DREAM CATCHER

The title of this movie fooled me twice. I read the Stephen King book and my impression was “icky.” (It’s the book King mentioned in his autobiographical book On Writing, as being the story his wife referred to as “The Shit Weasels.” Yeah, that’d a perfect title too.)




The first time I saw Dreamcatcher was at the theater when it was new. I don’t know why I thought it would be better than the book. Maybe I didn’t even realize it was the same Dreamcatcher as the book. It’s just a cool title.



The movie was better than the book. For one reason it was shorter and less complicated. The long scenes from the book were condensed in the movie for maximum shock purposes.



Years later I joined Netflix. I saw the Dreamcatcher DVD was available. Thinking it was a paranormal story about Native American lore, I sent for it.



Surprise! It was the same movie based on the Stephen King book of the same name.



This time the movie was definitely better.



One—the screen was smaller and it the gross scenes weren’t right-up-in-my face like it was in on the theater big screen.



Two—I paid more attention to the movie and understood it better.



Three—I enjoyed the actors and characters more this time around.



Four—One of the main characters was played by Damian Lewis, the British actor I’ve come to appreciate from shows like the short detective series Life, BBC mini-series The Forsyte Saga, a romantic comedy (sort of) like Assassin in Love and one movie about a nut case that I can’t remember the title and couldn’t watch all the way through anyway. He’s not handsome and nor spectacular actor but he’s good enough for me. (Of course he’s an alpha male type which you don’t see very often in real life. As a Zen ex-con detective in Life he does these long looks into peoples eyes like he can see into their souls. Melted my heart. He has a British accent and does a perfect American accent. He uses both of these accents in a remarkable way in Dreamcatcher. All while in an extremely involved fast scene. (Damien has red hair too and blue eyes—two of my favorite qualities in an actor, heck in men and women.)



Five—well, after thinking about Damien Lewis, I’ve forgotten what # 5 is.



I do like watching closely to see Stephen King in a cameo appearance in the movie like Alfred Hitchcock in his. It’s exciting to find him and disappointing when I don’t. So look fast so you don’t miss him.



Dreamcatcher is not necessarily a drama nor a horror movie, a thriller, a fantasy. It’s in a category of its own. Stephen King stories usually are. You can decide. If it’s too icky for you, close your eyes don’t skip the movie just because the sight of a little blood makes you sick.



Stephen King fans will want to rent this one even if they’ve seen it already. It follows the book in case you don’t like movies based on books that have no remote connection to the original story.



People who haven’t see it yet, don’t be fooled by the title. Remember it’s not about that little round thingy they hang over a baby’s bed to keep bad dreams away. It’s not about a dream and it doesn’t keep bad things away.