Since this is a review of the Canadian movie Dreamland (Not to be confused with the Margo Robbie starring movie of the same name that came out the same year) let me start by telling you a story about another movie that was also directed by Bruce McDonald and written by Tony Burgess. Pontypool. I kind of ignored Pontypool when it came out, only watching it on streaming much later, after which it suddenly became one of my favourite horror movies of all time. It certainly taught me never to rely on my initial gut reaction that’s for sure, but then again my gut was never too trustworthy in the first place. You’re talking to a guy that loudly and obnoxiously proclaimed that the Suspiria remake would be sure to suck “Especially with that Fifty Shades of Grey chick as Suzy Bannion!” Eeesh… am still wiping the egg off my face for that one. Shame unto me. Many apologies to Dakota Johnson. I should have had more faith. Anyway, Pontypool is a masterclass in simplicity. One location, four actors, and a lead with such a deep and smooth and sonorous voice that it nearly crackles with electricity when he speaks. It was perfection. Then, eleven years later the sorta-sequel Dreamland appeared out of nowhere while the world was hip deep in the COVID epidemic. So it got a less than stellar box office and the critics savaged it. Let’s see if I can’t undo some of that damage.
I’ll admit it right now. If I had to choose between iconic Canadian filmmakers Bruce McDonald or David Cronenberg, I’d choose McDonald. Don’t get me wrong. I think Cronenberg is a genius, far more so than McDonald, but there’s just such a coldness to his work that I find it kind of hard to enjoy. Cronenberg’s films are like having wild kinky sex with a devastatingly beautiful woman who never talks to you and then leaves immediately after giving you the best and weirdest orgasm of your life. McDonald’s films are like having really good sex with a really nice looking woman who then snuggles with you under the blankets afterwards to watch TV. Maybe the experience isn’t as mind blowing, but you remember it fondly for a much longer time.
Alright, enough pornographic analogies, so what’s Dreamland about?
SYNOPSIS: World weary hitman Johnny Deadeyes (Stephen McHattie) is asked by evil Mob Boss Hercules (Henry Rollins) to cut off the pinkie finger of The Maestro (also Stephen McHattie), a drug addicted Jazz musician who inadvertently insulted Hercules by forgetting his name. Complicating things is that The Maestro is scheduled to play that night at a twisted “wedding” between a vampire and a young kidnapped girl that is hosted by The Countess (Juliette Lewis) and is to be attended by all the rich and powerful and decadent people of the world.
I don’t think this synopsis is all that great, it doesn’t quite describe the film’s soul, but it’s leaps and bounds better than all the other ones I’ve read. None of which seem to know what to make of all this. The film’s plot feel very American, with it’s angry mob boss and cynical hit man and grizzled jazz musician. However, the setting feels very European with it’s picturesque village that is a labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets and looming 17th century architecture. It is the exactly the kind of place that welcomes dreams, or nightmares. The kind of place where, even when the sun is out, it’s still dark.
TEN THOUGHTS I HAD WATCHING THE MOVIE
#1 – While this is mentioned to be a “sequel” to Pontypool there isn’t really any evidence of it in the movie. So don’t let this stop you from watching it as it’s own thing. Watch it first or watch it after you’ve seen Pontypool. Makes no difference.
#2 – Reviews of the film read “Distasteful dystopian noir…” and “A despicable 90 minute disaster…” which made me feel VERY curious too see this. Any movie capable of creating such a fury in people is always interesting at the very least. You gotta kick the chair from under people sometimes. Can’t let them get too comfortable.
#3 – This is probably my favourite Henry Rollins performance. Hercules is a degenerate scumbag, but Rollins plays him in such a way that you can see how he was decent guy once upon a time. He became evil because he has no sense of introspection or remorse. Which makes Hercules the exact opposite of Stephen McHattie’s character, Johnny Deadeyes, who was probably always evil but is now eaten away by introspection and remorse.
#4 – I like how Stephen McHattie alternates between sometimes playing Johnny Deadeyes and The Maestro as two different characters who happen to look alike, and then sometimes as the exact same character living two different overlapping lives.
#5 – Juliette Lewis could play a strange manic woman in her sleep by now, so the casting is a bit on the nose, but she’s certainly having fun with the part of The Countess. Her performance is all grand gestures and largeness. She doesn’t walk, she dances. She doesn’t talk, she exclaims. I always love to see her in anything.
#6 – The soundtrack feels like an empty dive bar on a rainy night. Sometimes it’s a bit too much and sometimes it isn’t enough. It’s not perfect, but it tastes like cheap whisky and smells like stale cigarette smoke. So, for this movie, it works.
#7 – I thought Lisa Houle would have a bit more to do, all things considered, but one can’t get too greedy about these things. What she does do, she does very well indeed.
#8 – The ending feels like something out of a Jodorowsky film, and I say that with nothing but the utmost admiration. Alejandro’s probably a bit too old to make another movie now, but if Bruce McDonald can invoke his spirit even for a moment I am grateful.
#9 – Stephen McHattie’s voice is so low that it can untie your shoes while you’re watching the movie.
#10 – It is very probable that most reviewers didn’t understand that this movie is supposed to be one long fever dream. One of the film’s tagline reads “Escape from despair into a world of madness” which certainly hints at the ending of Pontypool. Another tagline “Meet the new pricks in the multiverse.” is a bit less subtle about the connection between the two. Reviewers can often be a little cranky when it comes to art and weirdness.
WAS IT ACTUALLY BAD?
This is art. So of course it isn’t bad. This whole movie is a strange lovely beautiful nightmare, filled with mysteries that have no answer and horrors that feel all too real. There’s a story and there’s a plot, and sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don’t, but it doesn’t matter. Do you need to understand German or Italian when you’re watching an opera? Of course not. You let yourself be carried off with the music. Same here. Don’t just watch this movie, experience it. Let it expand your mind and nourish your soul. It’s art FFS. It’s important. Besides it’s free on Tubi (in the United-States) as of this review’s publication. Can’t get a better price than that.
DREAMLAND is a 2019 fantasy/thriller film starring Stephen McHattie as Johnny Deadeyes and The Maestro, Henry Rollins as Hercules, Juliette Lewis as The Countess, and Lisa Houle as Lisa. It was directed by Bruce McDonald from a screenplay by Tony Burgess and Patrick Whistler.