 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Dreamcatcher
- Review Date: May 3, 2004
- R
- Genre: Thriller
- 2003
Common Sense Media says
This Stephen King is way too scary for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is intensely scary and violent. Characters use very strong language and make explicit and graphic sexual references. One character abuses alcohol, and many drink and smoke.
What's the story?
Based on Stephen King's book, DREAMCATCHER follows Beaver (Jason Lee), Henry (Thomas Jane), Jonesy (Damian Lewis), and Pete (Timothy Olyphant), boyhood friends who share a secret connection gradually revealed in flashbacks. A good deed resulted in their ESP-type powers. Every year, they go away together to a cabin in the woods. On this trip, strange things happen. The animals all leave the forest. A government helicopter calls down to tell them they are quarantined, and people begin appearing from the woods, disoriented and suffering from intense intestinal distress. Strange red patches appear on the faces of both, and then really strange things start to happen. It turns out that all of this is due to an alien invasion. Meanwhile, Colonel Kurtz (Morgan Freeman) and his team of special agents use extreme tactics to wipe out the alien threat.
Is it any good?
Dreamcatcher isn't Stephen King's best book, and it's far from the best screenplay produced by either Lawrence Kasden or William Goldman. It's mishmash, but there is something in it to scare the bejeebers out of just about everyone, including yuckiness, gore, creepiness, intense peril, and good, and old-fashioned jump-out-at-you surprises. The four main actors are all exceptionally appealing, and the art direction and cinematography are top-notch. The film's weakest aspect is Kurtz's secret operation. Even the masterful Freeman can't quite make that character work, and the attempt to create a parallel between the peril created by the outside force and the peril from within does not work, either.
While parts of the plot are lackluster, as I watched this movie the audience reaction sounded like they were on a roller-coaster ride, a good sign in a scary movie. It's not a classic like Carrie or The Shining, but it is a nicely done scarefest, and achieves its modest ambitions.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about disabled people, and why some people go out of their way to pick on them while others appreciate their gifts. What made the four boys so loyal to each other? How do we know when a person like Kurtz has gone too far, and at that point, who can stop him? He makes a Jeremy Bentham-like argument that the ends justify the means. Under what circumstances is that the case?
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AGE
Worst movie of the year so far
Pretentious and disgusting, this movie is perfect retribution for William Goldman's idiotic article slamming Martin Scorcese. I love it when movies go really wrong.
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AGE
There is nothing child-friendly about this ridiculous, insulting Stephen King adaptation
Dreamcatcher is a over budgeted, over complex mess that, after a rather promising and hopefully imaginative first twenty minutes, falls completely flat all the way through the other 114 minutes of the movie. Also, this movie is definitely not appropriate for children since there is a lot of very bloody and gory violence including constant scenes of people being bitten, eaten and gruesomely slaughtered by vicious aliens. Also, there is plenty of explicit sexual dialog and profanity throughout the movie which get's quiet crude after a while. And on top of that, a mentally challenged by is misused in nearly every way possible (you'll fully understand that statement by the end of the movie). Definitely not one of Stephen Kings best movie adaptations.
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AGE
An excellent film for Sci-Fi loving teens, but not for under 16.
Well, um... wow. This is a difficult one to review, so I am just going to shoot for simplicity. The violence is not good at all, everything from a man getting his fingers bitten off by an alien worm (the sight of which will scare the pants off of most pre-teens), to another man who gets his privates bitten off by the same type of creature, then explains what just happened explicitly. Along with the frequent threat of shooting, a threat which is occasionally carried out, and much more violence from aliens, the violence contributes to the R-rating heavily. The language also contributes to the R-rating quite a bit, literally every word one can think of is used at least twice. Sex is never seen, but talked about very explicitly. These discussions are not frequent, but are definetely there. Morgan Freeman plays a bad guy, which quite surprised me, but despite the Common Sense group's review, I found Freeman's acting quite good. Overall, though not for people under 15, an excellent Sci-Fi film, one of my favorites. If you are a fan of science fiction, then enjoy!
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AGE
Dreamcatcher
Wow I'm surprised that people think this movie is scary. I watched the entire movie, I was extremely calm. In fact the movie is kinda boring and the acting is pretty bad at times. The violence isn't nearly as brutal as many other horror movies, same for the language. Also there is only like 5 sexual references. But a couple characters are always drunk.
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Kid, 12 years old
March 28, 2010
AGE
good for high school students and adults
okay so the bad thing easily known is the phrase SSDD(same s--- different day)
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AGE
Dreamcatcher
An awesome horror film. Very gorey and nasty, but will deliver the scares to just about anyone.
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AGE
Dreamcatcher. More like NIGHTMARE!!!!...catcher....'n' stuff....
Now, I've read 1/3 of the ACTUAL book. And as far as 600 page book adaptions go, this movie stays pretty true to it's source material(can't say the same about IT). The violence, at times, is a little nasty- but nothing too bad. Also, the language is both profane and explicitly sexual. And many characters are constantly drunk without consequence, ergo the "negative role models" concern...BUT...This movie has great main themes, such as redemption, faith, trust, friendship, and helping others in need-even when the odds are terribly against you, ergo the "good role models" highlight. This movie will not easily make any high schooler, or even late-middle schooler, cover their eyes. It's not scary. A few jump scenes are the worst of it. But not so much to where it just gets predictable and boring(BOOGEYMAN). Great values. Terrible content. So, for once, they kind of balance each other out. Not for kids 12-, but I'm sure most kids that are 13+ will be fine.
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AGE
OK for mature tweens.
i watched it when i was 5 it didnt scare me but the aliens were pretty freaky haha just watch it beforehand to make sure
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| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Cast: | Damian Lewis, Jason Lee, Thomas Jane |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 136 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | March 21, 2003 |
| DVD release date: | September 27, 2003 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | violence, gore and language |
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