Old School Review: Dreamcatcher

Every once in a while I re-visit a film and it becomes even better than what I had originally remembered it being.  This rings true with Dreamcatcher.  I believe I first saw it when I was living in China then my wife and I watched it a few years back and then last night it came up in line on the Netflix cue.  I could go on forever on how much better the content on Netflix is getting.  I feel like the $10 a month fee is actually worth it.  My only complaint is how random the movies are that are high definition.  You would think that most new releases would be in high def but it is so random that it get's frustrating for people that have high-def televisions.  Fortunately for me this was presented in high-def and looked great at that!  Kuddos to Netflix for what their doing.  Just get everything in HD!  Now, in the voice of the Crypt Keeper, shall we move on to the review?


First and foremost.  This is another one of the countless films that was derived from a Stephen King novel.  I am by far not a big reader of any novels and have never read a King book.  My wife on the other hand is a big fan of his books and I think it is fair to say the films or countless mini series never really stand up to the original material.  Now their are absolutely some of the films that have been made off of his books that have been great.  I personally love Sleepwalkers, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Stand By Me and many others.  I am very much excited to see Ron Howard take on the series The Dark Tower in the near future.  With all of this in mind.  My wife has not read the Dreamcatcher novel so this is coming truly from a movie point of view.

This film was made in 2003 and stars Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore and Donny Wahlberg.  The film is directed by Lawrence Kasdan whom also made such films as Silverado and Wyatt Earp.  Interestingly he wrote the screenplays for such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  It was made for about 68 million only garnering back about 33 million.  I think those estimates would consider it a dud at the box office.

The story is what is so great and gripping about this film.  I am not going to spoil it but I will give you the main points of the film.  Four friends back in the 1970's come across another boy who is mentally handicapped being beaten up by bullies.  The four friends help the boy out and form a special relationship with him.  Duddits, the handicapped boy, has powers unlike anyone has seen and eventually shares them with the boys.  The boys are able to read one another's minds and are able to use their powers to do miracles like find missing children lost in the woods.  Time goes by and the boys are now all adults and Duddits is in a home for the mentally unstable.

With their lives all taking different paths the men still get together once a year at a cabin the backwoods of the northeast to catch up and reminisce.  None of them can ever forget Duddits and seem to be almost obsessed with him and the amazing impact he had on their lives as children.  It is during this time that things seem to take a interesting turn.  Two major snow storms are headed their way.  They begin to notice all of the animals in the woods running past the cabin.  Everything from deer to bears to squirrels and birds.  Things begin to get crazy when the men come across hunters that have been stranded in the woods.  Not only are they sick from the cold but seem to have blood blotches on their skin and something rumbling in their stomachs.  What does all of this have to do with a special boy named Duddits?  Why do the men lead their lives with these special powers not knowing what to do with them?  Is their a bigger purpose?  Why in the middle of the forest are there military helicopters flying around?

The cast is great for this kind of a story.  Each boy/man is their own person from the smart mouth Jason Lee to the more serious Damian Lewis.  Thomas Jane is your lead along with the great Morgan Freeman as the antagonist of the film.  We're not talking break out performances but great for what you are expecting.  I believe this would have to be one of Tom Sizemore's last semi-big films before he completely broke down and let the drugs take over his life.  On a side not, Mark Wahlberg aka New Kid On The Block.  Marky Mark's brother plays the adult version of Duddits and you will not recognize him.  This being my third time and I forgot that he had played that part until I read the credits.  The special effects are cool.  Not too cheesy but not blow you away amazing either.

This is one of those films that you can watch once every six months or share it with a friend and still enjoy it over and over.  It is a unique story and along with fine acting and a great story I would recommend anyone purchase this flick for their film library.  It is suspenseful and has some scary scenes in it so it is not for the kids.  Teenagers should be fine watching it.  I'm interested in hearing how it stands up to the book.  I told my wife I was going to buy it for her.  I am going to embed the trailer below for you to see.  Check it out sometime!