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"Bad Dreams" is the story of Cynthia, a former member of the spiritual
community "United Fields," and the sole survivor of a mass suicide by
fire, ordered by the group's psychotic leader. Cynthia awakens from a
thirteen year long coma to find herself in a mental institution for
teenagers. She quickly starts to have visions of the cult leader, who is
trying to get her to kill herself to fulfill the cult's plan. Does any
of this sound familiar yet? Does the name "Dream Warriors" ring a bell?
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So the people behind this thing make it sound pretty
promising, namely Gale Anne Hurd: Producer of "The
Terminator," and "Aliens." As well as director Andrew
Fleming, who went on to direct my favorite "Teenybopper"
horror flick of the '90's "The Craft." Jennifer Rubin does a
nice job of playing the lead role, she looks pretty hot in
this movie as well. The acting overall isn't half bad.
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I like the mental patients random fits of total hysteria, and the
scene at the end where Cynthia is trying to decide whether or not
the visions are real and if she should kill herself. The overall
film is pretty reasonably well made, and there is a genuine creepy
factor to the cult leader, although he is totally a rip off. The
film has got some pretty dang good special effects, the scene where
one of the patients impales his own hand with a knife is one of
those gross out moments that catches you off guard.
This film is everything short of a frame-by-frame copy of "Nightmare
On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors." The mental institution, the
patients, the psychiatrist character: all virtually the same as
"Dream Warriors," the only difference is that in "Dream Warriors"
the characters could go into one another's dreams, whereas in "Bad
Dreams," Cynthia keeps trying to deny the whole thing; a huge lack
of originality here. It's a decent flick, but don't sell me
something I've already seen... blatantly! Jennifer Rubin had been in
another major horror release in 1988; I'll just give you one great
big fat wild guess which one... "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New
Blood"? ... Nope, nice try. It was "Dream Warriors"! Well isn't
that just a knee-slapper of a coincidence? Remember Taryn, the hot
heroin addict who turns into the switchblade wielding punk-rocker
chick and gets a Freddy overdose in "Dream Warriors"? That'd be
Jennifer Rubin, this film's leading lady. Even more originality
points deducted.
Let's be fair.
"Bad Dreams" is a pretty enjoyable movie in spite of its major flaws.
It's got the good acting, effects, and Direction we were hoping for. The
fact that this film is nothing short of blatant plagiarism of "Dream
Warriors" is the only thing that ruins it's credibility, but that is a
pretty big fault. Rent this movie if you so desire, witness the shocking
unoriginality for yourselves, and have fun!
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