Joseph Ruben is another one of those faceless, workmanlike genre directors who have been ploughing a thankless (though presumably lucrative) furrow through the outer reaches of the Hollywood industry for more than three decades. With a few hits (The Stepfather, True Believer and this) and a few duds (The Good Son, Money Train, the appropriately titled The Forgotten) under his belt, Ruben feels like one of the last of a dying breed.
But this one isn’t half bad, with Dennis Quaid in shiteating grin mode as a loose cannon psychic boy wonder who accepts Max Von Sydow’s invitation to try out a new machine which allows the user access to other people’s dreams. It’s a great cast all round- Christopher Plummer and David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks’ Jerry Horne) both chomp up some scenery as the villains, and there are a few moments of pleasingly surreal dream imagery (including a scene where Kelly develops knives for fingers, an extraordinary moment of synergy considering A Nightmare On Elm Street was in production at the same time).
by Tom Huddleston | Source: DVD
21 Jul 2007 11:03 AM | Submit Comment
