It's common knowledge that a healthy percentage of the people working within the film industry of today began their career somewhere within the slasher genre. Whilst the gross majority went on to find fortune and fame beyond the realms of masked killers and screaming teens (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Roger Spottiswoode etc), there are a few that seemed content to dwindle in the security of B-movie minor-budget rhapsody. Among those names are the likes of Fred Olen Ray, David A. Prior, Steve Jarvis, Linnea Quigley and perhaps most importantly, David DeCoteau. Dreamaniac is DeCoteau's first excursion into slasher land and although not particularly groundbreaking, it does have its fingers deep in a few trivia pies. It's mainly notable to cycle buffs for being one of an inexplicably select few of the 400 or so genre entries that mixes elements from giants Halloween and A Nightmare in Elm Street, without straying out of the stalk and slash guide book. Titles such as Playroom and the rancid The Oracle gave up their place in the cycle by edging too far into the realms of supernatural futility. Thankfully, Dreamaniac remains true enough to it's roots to stake a place in the ever-increasing catalogue of Halloween knock-offs.
Dreamaniac centres on an archetypal gang of fun loving stereotypical period teens. Boasting a baby face that makes him look like an extra from The Sorcerer's Stone, protagonist Adam (Thomas Bern) shows his eighties credibility by spending most of the runtime sporting a Def Leppard t-shirt. Despite looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, surprisingly Adam is a part time Satanist with a passion for black magic rituals. His bubble-haired girlfriend Pat (Kim McKamy) has no idea that her beau spends his spare time conjuring dark spirits from beyond the grave, and often she wonders why he spends so much time alone in his room. In an attempt to bring him out of his shell for a few hours, Pat has organised a huge party at her boyfriend's vacant abode. The guest list includes all the typical sure-fire body count ingredients, and before long they arrive and get the beer flowing. Unbeknownst to them, Adam has summoned a porn star-like succubus from another dimension and it goes without saying that she has arrived with a taste for blood. Before long the corpses begin to mount as the maniacal fiend begins seducing the male guests and then butchering them in various imaginative ways. Will anyone be able to stop the demon? Or will the rampage continue for the chance of a profit-escalating sequel?
Somewhat surprisingly, after the inevitable Halloween-alike synthesiser score, DeCoteau does well not to turn Dreamaniac into a total clone of it's forefathers. There's enough originality in the Freddy/Michael Myers inspired conjunction to allow the movie to lift itself above the notorious "rip-off" status that has jinxed its brethren. Towards the film's finale the director chucks in zombies and various other supernatural gimmicks that add a touch of spice to the standard slasher template. When compared to the likes of Night Ripper from the same year, DeCoteau's effort offers much more in atmosphere and flair. Although the "too gory for the silver screen" boast from the hyperbole packaging is definitely a half-truth, there are one or two credibly handled splatter scenes. Tom Schwartz's power drill decapitation can rank among some of the neatest killings of the genre and the gruesome hand impalement that precedes it is also impressive.
Despite the odd distinctive camera trick, there's very little here that would prove to be the stepping-stone for a long career in B-movie cinema for DeCoteau. In fact at times the movie fails to generate any kind of atmosphere at all. The constant homo-erotic references that would become a trademark for the director in later years of his career are excellent for the homosexual viewers. But to be honest they feel somewhat misplaced and unnecessary for everyone else. The slasher is a genre that has survived by sticking to the template of its forefathers and skillfully avoiding the potential catastrophe that is political correctness.
As is the case with so many eighties slashers, the film's biggest flaw is the heinous work form the dramatis personae. In fact the level of performance is so dire that it adds strength to the case that the most intelligent member of the cast was the dead cat that was found mutilated 20 minutes in to the feature. Surprisingly enough there was a soon to be "star" amongst the cast of big haired but small brained hopefuls. It is perhaps ironic that young Kim McKamy would go to become a big name in the 'porn' industry. Thus adding further evidence to the level of dramatics that plagued Dreamaniac. The female bogeyman proves to be a real spine-chilling fiend. Even without theatrical make-up she brings to mind a young Kim Basinger after 6 weeks in a Detroit crack house. Scary huh?
To be honest there's not much here to warrant hunting out a copy of Dreamaniac. It's standard slasher fare that fails to build on a promising basis. There are a lot better efforts floating around and I recommend only to slasher obsessives.
Dreamaniac centres on an archetypal gang of fun loving stereotypical period teens. Boasting a baby face that makes him look like an extra from The Sorcerer's Stone, protagonist Adam (Thomas Bern) shows his eighties credibility by spending most of the runtime sporting a Def Leppard t-shirt. Despite looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, surprisingly Adam is a part time Satanist with a passion for black magic rituals. His bubble-haired girlfriend Pat (Kim McKamy) has no idea that her beau spends his spare time conjuring dark spirits from beyond the grave, and often she wonders why he spends so much time alone in his room. In an attempt to bring him out of his shell for a few hours, Pat has organised a huge party at her boyfriend's vacant abode. The guest list includes all the typical sure-fire body count ingredients, and before long they arrive and get the beer flowing. Unbeknownst to them, Adam has summoned a porn star-like succubus from another dimension and it goes without saying that she has arrived with a taste for blood. Before long the corpses begin to mount as the maniacal fiend begins seducing the male guests and then butchering them in various imaginative ways. Will anyone be able to stop the demon? Or will the rampage continue for the chance of a profit-escalating sequel?
Somewhat surprisingly, after the inevitable Halloween-alike synthesiser score, DeCoteau does well not to turn Dreamaniac into a total clone of it's forefathers. There's enough originality in the Freddy/Michael Myers inspired conjunction to allow the movie to lift itself above the notorious "rip-off" status that has jinxed its brethren. Towards the film's finale the director chucks in zombies and various other supernatural gimmicks that add a touch of spice to the standard slasher template. When compared to the likes of Night Ripper from the same year, DeCoteau's effort offers much more in atmosphere and flair. Although the "too gory for the silver screen" boast from the hyperbole packaging is definitely a half-truth, there are one or two credibly handled splatter scenes. Tom Schwartz's power drill decapitation can rank among some of the neatest killings of the genre and the gruesome hand impalement that precedes it is also impressive.
Despite the odd distinctive camera trick, there's very little here that would prove to be the stepping-stone for a long career in B-movie cinema for DeCoteau. In fact at times the movie fails to generate any kind of atmosphere at all. The constant homo-erotic references that would become a trademark for the director in later years of his career are excellent for the homosexual viewers. But to be honest they feel somewhat misplaced and unnecessary for everyone else. The slasher is a genre that has survived by sticking to the template of its forefathers and skillfully avoiding the potential catastrophe that is political correctness.
As is the case with so many eighties slashers, the film's biggest flaw is the heinous work form the dramatis personae. In fact the level of performance is so dire that it adds strength to the case that the most intelligent member of the cast was the dead cat that was found mutilated 20 minutes in to the feature. Surprisingly enough there was a soon to be "star" amongst the cast of big haired but small brained hopefuls. It is perhaps ironic that young Kim McKamy would go to become a big name in the 'porn' industry. Thus adding further evidence to the level of dramatics that plagued Dreamaniac. The female bogeyman proves to be a real spine-chilling fiend. Even without theatrical make-up she brings to mind a young Kim Basinger after 6 weeks in a Detroit crack house. Scary huh?
To be honest there's not much here to warrant hunting out a copy of Dreamaniac. It's standard slasher fare that fails to build on a promising basis. There are a lot better efforts floating around and I recommend only to slasher obsessives.