‘Dreamscape’
Bella Productions, 1984

starring: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Kate Capshaw and Christopher Plummer
directed by: Joseph Ruben

the plot: Psychic Alex Gardner (Quaid) spends his days using his extrasensory gifts to bet on horse races. Alex gets a chance to escape his gambling debts, and the attention of some surly criminals, when his old friend Dr. Novotny (von Sydow) recruits him to participate in Project Dreamscape. Under the guidance of Novotny and his fetching assistant Jane (Capshaw), Alex learns how to use his psychic talents to enter the dreams of others. Funding the program is Bob Blair (Plummer), the shifty-eyed head of covert operations for the U.S. government. Blair says he wants to use Alex and Project Dreamscape to help cure the president of chronic nightmares about a nuclear holocaust. But as Alex begins looking into the secrets of Project Dreamscape, he finds that Blair has less savory uses for the project. But with government goons after him in real life and a psychotic assassin waiting in his dreams, Alex may not have a chance to expose Blair’s malfeasance.

why it’s good: “Dreamscape” is a solid ’80s sci-fi flick. Don’t let the Indiana Jones-esque box art fool you: there are no rolling boulders, exploding Nazis or things like that, although Kate Capshaw did co-star in the second Indy movie. “Dreamscape” does have an awesome fight between Dennis Quaid and a half-man, half-snake monster, as well as the reliable character actor David Patrick Kelly (whose credits include “The Warriors” and “Twin Peaks”) wielding some mystical nunchuks—which might be better than exploding Nazis. “Dreamscape” is a simple, fun movie that wraps together most of the tropes of ’80s sci-fi—fears of nuclear annihilation, rogue government projects and fringe science—without being too bloated. The supporting cast includes Eddie Albert from “Green Acres” as the president and George Wendt as a popular novelist who stumbles onto the project’s secrets. The effects aren’t much, but there are a few choice spooky moments that keep the suspense going.

why you should own it: “Dreamscape” is definitely worth a rent. Image Entertainment’s special edition DVD features commentary by screenwriter David Loughery, producer Bruce Cohn Curtis and artist Craig Reardon, as well as a special effects make-up test reel.