|
Based on the novel by Stephen King (one of my
favourite authors), Dreamcatcher is the tale of four young friends and how a
single collective act of kindness will change the way their world is forever.
Rescuing young Douglas Cavell (Duddits) from the hands of torturous bullies,
the four friends find themselves imbued with a strange type of telepathy
emanating from Duddits, who is a student at the local special school.
As the years go by, these young friends become men and once a year they go
hunting as they did as boys in a cabin out in the forest in the snow. It's in
this unexpected environment that all normality is leeched out of their lives
when a strange red dust and a government cover-up is initiated to hid the
presence of extraterrestrials in the United States.
Stephen King's capacity to turn the normal into the nightmarish is one of the
things that makes me such a fan of his work and having collaborated with
William Goldman on the screenplay of this tale has made it such a watchable
feature for me. His ability to humanise his characters into such likeable
entities makes you actually care about them and the horrible fate that has
befallen them.
There'll be a number of people who complain
about this film for it's vulgarity in the direct portrayal of some of the
alien attacks. There is a ton of blood and even parasitic creatures emerging
from the anus of a hunter in the woods. You could say that we are shown too
much and in some cases I would have said yes, however I have also read the
book (highly enjoyable) and they are not going any further than the book does.
I know that there are more folks out there
who didn't like the film than those who like myself, did. I'm going to say
that you might want to rent this before the purchase, however if you are a fan
of Stephen King I think you should be happy with the movie. For me myself, I'd
happily purchase this flick as I believe it's a keeper.
The disc is shown in
2.40:1 original theatrical ratio that is 16:9 enhanced and is a beautiful
transfer. Colours are vibrant and there are not any issues with this disc at
all. In fact the perfection of the colour palette at times even adds to the
horrific aspect of the film. Top marks! Dolby Digital 5.1 and it
sounds a treat, fully complementing the movieStereo mix only here and
it's all that it needed. Sound is very clear, functional and adds to the
enjoyment of the disc. All channels are used and the disc is a great example
of a surround mix.
If you want to find out more about the movie or an insight into the mind of
Stephen King, then this is one to definitely get. We get to hear about his
accident that nearly killed him and the references and similarities between
this title and his book Stand By Me. It's an interesting watch.
There are a bevy of deleted scenes here as well and the thing is that you can
tell that they were going to keep them in until the last minute as everything
has been added and we are not just watching rough raw footage.
For those interested in the wonderful effects used in the movie, there is a
short featurette on the making of some of the creatures and what went into the
creative process.
There is also a trailer and DVD Rom content.
|
Dreamcatcher
Features | -
Dream Writer -
An Interview with Stephen King -
Dream Weavers -
The Visual Effects of Dreamcatcher -
Lifted Scenes & Original Ending -
Teaser Trailer -
DVD-ROM | | 
