Dreamkatcher (2020) User Reviews

ONLY for Lin Shaye

[fabgirl-61827 · 3/10 · 1 May 2020]

I will watch Lin Shaye in ANYTHING! She is amazing and always nails the character. That said, even she cannot save this movie.

I think this is the second review I've ever written because I feel like the horror genre is so hard to review! There are so many different types of films and, honestly, horror movie aficionados are kinda snobby, lol, we all feel like critics!

This one started out strong, I was excited, I thought ok, wow, this one is gonna be good... up until just past the halfway point and then I don't know what happened but they lost me and I couldn't be more disappointed.

It's very frustrating because half the story was there and the acting was great (a big deal to me) and, Lin Shaye! Hello! But it fizzled out and I was so irritated I had to come here and write this review.

Maybe I'm missing something but I just didn't get it after about two thirds of the way thru. For reference, to give you an idea of the types of movies I like - because it's so hard to try and find a good horror movie that is in my wheelhouse - I very much enjoyed these disturbing horror films, The Platform, Pet, Ghostland and Midsommar, fun horror movies like Tucker and Dale VS Evil and especially LOVED Final Girls with Taissa Farmiga, I adore AHS, loved Tusk, Hunt, Waxwork, any old school 80's slasher film and, of course, ALL of the Insidious movies and The Conjuring franchise, as well. I could probably go on all night but that gives you a small idea of what I like in order to determine if you might want to trust my judgement and give this movie a pass.

Hope this might help others trying to find something good to watch!

Annoying !

[igl-55560 · 3/10 · 15 November 2020]

I can't stand unrealistic scripts ! If you really think that a guy who hides to his new girlfriend the very way his wife died can dare to leave her with his troubled kid and criticize her professional (reasonable) judgement about what had happened to her, you are sorely delusional as a scriptwriter. It's not horror, it's just annoying to watch.

What the heck?

[butterflygreen · 3/10 · 29 August 2020]

Who is the girl on the cover? Who is the girl at the beginning with the axe?? Why is the acting so terrible??? Three credible actors in this that come across like this is the first film theyve ever made and don't quite know how to act? The whole film is so wooden, it's painful to watch.

Was it supposed to be this bad?!

[luialexandredsc · 1/10 · 6 June 2020]

Silent Hill (2006) is great! Why is Radha Mitchell on this movie?! Everything was bad... acting, editing, concept... The movie starts with a dictionary definition... WHY?! I watched till the end in hope something would turn up... But boy, there's a hole lot of bad movies better than this one.

What a disapointment

[marcelocarvacho · 1/10 · 26 May 2020]

Well, the intro scene is pretty good, the tension is nice and everything goes well until the kid spooks us, after that the camera play gets really sloppy, the story is not so good, and whoever thought that a plotline with " I'll take my son with my girlfriend to the house where my ex-wife was murdered" was fine needs to get fired, the actors were cool but the characters where so shallow, Gil was supposed to be a experienced children psychologist but the dialogues were so cringe, like she doesn't know how to make therapy bearable for a children, I guess the writers for this movie didn't know about therapy and didn't want to know, the father was absent the whole movie only to be killed by a Child, the kid was unbearable in the bad way and Ruth was a mess. The worst Thriller I have ever watched.

The Second Star is for Lin Shaye

[Neon_Gold · 2/10 · 19 November 2020]

This movie was such a waste of time. I am writing this just after I have finished the movie and to be honest I don't even feel like I watched it. I'm not joking, it was really that generic, nothing stands out apart from Lin because she is just great.

The acting is pretty bad, the script bland and some of the camera work is pretty distracting.

I wouldn't say it feels student-like but it is only like one tier above that sort of level.

The end is also just stupid like it's just looks stupid.

You could probably skip it since there really isn't much of note in this film apart from Lin Shaye.

Great Idea for a New Drinking Game!

[tbridges-51557 · 1/10 · 29 June 2020]

Just drink every time Radha Mitchell says, "Hey"! You will pass out before halfway through, and you'll thank me for that. That would be the only reason to watch it.

Writing review while watching movie because I'm bored.

[joaoedviges · 1/10 · 30 April 2020]

Well... How should I start. You know the drill.. bad things happen in the past in a house - new tenants go to the house - no cellphone network - kid befriend ghost - old person neighbor knows everything (classic actress) - kid starts to draw creepy stuff - family starts to investigate the past - kid tries to kill himself - ghost harms adult (in the most stupid ways) - climax (dumb)... and some of the stupid use of jump scares sounds in between.

Boring film. Boring acting. Boring everything. Even the basic plot is stupid. Father takes kid where mom died for rehab and leaves him alone with gf (that doesn't believe in ghosts ofc).

One of the longest 90mns in my life.. Damn this was bad. Even the title has bas spelling (for some reason).

What did I just watch??? Spoiler Alert

[jessicaquap · 1/10 · 11 May 2020]

I hate movies that have no ending. I get it that a little girl picked up the dreamcatcher at the end, but how did Gale get untied??? Who is the little girl on the movie's cover?? No one came through the walls. I was left with many unanswered questions and would have liked to have seen what the spirit catcher did. If I could only have it a 1 because the first 15 minutes were good and it had a few jump scare moments.

Mostly just ''Meh''!

[sstetsko · 4/10 · 18 May 2020]

Well... I am sure I can add nothing new to comments which preceded mine, so I guess I will just reiterate. Rather lifeless attempt at a cliche possession genre horror. It evidently had some budget... enough to give it the gloss of a real movie, with pretty competent acting and cinematography, but it really breaks no new ground at all in plot, scripting, or anything really. In fact, it has some points where it gets pretty absurd... disappointingly mostly (but not exclusively) right near the end so that after you have endured all the (admittedly weak) buildup you get left with a poorly put together climax and a feeling of having lost some valuable time from your life. I suppose, the best i could say about it is, maybe, if you REALLY have nothing better to do with your time, you could watch it... maybe while washing the dishes.

Transformative character development

[jtdpaint · 10/10 · 29 April 2020]

Really engrossing character development. Looking forward to seeing it a second time!

Not THAT bad.

[Sir_watch_alot · 7/10 · 16 May 2020]

I liked this film. I liked it a lot more than a lot of the films I see. And I do see a lot of movies. There was nothing wrong with the acting, the camerawork, the lighting, the editing or the effects. Maybe one or two bad choises by the characters. I think you should ignore the (bad) reviews and see for yourself.

Hiking is just walking

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 8 May 2020]

The film starts out, cabin-in-the-woods. Noah with an ax in the living room. Luke (Henry Thomas) shows up at the cabin with his new girlfriend and child psychologist Gail (Radha Mitchell ) and his son Josh (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong ) who has major league issues and Lin Shaye is their crazy lady neighbor. Josh was nightmares where he is visited by his mother who tells him to do bad things. Things do happen around the house and Josh turns into the "I didn't do it" kid.

The film seemed rather pointless. They did a lousy job on the characters.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Boring and cliché

[anastasiaarnold · 1/10 · 12 June 2020]

It's hard to find a good horror these days, but this one by far is one of the most boring one I've watched. I nearly even fell asleep during it. Don't waste your time on this

Zero scares, zero stars

[stauntonallen · 1/10 · 2 May 2020]

Their attempts at scaring you were to have a child standing behind the fridge door, or to hold a knife above the step mother's head, horrible acting of glass in the character's mouth when drinking, and other forgettable cheap scares and countless plot holes. Kept hoping for it to get better, but it continued to decline. Wouldn't waste my time watching this ever again.

Surprisingly...underwhelming

[reviewandrepeat · 3/10 · 29 May 2020]

In my eyes, Lin Shaye and Henry Thomas have become almost iconic within the horror movie genre. So, when I see both of their names in the same film I expect it to be nothing short of terrifying.

I believe this movie tried but, ultimately, failed in its attempt to do just that.

Unfortunately, this movie has been added to the ranks of movies I just can't see myself recommending to other people. And I find that to be truly pitiful.

Big waste of time

[H0it0m · 1/10 · 4 May 2020]

Someone tried to make a movie and failed miserably, the end. YUCK!

Slow, Boring And Cheap

[nebk · 4/10 · 28 April 2020]

I had very low expectations for Dreamkatcher given its name and unfortunately I wasn't disappointed. It was produced by and stars Radha Mitchell as Gail a child psychologist who is dating a widower Luke played by Henry Thomas. Luke has a young son called Josh who has recurring nightmares about his mother's death and he is also not a big fan of his dad's new girlfriend. And he is also apparently being taken over by a malevolent entity wanting him to kill Gail and Luke as well as their eccentric neighbour Ruth who lives close by and sells home made jams, nick nacks, spirit traps and other junk.

At not even 90 minutes long, Dreamkatcher could have been a fast paced horror film but it is not. It feels way too long and drawn out with unnecessary scenes. In the beginning over 8 minutes pass from the studio logos the opening scene and opening credits until the story really starts. The story ends at around the 1 hour 20 minute mark which means that the movie is just over 72 minutes long excluding ending credits and yet it feels much longer and might have you looking at your watch. The opening sequence is very reminiscent of the opening sequence from the shining even though here it's an aerial shot of a car driven through a forest.

The soundtrack is ominous and creepy at certain times and the acting by Radha Mitchell, Henry Thomas and Lin Shaye is good enough but they had very little to work with and the movie suffers as a result as the story is slow, convoluted predictable and boring and so ultimately is the movie. A 3.5-4 out of 10.

So Bad

[drifter_74 · 1/10 · 10 May 2020]

This is so bad. How fairly accomplished actors like Radha Mitchell and Henry Thomas could agree to get involved with this rubbish is beyond me. I'm also still trying to figure out if the the child actor is just totally unable to change his facial expression of whether he was just given zero direction and guidance. Worst of all is the soundtrack that is simply a combination of weird noises and single synthesizer notes.

Don't waste your time, this is just pure rubbish and an embarrassment to the horror genre.

Not sure about this idea

[richardwworkman · 4/10 · 30 January 2021]

As usual the bad reviews are way off the mark. It's not THAT bad.

However, any film that has to start off with a dictionary definition of its title to explain why it's about is not a great sign.

This is a possession story but I'm not sure it's got anything to do with dream catchers.

When we think of the great esoteric props in horror movie history we think of the Hellraiser box or the Evil Dead totems in the cellar, they are key to the plot.

It's called dreamkatcher but the weird paranormal activity is clearly happening regardless of wether the dreamcatcher is around or not.

Also the dad joins my list of men in horror films who are complete assholes. Let's face it there are about a million activities you can do with your kids but no, let's go in to the woods and practice cutting things with sharp axes. Yeah dad, let's do that.

All the creepy kid red flags are here. The crazy drawings, weird accidents, sleep walking, etc.

It builds up slightly but the final confrontation scene is ridiculously poor.

Worth a watch if you fancy having something on in the background while your doing the ironing. Not the worst horror of 2020 by any stretch but certainly not the best.

its good... not sure why all the bad reviews.

[tgriffith-77 · 8/10 · 5 May 2020]

I actually really liked this movie... if you want to watch something like SAW this is not what you are looking for. But its an entertaining for a night in. Slow burn. Cool concept.

Creeps up on you!

[eddiepa1 · 30 April 2020]

Actually really liked this one! It's a slow burn thriller rather than a horror movie. Thankfully less gory than some other crap out there... Great cast!

Terrific suspense...

[heavilypix · 6/10 · 12 May 2020]

...but a mediocre third act quashes some of the momentum that the story has/had.

*Lin Shaye is wonderful, as always.

Aside: I love the house, with all the windows. What I wouldn't give to be there now. SIGH.

Don't bother...really.

[ravenhair702 · 1/10 · 3 May 2020]

My wife loves anything american Indian. She loves dream catchers. So, when we were at the Redbox looking for a movie to rent, she squealed in excitement when she saw this movie. Of course, I caved and we rented it. It was SO slow and boring. I looked at the reviews and laughed. I actually saw four, yes FOUR reviews that gave it a 10. I'm guessing the director, assistant director, the producer and maybe one of the actors got on IMDB and gave it a good 'ol fake great review. Personally, I couldn't wait for this thing to end. Tried to see what it cost to make and it didn't say. I'm thinking not much. Like I said, don't bother with this one...and don't believe the 10's in the reviews. This was trash. Peace.

Dare to dream

[Stanlee107 · 4/10 · 3 May 2020]

This is what I call a competent horror film that is neither good nor bad.

In the beginning scene we meet an attractive lady that is playing the piano & she is murdered by a little girl. A cut scene follows & we meet the widower & we find out that he has moved on with a new lady & their son has yet to come to terms with his mum's death. Guess what, for plot convenience she is a trained child psychologist that can help the boy...

The dad is called away for work leaving those two time to bond. The boy has a recurring dream turned nightmare in which his dead mother comes to visit him but her skin rots before his eyes. His night terrors stop him from having a good night's sleep.

The next day they go for a walk & the boy notices a dilapidated hut with strange strings and kite like items hanging from the outside. A strange lady explains that those items are dream catchers that help to catch negative energy & prevent bad thoughts/nightmare from entering your dreams. The boy steals one of those dream catcher after the cynical clinical psychologist refuses to buy one for him. She is a woman of science & accuses the lady of being a con woman.

I guessed the film's ending less than half way through this movie. The stolen dream catcher is the only cursed one that has dire consequences... The two female leads are good. The type cast Lin Shaye, best known for her portrayal of the medium in the Insidious Franchise, does a convincing role here too. I did recognise Radha Mitchell, who starred in Silent Hill & Man on Fire, plays the psychologist well.

It follows the horror cliché with the protagonist that believes in science is proven wrong (when invariably it is too late to rectify this) by the supernatural explanation. I did not get scared once throughout the duration of the film. It does not have the horror elements that elict an uneasy feeling that are found in their Asian counterparts like The Wailing, The Ring, Grudge, Tale of two sisters, etc...