‘Some people are haunted by their dreams. Alex is hunted by his.’
Deadly Dreams is a 1988 American horror film directed by Kristine Peterson (Critters 3; first assistant director: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5; Nightflyers) from a screenplay by actor Thom Babbes. Mitchell Anderson, Xander Berkeley and Juliette Cummins star.
Christmas Eve: Ten year-old Alex’s parents are shot to death by an intruder who then plays hide and seek with the terrified boy.
Now an adult, every night Alex dreams the same dream: cornered by a man wearing a wolf mask, a knife is brought to his throat, and then he wakes.
Unfortunately, waking moments confirm his worst fears, and soon Alex is trapped in a tangle of suspicions, lies, and fear. Reality fades into terror as he is left alone to fight the relentless force that haunts his deadly dreams…
Buy: Amazon.com
Special features: Brand new HD master | Interview with director Kristine Peterson | Interview with writer Thom Babbes |Trailers
Reviews:
” …Deadly Dreams is half surreal horror film and half twisty psychological thriller, with the twain really only meeting in the second of two grim twist endings. If it weren’t for the occasional helping of bare skin and blood, this could easily fit nicely with the wave of made-for-TV horror and suspense films that have become minor cult sensations in recent years…” Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital
“Things perk up mildly with one scene where Mitchell Anderson finds a slaughtered deer left in his bathtub and his name painted in blood on the wall and everything predictably being gone when he returns with witnesses. On the other hand, when you contrast this with the outré material in Deadly Dreams’ model A Nightmare on Elm Street, there is a thorough tameness to what is on offer here.” Richard Scheib, Moria
“Director Kristine (Critters 3) Peterson does a good job at combining the unintended laughs with some genuinely creepy moments. The flick may be uneven as heck, but because of that, it’s highly unpredictable and the audience is always off balance. She peppers the movie with a lot of the usual dream-within-a-dream jump scares you’d expect from a nightmare-fueled horror movie.” Mitch Lovell, The Video Vacuum
“After several brutal subconscious incidents – the best of which has a fab knife-through-pillows filleting […] Soon after this point, the plot takes a dramatic, fairly unpredictable twist before going hammer and tongs into the woodland finale where Alex learns the painful truth. Impressive as revelation is, it’s nothing compared to the staggering final surprise, one which lifts Deadly Dreams from forgettable video territory to a low-budget gem.” Vegan Vorhees
“More R-rated soap opera than horror, Deadly Dreams is the epitome of filler. Too many flashbacks. Too many dream sequences. Indifferent direction. If it wasn’t for the humorous sexual leanings (Coincidence? Indecision?), there’d be nothing much to do.” Joseph A. Ziemba, Bleeding Skull!
“Without overdoing the gore, Deadly Dreams is still fun, keeping the violence but relying mostly on suspense and thrills. There are many dull moments throughout, but it’s worth it. A throat is slit, and all is revealed to show some plots that make deliciously perfect sense.” Josh G., Oh, the Horror!
“It’s too bad that Deadly Dreams is so GD lethargic, because there’s a decent movie in there somewhere, and when the film’s nasty side shows it’s enjoyable (and I’m not just talking about that spinning bed sex scene) (you guys, there’s a spinning bed sex scene). Unfortunately, it’s buried beneath a big pile of too many dreams and it’s not remotely “horror” enough.” Stacie Ponder, Final Girl
Main cast:
Mitchell Anderson (Jaws: The Revenge; TV series: Deadly Nightmares), Xander Berkeley (The Walking Dead; Salem; Candyman; The Guardian), Juliette Cummins (Slumber Party Massacre II; Psycho III; Friday the 13th: A New Beginning); Thom Babbes, Gray Ainsworth, Timothy Austin, Brent DeHart, Beach Dickerson, Troy Evans, Geoffrey Forward, Al Guarino, Jaime Kaplan, Michael Leopard, Gyl Roland, Lynn Philip Seibel.
International release titles:
Spain – Delirio criminal
Finland – Deadly Dreams – todellinen painajainen
France – Rêve mortel
Greece (video title) – Kyklos thanatou
Italy – La morte viene in sogno
Mexico – Delirio criminal
Norway – Deadly Dreams – et ekte mareritt
Poland – Sny o smierci
West Germany – Träume des Wahnsinns
Image credits: Mondo Digital
