| Dreamcatcher | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Lawrence Kasdan |
| Produced by | Lawrence Kasdan Charles Okun |
| Screenplay by | William Goldman Lawrence Kasdan |
| Based on | Dreamcatcher by Stephen King |
| Starring | Morgan Freeman Thomas Jane Jason Lee Damian Lewis Timothy Olyphant Tom Sizemore Donnie Wahlberg |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | John Seale |
| Editing by | Carol Littleton |
| Studio | Castle Rock Entertainment Village Roadshow Pictures NPV Entertainment Kasdan Pictures WV Films II |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 21, 2003 |
| Running time | 136 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $68 million |
| Box office | $33,715,436 (Domestic) $75,715,436 (Worldwide)[1] |
Dreamcatcher is a 2003 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and co-written by Kasdan and screenwriter William Goldman. The film stars Morgan Freeman as Colonel Abraham Curtis, a shoot-first alien hunter, Thomas Jane as Henry Devlin, Donnie Wahlberg as Douglas "Duddits" Cavell, Jason Lee as Joe "Beaver" Clarendon, Timothy Olyphant as Pete Moore, and Damian Lewis as Gary "Jonesy" Jones. It was filmed around Prince George, British Columbia.
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Henry (Thomas Jane), Beaver (Jason Lee), Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Jonesy (Damian Lewis) are four lifelong friends on their annual hunting trip in Maine. As children they all acquired telepathy, which they call "the line". A flashback shows them save and befriend a mentally deficient boy named Douglas "Duddits" Cavell (played, as a boy, by Andrew Robb; as an adult, by Donnie Wahlberg) from bullies.
Jonesy sees Duddits across a street, who beckons him to cross the street where he is struck by a motor vehicle. His injuries heal with mysterious speed and 6 months later, he makes the annual trip. Jonesy and Beaver meet a lost man named Rick McCarthy, apparently ill, and let him rest in their cabin. Mysterious helicopters fly over and announce that the area will be quarantined. Jonesy and Beaver return to the cabin and find Rick dead in the bathroom, and reddish moss and gore all over the walls. His body excretes a creature into the toilet. The mystifying creature is later referenced as a worm and the reddish moss as The Ripley, after the character of the same name from the Alien franchise. Beaver tries to trap the creature beneath the toilet lid, but the lamprey-like worm, with multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth, overpowers and kills him. Jonesy escapes but is met by a large alien, called Mr. Gray, who enters Jonesy's body and possesses it.
Nearby, Henry and Pete nearly run over a frost-bitten woman, one of Rick's hunting party. Henry leaves to get help while Pete stays with the mysterious woman. The woman dies and excretes a worm, which Pete barely manages to kill. Mr. Gray then captures Pete, but Jonesy telepathically warns Henry to stay hidden.
Henry returns to the cabin to find Beaver dead and finds the worm that killed him laying a bunch of eggs. In order to kill the eggs and larvae that have already hatched, he sets the cabin on fire.
Meanwhile, a secret military unit, led by Curtis (Morgan Freeman), seeks to contain, and eventually kill, everyone exposed to the alien plague. Curtis sends Owen (Tom Sizemore) to lead an air strike against the aliens' landed spaceship. The aliens use telepathic abilities to try to confuse the task force, but the four Apaches and Curtis' Little Bird massacre most of the aliens on the ground with a minigun, chain guns, and Hellfire missiles. The aliens then release an explosive force which destroys some themselves, their spaceship, and a few helicopters. When the remaining helicopters return to base, Henry is also brought to the base. Henry sees Owen and convinces Owen to reveal the camp to the regular U.S. Army. After tracking Owen through a chip in the gun, Curtis escapes in a helicopter.
Jonesy explores a metaphorical warehouse of his own past memories while watching Mr. Gray use his body. Mr. Gray tries to coerce Pete to cooperate, then eats him when he refuses. Jonesy realizes that his mind contains memories of Duddits' that would help Mr. Gray with his scheme, and therefore hides them deeper in the warehouse of his subconscious.
Henry and Owen arrive at the home of Duddits, who reveals that Mr. Gray is headed for Quabbin Reservoir to pollute the water with a shit-weasel. Arriving at the reservoir, Owen is ambushed by Curtis' helicopter. Owen shoots Curtis down, but dies from his wounds. Henry takes Owen's weapon and kills Mr. Gray's worm. Duddits confronts Mr. Gray, who finally exits Jonesy's body. Duddits turns into an alien creature himself and attacks, causing both aliens to explode in a cloud of red dust which briefly resembles a dreamcatcher. Jonesy, now back to normal, smashes a final larva that was about to contaminate the water.
The film was poorly received by critics, earning a 30% "rotten" rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Mick LaSalle's review for the San Francisco Chronicle summed up the film as "a likeable disaster,"[3] whereas Richard Roeper commented that "not since Death to Smoochy have so many talented people made such a mess of things."[4] Although often considered a flop, the film broke even on its estimated $68 million budget. While it earned only $33,685,268 in the domestic market, it made $75,715,436 worldwide.[5] The film now holds a small cult following for its "So bad it's good" feel.
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