"Deadly Dreams" follows Alex Tome, an aspiring writer traumatized by his parents' murder on Christmas Eve when he was a child. Pressured by his older brother to join the family's prosperous business, Alex is tormented by a series of visions, leading him to believe the dead murderer has returned from the grave.
A direct-to-video release from Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures, "Deadly Dreams" boasts a promising (if not wholly original premise), and the poster alone may lead one to believe they are in for a gritty slasher flick--but that it is not. The film is really more of a psychological thriller involving a man's sanity (or lack thereof), with a few shotgun kills thrown in.
Despite the fact that the film was clearly not a big-budget affair, "Deadly Dreams" is fairly slick for being a direct-to-video effort, as it is capably shot and showcases a number of impressive effects and a handful of very creepy images (largely revolving around the fox pelt-masked killer, which is as bizarre as it is ominous), but its shortcomings really come into focus in terms of its editing and general narrative cohesiveness. There are a number of fairly interesting plot twists here that are mildly surprising, though they are not handled as well as they could have been.
Mitchell Anderson makes for a likable lead character here, and Xander Berkeley appears opposite him as his careerist brother; both give decent performances given the material. The finale, though a bit underwhelming, has a nasty edge to it, before another noir-ish twist is cranked on the audience, though it also doesn't leave a significant impact. All in all, this is a fairly well-made late-eighties horror/thriller effort, though it did not leave as strong of an impression as I had hoped. Even still, there are some great visuals and a number of clever narrative detours to make for an amusing viewing experience. 6/10.
A direct-to-video release from Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures, "Deadly Dreams" boasts a promising (if not wholly original premise), and the poster alone may lead one to believe they are in for a gritty slasher flick--but that it is not. The film is really more of a psychological thriller involving a man's sanity (or lack thereof), with a few shotgun kills thrown in.
Despite the fact that the film was clearly not a big-budget affair, "Deadly Dreams" is fairly slick for being a direct-to-video effort, as it is capably shot and showcases a number of impressive effects and a handful of very creepy images (largely revolving around the fox pelt-masked killer, which is as bizarre as it is ominous), but its shortcomings really come into focus in terms of its editing and general narrative cohesiveness. There are a number of fairly interesting plot twists here that are mildly surprising, though they are not handled as well as they could have been.
Mitchell Anderson makes for a likable lead character here, and Xander Berkeley appears opposite him as his careerist brother; both give decent performances given the material. The finale, though a bit underwhelming, has a nasty edge to it, before another noir-ish twist is cranked on the audience, though it also doesn't leave a significant impact. All in all, this is a fairly well-made late-eighties horror/thriller effort, though it did not leave as strong of an impression as I had hoped. Even still, there are some great visuals and a number of clever narrative detours to make for an amusing viewing experience. 6/10.