, Sy Richardson, Susan Ruttan and an amusingly batty Dean Cameron chip in with durable support. Andrew Fleming's leisured direction is stylish, but has that breakable quality to it. Good use of lighting, colouring and composition in pockets drips of atmosphere. The material is enjoyable (if minimal), as the protagonist tries to overcome the hallucinations that might be because of her unstable state of mind or the simple reality of being haunted by a restless spirit. There's some black humour evident, but the by-the-numbers script goes about things rather seriously. As well it has a fine and compelling soundtrack to boot. The special effects and make-up FX stands-up well enough. A decent little film.
It's OK I Guess
Rainey-Dawn11 October 2016
It's one of those cult-suicide films were one of the members decided to back out of the mass cult suicide, which was death by fire in this case, she was the only survivor and ended up in a coma for 13 years in a hospital. They tried to find her family with no luck and when she awoke her mind was still in the 1970s not the late 1980s where it should have been. She was kept in the hospital but the cult leader came back to "haunt" her in a literal way - he wants her to commit suicide to join the cult on the other side. People end up dead when the cult leader tries to scare and drive her to suicide. Her psychiatrist falls in love with her and tries to help her.
It's an OK movie... I've seen much worse than this!! It held my interest for about an hour and a half anyway.
5/10
It's an OK movie... I've seen much worse than this!! It held my interest for about an hour and a half anyway.
5/10
RE:Underrated 80's studio horror film.
illusionation13 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Creepy, surreal 80's horror head-trip. Slick direction coupled with descent acting, effective gore scenes, and true-to-life cult activity spices up this unappreciated horror gem. Critics savaged it, and it doesn't seem to have much of a following, but it leaves an undeniable sense of creepiness and dread when the final credits roll (to an early version of Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine.") Jennifer Rubin's sleepy demeanor fits well into this role, shortly after her stint on Elm Street 3 as a recovering heroin addict. Re-Animator's Bruce Cabot gives a decent supporting performance as the main character's doctor, who seems to have more than a passing interest in his socially defunct patient. It's not spoiling too much to say there is a twist ending that explains a lot of the weirdness going on throughout the movie. What do you expect when watching a movie about a bunch of patients in a mental ward? Good quirky performance by Dean Cameron, he of "Summer School" fame. Great tag-line, as well. "U-N-I-T-Y...Unity...Join us!" Too bad it never got an intended sequel...for 20th Century Fox was hoping to score a hit with the film as a continuing franchise, like that of the Elm Street movies. There's some good black humor thrown in for a couple of devious chuckles, but the trick to enjoying this flick is just to leave your expectations at the door and try to enjoy a good old-fashioned spook show. This is probably of the best things director Andrew Fleming ever did, as he went on to do other studio pictures like "Threesome" and "The Craft." Great Soundtrack too!
Too bad.
chrisbrown64532 July 2001
I've never heard about this film until my friend told me about it, so I decided to check it out. It wasn't too bad. It was a bit different than the usual horror I'm used to. I'm not sure if this would be classified as horror though. Maybe more of a thriller or something. Can't say I was really dissapointed with it, but it could have had more stuff.
Starts off with this weird '70s cult gathering around an old house. Turns out they're getting ready to be burned to death by their faithful leader and they actually want it to happen. It's supposed to help them all become one with each other. What a waste. Everyone pretty much gets killed except one young girl, who ends up in a coma for 13 years. When she finally wakes up she starts seeing weird visions of the leader of the group and she believes he's after her.
This wasn't a bad film. It had a pretty original plot and the death scenes were cool. There was an interesting twist at the end that made everything fall perfectly into place. The acting was pulled off well and it was a first to see actor Bruce Abbott in another horror film. Last time I saw him it was in the Re-Animator films.
What I didn't like about the movie was the fact that it didn't have as much stuff going on as it could have. I just felt the film was missing something. There weren't any scary or creepy parts. Nothing that will really make the audience jump. I was rather dissapointed with that.
Would have given this film a higher rating if more stuff was going on. Would have given it a lower rating, but I did find it interesting to watch and it did keep my attention going for a while. The twist at the end wasn't bad, but I was kind of dissapointed by it.
Starts off with this weird '70s cult gathering around an old house. Turns out they're getting ready to be burned to death by their faithful leader and they actually want it to happen. It's supposed to help them all become one with each other. What a waste. Everyone pretty much gets killed except one young girl, who ends up in a coma for 13 years. When she finally wakes up she starts seeing weird visions of the leader of the group and she believes he's after her.
This wasn't a bad film. It had a pretty original plot and the death scenes were cool. There was an interesting twist at the end that made everything fall perfectly into place. The acting was pulled off well and it was a first to see actor Bruce Abbott in another horror film. Last time I saw him it was in the Re-Animator films.
What I didn't like about the movie was the fact that it didn't have as much stuff going on as it could have. I just felt the film was missing something. There weren't any scary or creepy parts. Nothing that will really make the audience jump. I was rather dissapointed with that.
Would have given this film a higher rating if more stuff was going on. Would have given it a lower rating, but I did find it interesting to watch and it did keep my attention going for a while. The twist at the end wasn't bad, but I was kind of dissapointed by it.
NOSTALGIA
rcavellero26 October 2003
For some odd reason I was the hugest fan of this film when it first came out. I made my father take me to see it over and over again. And to this say I still watch it every once in a while.I guess the main appeal of it when I was younger is that the villain somewhat resembled Freddy Krueger and the lead actress Jenifer Rubin was from A Nightmare on Elm st. 3. The film doesn't offer much in the way of truly effective horror. But it makes up for it in creativity. It veers from the typical horror route going into a slightly more intellectual one and trying to induce psychological scares. Sometime they work and sometimes they won't. But at any rate the film is quite enjoyable with one hell of a twist ending. Maybe it's the nostalgia I feel towards it or maybe it's still because it has such a kick ass poster.
Surprisingly effective horror flick.
poolandrews19 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Bad Dreams starts in the 70's where the Unity Fields cult, who believe in a perfect society created by love & trust, lead by a nutter called Harris (Richard Lynch) decide to make the ultimate sacrifice & commit suicide together. Except that is for a girl named Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin) who understandably isn't too keen on the idea, so while all the Unity Fields members are burning she manages to escape & is saved by the local emergency services. Jump forward thirteen years later & Cynthia wakes from a coma she has been in for all those years, having to adjust to late 80's culture & come to terms with the situation she is put under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Berrisford (Harris Yulin) & his assistant Dr. Karmen (Bruce Abbott) & regularly take part in therapy sessions. However it's not long before her old cult leader Harris comes back from beyond the grave to claim her & reunite her with those who sacrificed themselves...
Co-written & directed by Andrew Fleming when I sat down to watch this last night I had never heard of Bad Dreams before & thought it sounded like some recent cheap generic low budget shot on videotape horror flick & expected the worse, as the film started the 20th Century Fox film logo came up & my interest instantly peaked & I thought 'wow, a major Hollywood studio, this might be decent', the titles ran & I noticed a few familiar names like Bruce Abbott from the Re-Animator (1985) series of films, Gale Anne Hurd who produced a lot of James Cameron's films like The Terminator (1984) & Aliens (1986) produced it while Steven E. de Souza who had only a few years previously wrote the likes of 48 Hrs. (1982), Commando (1985) & The Running Man (1987) co-wrote it in the same year he would write the absolute classic Die Hard (1988) so there was definitely some pedigree both in front & behind the camera here & it show's as Bad Dreams is a surprisingly little known decent horror flick. The script by Souza & Fleming borrows heavily from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films, a main villain who is burned & as a ghost comes back from beyond the grave to terrorise & kill people although one has to say despite the title he never turns up in people's dreams as he appears as a ghostly entity. The similarity with A Nightmmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) in particular is striking, the group of psychiatric patients fighting against a villain from beyond the grave, the doctors who won't believe them & the two films in general feel & look very alike. Then just when you think you have it all worked out as a simple Elm Street rip-off the film springs an effective if unlikely twist ending which comes out of nowhere & no reasonable explanation for it is given but it's certainly memorable. The character's are good, the dialogue is amusing & sharp, it moves along at a decent pace & there's one or two nicely gory set-pieces too. Much better than expected although I went into it with zero expectations so that wasn't exactly difficult.
Director Fleming makes his directorial debut here (his only other horror film of note would be The Craft (1996)) & does a good job, the film looks nice enough with some nice sequences. The scene inside the Unity Fields house where everyone is set on fire is very effective & the special effects during this scene are also very good. There's some gore here, someone jumps out of a window & splats on the pavement below, someone slices their arms with scalpels & then stabs themselves in the stomach, there are burned faces, there's a ventilation system full of blood that spurts it out everywhere & there's a severed hand.
With a very healthy sounding budget of about $4,000,000 this is well made with good production values & the special effects are impressive. The acting is good from a competent cast.
Bad Dreams sounds like some cheap dull horror flick & at first it seems like an Elm Street film rip-off but it's more than that & once it's got you thinking you know exactly what's going to happen it springs a twist ending out of nowhere, I just wish it made a bit more sense. Definitely well worth a watch I reckon.
Co-written & directed by Andrew Fleming when I sat down to watch this last night I had never heard of Bad Dreams before & thought it sounded like some recent cheap generic low budget shot on videotape horror flick & expected the worse, as the film started the 20th Century Fox film logo came up & my interest instantly peaked & I thought 'wow, a major Hollywood studio, this might be decent', the titles ran & I noticed a few familiar names like Bruce Abbott from the Re-Animator (1985) series of films, Gale Anne Hurd who produced a lot of James Cameron's films like The Terminator (1984) & Aliens (1986) produced it while Steven E. de Souza who had only a few years previously wrote the likes of 48 Hrs. (1982), Commando (1985) & The Running Man (1987) co-wrote it in the same year he would write the absolute classic Die Hard (1988) so there was definitely some pedigree both in front & behind the camera here & it show's as Bad Dreams is a surprisingly little known decent horror flick. The script by Souza & Fleming borrows heavily from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of films, a main villain who is burned & as a ghost comes back from beyond the grave to terrorise & kill people although one has to say despite the title he never turns up in people's dreams as he appears as a ghostly entity. The similarity with A Nightmmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) in particular is striking, the group of psychiatric patients fighting against a villain from beyond the grave, the doctors who won't believe them & the two films in general feel & look very alike. Then just when you think you have it all worked out as a simple Elm Street rip-off the film springs an effective if unlikely twist ending which comes out of nowhere & no reasonable explanation for it is given but it's certainly memorable. The character's are good, the dialogue is amusing & sharp, it moves along at a decent pace & there's one or two nicely gory set-pieces too. Much better than expected although I went into it with zero expectations so that wasn't exactly difficult.
Director Fleming makes his directorial debut here (his only other horror film of note would be The Craft (1996)) & does a good job, the film looks nice enough with some nice sequences. The scene inside the Unity Fields house where everyone is set on fire is very effective & the special effects during this scene are also very good. There's some gore here, someone jumps out of a window & splats on the pavement below, someone slices their arms with scalpels & then stabs themselves in the stomach, there are burned faces, there's a ventilation system full of blood that spurts it out everywhere & there's a severed hand.
With a very healthy sounding budget of about $4,000,000 this is well made with good production values & the special effects are impressive. The acting is good from a competent cast.
Bad Dreams sounds like some cheap dull horror flick & at first it seems like an Elm Street film rip-off but it's more than that & once it's got you thinking you know exactly what's going to happen it springs a twist ending out of nowhere, I just wish it made a bit more sense. Definitely well worth a watch I reckon.
A well made, but not fun or scary movie horror movie veteran will not enjoy...
markovd11129 July 2020
Movie is well made and decently acted, but it isn't fun... It's perfectly watchable and has some snippets of enjoyment here and there, but is ultimately very boring and even resorts to jump scares. Main character is cute, but not very likable due to the premise of the whole plot (she also hurts probably the most cute character in the whole movie). It pains me to state all of this, as the movie is visibly well made and isn't just thrown together. I give it 5.8/10 and I don't recommend it, but let it be said that it isn't the worst thing you can watch.
Perhaps overlooked?
Dellamorte_Dellamore0731 March 2008
Bad Dreams (1988) Director: Andrew Fleming (The Craft) ***out of**** Review After barely escaping crazy cult guru's (able Richard Lynch) fiery suicide pact, Cynthia (the very gorgeous and likable Jennifer Rubin) finds herself awaking 13 years later, in year 1988. Trying to get on with her life, she starts to realize that her fellow patients in the mental hospital start dying in brutal ways, and start seeing hallucinations/dreams/visions of Harris, the burnt up cult leader. Is he back from the grave, vowing revenge for Cynthia's survival, or is something more sinister going on? Rather then going the cliché way in my review and bashing this movie for its direct influences from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, I'll just say that they never got in the way of my enjoyment of this film. A lot of movies rip off others all the time, so I don't seem to ever get annoyed by these.
The film has top notch production values, a very entertaining cast, and some warped out death scenes. You can see how the movie just wants to be a good thriller and does so almost effortlessly. I remember my dad buying a old VHS copy when I was 9 or so and not really liking it's cover, but since I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings I stuck it up and pretended to be excited, and watched it, and ever since then I have a place in my (movie watching) heart for this, perhaps just based on that back story alone.
One thing that I really enjoy is the actors. Lot's of familiar and likable faces in the house. I invested more into the movie by that way. I do admit the characters of the mental patients aren't fully developed enough though, I wanted to know more and see more about them, like the very sympathetic Lana (played quite well by Elizabeth Daily). She has a scene where she opens up her heart and I started liking her, but the movie is quick to get to the gore and kills and her plight is cut way to short. Same could be said for Dean Cameron and Susan Barnes.
The directing by Andrew Fleming is basically there to serve the story, nothing to stand out. I would have preferred to see a director with a more unique visual voice (all of the Flemings movies never have stand out visuals) it would have made the movie more stand out, and his angles are pretty bland. Good scene transitions though.
The soundtrack by Jay Ferguson was much appreciated and quite dreamy. Far better then his over the top attempt with Nightmare 5: Dream Child.
The kills and gore are very queasy, and people who have dealt with a suicide or (god forbid) seen a suicide will surly be offended by this movie, but since I'm a avid horror fan I was never offended, but they certainly had cruel streak.
Some flaws that hurt the movie are the lack of character development (as stated) and the movie's ending felt rushed, forced, and cut short. What happened to our survivors? I hate endings that never show the characters reactions after the events are over. One thing I will compare to Nightmare 3 is the ending, which was done there was well. Please take at least 4 or so minutes to better resolve our characters. The "surprise" in the end wasn't fully explored either, it somewhat didn't make much sense to me. What is this persons final goal when he succeeds? So maybe because I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings at an early age, makes me warm up to this easier, or maybe it is just decent effort that can be watched from time to time. But be warned, this movie deals with suicide in a crude manner and surely will offend some.
The film has top notch production values, a very entertaining cast, and some warped out death scenes. You can see how the movie just wants to be a good thriller and does so almost effortlessly. I remember my dad buying a old VHS copy when I was 9 or so and not really liking it's cover, but since I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings I stuck it up and pretended to be excited, and watched it, and ever since then I have a place in my (movie watching) heart for this, perhaps just based on that back story alone.
One thing that I really enjoy is the actors. Lot's of familiar and likable faces in the house. I invested more into the movie by that way. I do admit the characters of the mental patients aren't fully developed enough though, I wanted to know more and see more about them, like the very sympathetic Lana (played quite well by Elizabeth Daily). She has a scene where she opens up her heart and I started liking her, but the movie is quick to get to the gore and kills and her plight is cut way to short. Same could be said for Dean Cameron and Susan Barnes.
The directing by Andrew Fleming is basically there to serve the story, nothing to stand out. I would have preferred to see a director with a more unique visual voice (all of the Flemings movies never have stand out visuals) it would have made the movie more stand out, and his angles are pretty bland. Good scene transitions though.
The soundtrack by Jay Ferguson was much appreciated and quite dreamy. Far better then his over the top attempt with Nightmare 5: Dream Child.
The kills and gore are very queasy, and people who have dealt with a suicide or (god forbid) seen a suicide will surly be offended by this movie, but since I'm a avid horror fan I was never offended, but they certainly had cruel streak.
Some flaws that hurt the movie are the lack of character development (as stated) and the movie's ending felt rushed, forced, and cut short. What happened to our survivors? I hate endings that never show the characters reactions after the events are over. One thing I will compare to Nightmare 3 is the ending, which was done there was well. Please take at least 4 or so minutes to better resolve our characters. The "surprise" in the end wasn't fully explored either, it somewhat didn't make much sense to me. What is this persons final goal when he succeeds? So maybe because I didn't want to hurt my dad's feelings at an early age, makes me warm up to this easier, or maybe it is just decent effort that can be watched from time to time. But be warned, this movie deals with suicide in a crude manner and surely will offend some.
Lynch the Boogeyman....
FlashCallahan8 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
A sinister cult called Unity Fields commits mass suicide in a horrific manner - by fire - at the behest of its psychopathic leader, Harris.
Only one woman named Cynthia survives to tell the tale.
Now, 13 years later, Cynthia is having reminders of the life changing incident, as people around her begin to die one at a time.
Cynthia finds out quickly that the ghost of Harris is back... to claim her.....
Ironically called Bad Dreams, the film is essentially a remake of A Nightmare On Elm Part Three: The Dream Warriors, everyone in the institution is haunted by the title of the film, and Lynch is essentially Freddy, burnt features included.
And while its a watchable movie, and Dean Cameron is in it (and the best thing), it gets a little bland, and Rubin really starts to grate on you after a while.
Lynch pops up every now and again in his Bonanza outfit, to say something sinister, and one by one people die, much to the perplextion of a running doctor, but the narrative doesn't compliment the story.
There are a few standout scenes, the opening sequence is amazing, but it really falls apart when we hit present day...
Only one woman named Cynthia survives to tell the tale.
Now, 13 years later, Cynthia is having reminders of the life changing incident, as people around her begin to die one at a time.
Cynthia finds out quickly that the ghost of Harris is back... to claim her.....
Ironically called Bad Dreams, the film is essentially a remake of A Nightmare On Elm Part Three: The Dream Warriors, everyone in the institution is haunted by the title of the film, and Lynch is essentially Freddy, burnt features included.
And while its a watchable movie, and Dean Cameron is in it (and the best thing), it gets a little bland, and Rubin really starts to grate on you after a while.
Lynch pops up every now and again in his Bonanza outfit, to say something sinister, and one by one people die, much to the perplextion of a running doctor, but the narrative doesn't compliment the story.
There are a few standout scenes, the opening sequence is amazing, but it really falls apart when we hit present day...
One of the Better Slasher Movies of the Late 80s
Williet7820 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
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.
Only for viewers into cheap, ugly thrillers...
moonspinner5513 November 2007
Ghastly horror item, which may have represented a dead-end for the slasher genre before Wes Craven revived it in the '90s, has cult-suicide survivor Jennifer Rubin spending thirteen years in a coma, only to awaken to a bizarre rash of deaths in her hospital ward. Although Jennifer shows promise in her role, and Susan Ruttan does well in a small part as a mental patient, this cruddy-looking B-flick is far more unpleasant than scary--what with tasteless asides, cheap effects, and googly-eyed Richard Lynch attempting to pull a Jim Jones. Good supporting players E.G. Daily, Damita Jo Freeman and Harris Yulin are sadly wasted. NO STARS from ****
Really enjoyed every moment of this.
Shopaholic3517 April 2014
I actually quite liked this movie. For a horror movie that came out a quarter of a century ago it still proves to be scary. I haven't seen a cult horror movie in a long time and it was a welcome topic. Cults always have a way of coming off creepy and provide the perfect material for a scary movie. The scariest thing is when you witness the strong beliefs of cult members and just how trusting they can be.
If your looking for a creepy 80's horror film (along the same lines as nightmare on elm street) then this is a great choice. It made me nervous the whole way through with it's eerie music and clinical setting. The actors also did a fantastic job. Surprisingly everything felt real and they completely immersed themselves in their characters. A must see for all lovers of vintage horror movies.
If your looking for a creepy 80's horror film (along the same lines as nightmare on elm street) then this is a great choice. It made me nervous the whole way through with it's eerie music and clinical setting. The actors also did a fantastic job. Surprisingly everything felt real and they completely immersed themselves in their characters. A must see for all lovers of vintage horror movies.
It's a Bore!!!
Aaron137510 February 2004
Well that is not fair. It was not totally boring, but it was not exactly all that scary or even interesting. The trailers for this one were clearly trying to capitalize on the success of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. The promos for this one basically said if you found Freddy scary, wait till you see Harris...or something to that effect. In reality it has very little in common with Elm Street other than a few dreams here and there. The movie is set in I believe a mental ward and it turns into more of a mystery rather than a horror. The only one who sees the dreaded Harris is the one survivor of his strange cult. Basically, those in the mental ward are being offed and she sees him and thinks he has come back. A twist at the end, but all in all a rather dull film with a few moments of interest here and there.
Better than expected horror thriller.
paulclaassen12 December 2020
Although the film is called 'Bad Dreams', it is not about dreams in the true sense of the word. Instead, they are flashbacks, memories, and visions.
A young girl, Cynthia (Jennifer Ruben) survives a mass suicide as part of an obscure sect. The sect's leader is Harris (Richard Lynch) who believes life and death to merely be different stages, and that the human mind (in its entirety and even in human form) lives on. After being comatose for 13 years, Cynthia regains consciousness, but is still haunted by that fateful night.
The film is set in a psychiatric hospital, and I liked the idea of the confinement. Essentially a slasher, it doesn't really feel like one thanks to the good storytelling. 'Bad Dreams' was a nice surprise and turned out much better than expected. The acting in general was very good and I enjoyed Bruce Abbott from 'Re-Animator' fame in the role of Dr. Alex Carmen. The characters were not merely added to increase the bodycount (being a slasher film). Instead they are nicely fleshed out characters I cared about.
'Bad Dreams' had that distinct 'Nightmare on Elm Street' feel to it (in particular 'Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'). I actually really enjoyed this.
A young girl, Cynthia (Jennifer Ruben) survives a mass suicide as part of an obscure sect. The sect's leader is Harris (Richard Lynch) who believes life and death to merely be different stages, and that the human mind (in its entirety and even in human form) lives on. After being comatose for 13 years, Cynthia regains consciousness, but is still haunted by that fateful night.
The film is set in a psychiatric hospital, and I liked the idea of the confinement. Essentially a slasher, it doesn't really feel like one thanks to the good storytelling. 'Bad Dreams' was a nice surprise and turned out much better than expected. The acting in general was very good and I enjoyed Bruce Abbott from 'Re-Animator' fame in the role of Dr. Alex Carmen. The characters were not merely added to increase the bodycount (being a slasher film). Instead they are nicely fleshed out characters I cared about.
'Bad Dreams' had that distinct 'Nightmare on Elm Street' feel to it (in particular 'Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'). I actually really enjoyed this.
Why is it that in horror movies, anytime someone finds blood dripping onto them from somewhere above their head, they always turn and look up without moving an inch to any side to get out of the way?
Anonymous_Maxine25 February 2003
There is a blood dripping scene in Bad Dreams (one of the oldest tricks in the horror movie book but one which does not seem to ever diminish with each succeeding horror film, even up to today) that turns out to be probably the, um, chunkiest one that I've ever seen. Effective, I suppose, on a morbid level, since it avoids being nothing but a typical revelation of a brutally murdered body, but tiring in the way that it is executed (the scene, not the body, and no pun intended, of course). For some reason this reminds me of the scene in Joe Dirt where David Spade finds himself with a missile shaped septic tank strapped to his back, which ends up spewing its gooey contents onto his astonished head, and instead of attempting to prevent the sludge from bathing him from head to foot, he stands motionless, going `Wah! Wah! Wah!' and subjecting himself to the onslaught of the pasty substance. This is something that is easily avoided in real life (even if you DO somehow manage to wind up with a septic tank on your back), and the fact that Dirt makes not even the slightest attempt to avoid it reveals the scene as a weak effort to get a cheap laugh. Any blood-dripping scene in a horror film, similarly, is an equally weak effort to get a scare. In this case, a gross out scare, a brand which is inherently weak in itself.
The blood-dripping scene in Bad Dreams strikes me, for the main reason, because the rest of the movie is not much of a horror film except for the occasional appearance of the cult leader from the beginning of the film turning up as a horribly burned corpse, haunting poor Cynthia, the lone survivor (as usual) of the tragic event at the beginning of the film. The movie starts off with one of those goofball cult meetings, where everyone decides to commit mass suicide in order to become one with each other, or some other such nonsense. It starts off by making a comment about the destructive power of stupid people in large groups, but then turns into this weird horror/thriller for the rest of the movie.
There are a few effective scenes in the film, such as, ironically, the scene where Ralph, one of Cynthia's new roommates at the mental institution, tells her that whenever it gets to be too much for him, he just makes a little hole and it all goes away. He lifts up his shirt and reveals a map of scars traveling up his belly and chest, which is a huge turn from the horny teenage goofball that he had been portraying up to that point in the film (probably something that helped in getting him the role of Dave in the Ski School films of the early and mid 1990s, the films that he is probably best known for). But for the most part this is a pretty weak film.
Bad Dreams fails as a horror film because not a single new idea can be found in the movie, which renders its horror content completely predictable and almost entirely without effect, and it fails as a thriller (although not as much as it fails as a horror film), because it crosses the thin line between horror and thriller, inserting too much gore and supernatural antagonism where it doesn't belong, and thereby coming off as campy at best. It is, however, more entertaining than other bad movies I've found in the horror section lately, such as Neon Maniacs, which has cemented itself as one of the worst horror films I've ever seen, and not even bad in that good way, like They Live or Texas Chainsaw or some of the Friday the 13th or Nightmare of Elm Street sequels.
The tagline for Bad Dreams (the one on the top of the cover box, not the goofy `It's A Scream!' at the bottom) is a little interesting, in the way that it creates interest in the movie since you just have a natural urge to find out why someone would wish they were dead upon waking up (although this is also a pretty weak way create interest in a movie, especially a horror movie), but it also has nothing to do with the movie itself. Anytime a movie has a tagline that turns out to be a figure of speech, it tends to have the effect of leaving a bad aftertaste. The entirety of the suspense in the film, in fact, is derived from the fact that Cynthia does NOT wish she were dead upon awakening. The cult leader coming after her is the one that wishes she were dead, so if she really wished she was dead so badly all she had to do was give in and let him take her.
This is, of course, not the case, and so we have a movie. But the strange thing about it is that, despite having almost no strengths at all, it makes me wonder if maybe horror films are SUPPOSED to be bad, at least to be memorable. This one wasn't all that terrible, but makes little to no impression. The acting is weak from everyone involved (even from the beautiful Jennifer Rubin, who strikes me as an actor who should have had a more visible career than she has had so far), and the directing is little more than pointing and shooting, but the movie is almost immediately forgettable. Maybe in swaying on the line between horror and thriller, Bad Dreams made the unfortunate mistake of landing right in that limbo zone between a truly great horror film and a truly awful one the zone of oblivion.
The blood-dripping scene in Bad Dreams strikes me, for the main reason, because the rest of the movie is not much of a horror film except for the occasional appearance of the cult leader from the beginning of the film turning up as a horribly burned corpse, haunting poor Cynthia, the lone survivor (as usual) of the tragic event at the beginning of the film. The movie starts off with one of those goofball cult meetings, where everyone decides to commit mass suicide in order to become one with each other, or some other such nonsense. It starts off by making a comment about the destructive power of stupid people in large groups, but then turns into this weird horror/thriller for the rest of the movie.
There are a few effective scenes in the film, such as, ironically, the scene where Ralph, one of Cynthia's new roommates at the mental institution, tells her that whenever it gets to be too much for him, he just makes a little hole and it all goes away. He lifts up his shirt and reveals a map of scars traveling up his belly and chest, which is a huge turn from the horny teenage goofball that he had been portraying up to that point in the film (probably something that helped in getting him the role of Dave in the Ski School films of the early and mid 1990s, the films that he is probably best known for). But for the most part this is a pretty weak film.
Bad Dreams fails as a horror film because not a single new idea can be found in the movie, which renders its horror content completely predictable and almost entirely without effect, and it fails as a thriller (although not as much as it fails as a horror film), because it crosses the thin line between horror and thriller, inserting too much gore and supernatural antagonism where it doesn't belong, and thereby coming off as campy at best. It is, however, more entertaining than other bad movies I've found in the horror section lately, such as Neon Maniacs, which has cemented itself as one of the worst horror films I've ever seen, and not even bad in that good way, like They Live or Texas Chainsaw or some of the Friday the 13th or Nightmare of Elm Street sequels.
The tagline for Bad Dreams (the one on the top of the cover box, not the goofy `It's A Scream!' at the bottom) is a little interesting, in the way that it creates interest in the movie since you just have a natural urge to find out why someone would wish they were dead upon waking up (although this is also a pretty weak way create interest in a movie, especially a horror movie), but it also has nothing to do with the movie itself. Anytime a movie has a tagline that turns out to be a figure of speech, it tends to have the effect of leaving a bad aftertaste. The entirety of the suspense in the film, in fact, is derived from the fact that Cynthia does NOT wish she were dead upon awakening. The cult leader coming after her is the one that wishes she were dead, so if she really wished she was dead so badly all she had to do was give in and let him take her.
This is, of course, not the case, and so we have a movie. But the strange thing about it is that, despite having almost no strengths at all, it makes me wonder if maybe horror films are SUPPOSED to be bad, at least to be memorable. This one wasn't all that terrible, but makes little to no impression. The acting is weak from everyone involved (even from the beautiful Jennifer Rubin, who strikes me as an actor who should have had a more visible career than she has had so far), and the directing is little more than pointing and shooting, but the movie is almost immediately forgettable. Maybe in swaying on the line between horror and thriller, Bad Dreams made the unfortunate mistake of landing right in that limbo zone between a truly great horror film and a truly awful one the zone of oblivion.
"Time has come today"
UniqueParticle10 June 2019
Masterful horror exquisite debut of Andrew Fleming! Excellent description found on google. > Unity Field, a "free love" cult from the '70s, is mostly remembered for its notorious mass suicide led by Harris (Richard Lynch), its charismatic leader. While all members are supposed to burn in a fire together, young Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin) is spared by chance. Years later, the nightmare of Unity Field remains buried in her mind. But when those around Cynthia start killing themselves, and she begins having visions of Harris, she may be forced to confront the past -- before it confronts her.
Eternal Bliss
PredragReviews5 July 2016
The film tell the story of the sole survivor of an interesting hippie-like commune/cult led by a David Koreshish type leader. Yet "Bad Dreams" is a cut above for many reasons. The first being that the film is filled with surrealistic arresting images-in particular, the house where the mass suicide took place is an intriguing looking building, tragically beautiful. Secondly, "Bad Dreams" encompasses a fascinating character in the African American female mental patient who frequently says mysterious and pseudo religious things and seems to be the only one who knows whats going on. Thirdly, the acting by all involved is really superior to what you find in most horror films. Rubin is especially good at emoting and I am mystified why I never heard of her before I watched this film.
This movie actually, was more a psychological thriller than it was a horror, yet it had elements of both which is what I like in a movie. I want to be challenged more in my mind than I want to be scared out of my wits. This is why Bad Dreams scores on all fronts. Bruce Abbott does well as the young psychiatrist who counsels his seven patients. It was written, produced and directed well. I can think of no flaws in the movie. The attention to detail was flawless like when after the blood sprays all over the hospital in later scenes you see workers scrubbing the blood from the floors and walls and ventilation shafts. That was realistic! They did not just assume that the blood was gone. Jennifer Rubin's portrayal of Cynthia, a naive yet scared girl hit on all cylinders. I so wish that she had not given up acting. She was by far one of the best actresses of her generation. From A Woman Her Men and a Futon to "Miami Vice," she could do it all and she shines bright in this psychological-horror movie. See the movie for her portrayal alone.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
This movie actually, was more a psychological thriller than it was a horror, yet it had elements of both which is what I like in a movie. I want to be challenged more in my mind than I want to be scared out of my wits. This is why Bad Dreams scores on all fronts. Bruce Abbott does well as the young psychiatrist who counsels his seven patients. It was written, produced and directed well. I can think of no flaws in the movie. The attention to detail was flawless like when after the blood sprays all over the hospital in later scenes you see workers scrubbing the blood from the floors and walls and ventilation shafts. That was realistic! They did not just assume that the blood was gone. Jennifer Rubin's portrayal of Cynthia, a naive yet scared girl hit on all cylinders. I so wish that she had not given up acting. She was by far one of the best actresses of her generation. From A Woman Her Men and a Futon to "Miami Vice," she could do it all and she shines bright in this psychological-horror movie. See the movie for her portrayal alone.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
It's OK.
gridoon25 November 2001
This "Nightmare On Elm Street" wannabe is well-directed by Andrew Fleming, but too derivative to make much of an impression. Some icky scenes, a few bad effects and much better acting than you're accustomed to seeing in this genre. Undemanding horror fans won't be disappointed. (**)
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