Bad Dreams (film)

Bad Dreams is a 1988 American horror film co-written and directed by Andrew
Bad Dreams
Fleming and starring Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, E.G. Daily, Harris Yulin and
Richard Lynch. It was produced by Gale Anne Hurd. The plot follows a young
woman who awakens from a thirteen-year-long coma and finds herself being stalked
by the ghost of a cult leader who led a mass suicide by fire that she survived as a
young girl.

Contents
Plot
Cast
Production
Release
Critical reception
Home media
See also
References Theatrical release poster
External links Directed by Andrew Fleming
Produced by Gale Anne Hurd

Plot Screenplay by Andrew Fleming

Steven E. de
In 1975, a cult called Unity Fields commits mass suicide in a horrific manner—by Souza
fire—at the behest of its psychopathic leader, Franklin Harris (Richard Lynch). Only
Story by Andrew Fleming
one young woman named Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin), a child at the time of the fire,
Michael Dick
survives, though she lies in a coma for thirteen years.
P.J. Pettiette
After she wakes, Cynthia is plagued by horrific flashbacks of her childhood at Unity Yuri Zeltser
Fields, and is forced to attend experimental group therapy sessions for borderline Starring Jennifer Rubin
personality disorder at the hospital led by Dr. Alex Karmen (Bruce Abbott).
Bruce Abbott
Cynthia's visions become more vivid, and include Harris, who often appears to her
Richard Lynch
with his flesh burnt. When her roommate, Miriam, is discharged from the hospital,
Cynthia has a vision of Harris in the elevator with her; however, the doors close Dean Cameron
before she is able to warn her. Miriam is found dead on the sidewalk in front of the Harris Yulin
hospital, having leapt from a window in what appears to be a suicide. Music by Jay Ferguson

A male and female patient are later killed by the blades on an industrial fan in a Cinematography Alexander
utility room of the hospital, which Cynthia also attributes to Harris, who she believes Gruszynski
has come back from his death to kill those around her. Ralph, a troubled masochist Edited by Jeff Freeman
patient, becomes enamored with Cynthia; one day, they take an elevator to the
Distributed by 20th Century
basement of the hospital. During an episode, he commits suicide by stabbing himself
Fox
multiple times in the abdomen.
Release date April 8, 1988
Running time 84 minutes
Awakening from sedation after the incident, Cynthia finds Harris sitting in her room, Country United States
calling her his "love child," and urging her to commit suicide. Shortly after, Harris Language English
visits Hettie, a clairvoyant patient, in her room. Instead of allowing him to kill her,
Budget $4,000,000
she drinks formaldehyde she stole from a supply room, effectively killing herself.
(Estimated)
When Dr. Karmen discovers his corrupt peer, Dr. Berrisford, has intentionally laced
the therapy group's drugs with psychogenic substances (in the hope that it will Box office $9,797,098
effectively make the patients suicidal, and thus corroborate Berrisford's research), he
confronts Cynthia, insisting her visions of Harris are not real.

Dr. Karmen then pulls an emergency alarm in the hospital, which elicits chaos. Cynthia escapes to the rooftop, where Dr. Karmen
finds her standing on the ledge. Harris, invisible to Dr. Karmen, urges Cynthia to jump. She leaps from the building, but before
hitting the ground below, awakens back at the house in which the Unity Fields members committed suicide. There, she is confronted
by Harris, who welcomes her; however, it is only a vision, and she awakens to Dr. Karmen holding her by the arm as she dangles
over the ledge. Berrisford, aware that Dr. Karmen has discovered his plot, goes to the rooftop as well, and attempts to push Dr.
Karmen to his death as well. His attempt is thwarted by the arrival of hospital security, and Berrisford insists that Dr. Karmen is
responsible for altering the patients' medication. He then pulls a revolver from his coat, but before he is able to shoot, Cynthia pushes
him to his death.

Cast
Jennifer Rubin as Cynthia Weston
Bruce Abbott as Dr. Alex Karmen
Richard Lynch as Franklin Harris
Dean Cameron as Ralph Pesco
Harris Yulin as Dr. Berrisford
Susan Barnes as Connie
John Scott Clough as Victor
E.G. Daily as Lana
Damita Jo Freeman as Gilda
Louis Giambalvo as Ed
Susan Ruttan as Miriam
Sy Richardson as Detective Wasserman
Missy Francis as Young Cynthia Weston
Sheila Scott-Wilkenson as Hettie
Ben Kronen as Edgar

Production
Bad Dreams was shot on location in Los Angeles, California over a period of eight weeks, with production beginning on October 26,
1987, and concluding in mid-December.[1] Shooting locations included the California Medical Center and California Medical
Building in Los Angeles; Lakeview Hospital in Lake View Terrace; and the Brentwood Veterans Hospital.[1] The budget for the
production was $4.5 million.[2]

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States by 20th Century Fox on April 8, 1988. It grossed $9,797,098 at the U.S. box
office.[3]

Critical reception
Bad Dreams received largely negative reviews from critics. Itholds a rating of 25% onRotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews.[4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a half-star out of four, writing: "I praise the production only to suggest that these
people should be better employed in worthier projects. It is not surprising to see a violent teenage film exploiting the lowest common
denominator and preaching a message of nihilism and despair. It is not surprising to see the latest special-effect technology supplying
lingering closeups of burnt flesh and other horrors. What is surprising, I suppose, is that nice people would want to wade in this
sewer."[5]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a middling review, calling it a "a breezy, bloody kind of amalgam of The
Breakfast Club and A Nightmare on Elm Street... It doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense, plot-wise, and it's instantly
[6]
forgettable. However, it's amusing for as long as ti lasts. Also, for a film of this genre, it has a cast of unusually good actors."

Home media
The film was released onDVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainmentin 2006.[7] This version is currentlyout of print.

The film was later released by Shout Factory along with Visiting Hours, first as a double feature DVD on September 13, 2011 and
then a similar Blu-Ray release followed on February 18, 2014.

A UK Blu-Ray was issued by 88 Films in July 2018.

See also
A Nightmare on Elm Streetseries

References
1. "Bad Dreams" (http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=58482). American Film Institute
(AFI). Retrieved April 1, 2017.
2. As per the American Film Institute: "A 25 March 1988 HR report and the UCLA Daily Bruin noted the film’s budget as
$4.5 million."
3. "Bad Dreams" (http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=baddreams.htm). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
4. "Bad Dreams Movie Reviews"(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_dreams/). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved
December 28, 2016.
5. Ebert, Roger (April 8, 1988). "Bad Dreams Movie Review"(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bad-dreams-1988).
Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
6. Canby, Vincent (April 8, 1988). "Review/Film; It's the Guru's Ghastly Ghost Calling"(https://www.nytimes.com/movie/
review?res=940DE0D91F3CF93BA35757C0A96E948260) . The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
7. "Bad Dreams" (http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=949295). DVD Empire. Retrieved April 1,
2011.

External links
Bad Dreams on IMDb
Bad Dreams at Rotten Tomatoes
Bad Dreams at AllMovie

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