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.