I have never really been a fan of Steven King and I wasn't looking forward to seeing a movie that I thought would scare the snot out of me. Only as it turns out, Dreamcatcher, starring Morgan Freeman (The Sum of All Fears) as the alien buster, Colonel Abraham Kurtz is not scary and it isn't all that suspenseful. Lawrence Kasdan directed this blood fest as King and William Goldman team up again (Hearts in Atlantis) to create the storyline.

Four childhood friends meet for their yearly camping trip and encounter something out of this world. This movie opens six months earlier with Dr. Henry Devlin (Thomas Jane, The Sweetest Thing) and his patient exchanging a weird session where it appears the good psychologist can read the thoughts of his patient. Jonesy (Damien Lewis) calls concerned about "Duddits" (Donnie Wahlberg, The Sixth Sense) and they make plans to visit him. During this conversation we discover that Jonesy also had the ability to read thoughts or communicate thoughts. Then Beaver (Jason Lee, A Guy Thing) calls to warn Jonesy, but he is not sure about what. Cut to Pete (Timothy Olyphant, Rock Star) the car salesman. He has this freaky ability to locate objects. Then Jonesy gets slammed by a speeding car and we see him die in the ambulance; only six months later all four guys are unloading the car into their cabin. This is where we get a glimpse into their childhood, and how they met Duddits along with a history of Jonesy's memory warehouse and just how they came about these special abilities. All the while aliens have landed in their campground and the government has moved in to quarantine and eradicate this infection. Leading the men in black wannabes is Col. Kurtz. This man is crazy, literally and Freeman plays his role brilliantly. His protégé is Captain Owen Underhill (Tom Sizemore, Black Hawk Down), if he plays it by Kurtz's rule then he will take over after this invasion since Kurtz plans on retiring. These guys use their special powers to try and save the world and avoid the madness of Kurtz.

Jonesy getting hit by a car was freaky and the creature is interesting at first. The blood fest is so out-there it that becomes comical. What is really bizarre is the alien has a British accent. Flatulence humor is also used for comic relief, only Dreamcatcher is not scary enough to require comic relief. Also appearing in this film were Ingrid Kavelaars,  Shauna Kain, Campbell Lane, Ty Olsson and Grant Heslov. I found Dreamcatcher confusing and conflicting at times. Pete and Beaver were not believable in a crisis situation and I had trouble with the Dr. going from suicidal to trying to save the world. So I give this film six couches.

Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:46:09 AM

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