Dreamcatcher (2003)
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Four gifted friends must survive an invasion of parasitic aliens while evading a military organization hunting both the intruders and the humans.
The story
Jonesy, Beaver, Pete, and Henry are four friends on an annual hunting trip in Maine. As children, they all acquired telepathic powers which they call "the line" after saving a boy with disabilities named Douglas "Duddits" Cavell from bullies and befriending him. During their trip, they encounter a man named Rick McCarthy who is very ill. The situation escalates when a trail of blood is discovered and a worm-like creature appears, leading to a confrontation with a mysterious entity known as Mr. Gray. The group must navigate the immediate threat of the alien presence while being pursued by a military organization seeking to contain the alien virus.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jonesy, Beaver, Pete, and Henry are four friends with telepathic powers who go on a hunting trip in Maine. They find a dying man, Rick, and are soon besieged by a worm-like alien creature. Mr. Gray, an alien, takes over Jonesy's body to access memories of their friend Duddits. Meanwhile, a military unit led by Colonel Curtis attempts to contain the 'Ripley' virus. Henry and a soldier named Underhill eventually break out of a quarantine camp to reach Duddits. Duddits warns them that Mr. Gray intends to seed the Quabbin Reservoir with larvae. A final confrontation occurs at the reservoir where Duddits and Mr. Gray clash, resulting in an explosion. Jonesy regains control of his body and destroys the final larva before it can contaminate the water.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 134
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Lawrence Kasdan
- Writers
- William Goldman · screenplay; Lawrence Kasdan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Morgan Freeman; Thomas Jane; Jason Lee; Damian Lewis; Timothy Olyphant; Tom Sizemore; Donnie Wahlberg
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- parasitic invasion; telepathy; military containment
- Tone and mood
- horror; tense
- Setting
- Maine, USA
- Premise and plot tags
- alien invasion; body possession; supernatural powers
- Source material / true-story basis
- Stephen King's 2001 novel of the same name
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews and was considered a flop, with critics calling it an 'incoherent and overly long creature feature.'
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 28% · scale: percentage · review count: 180; Metacritic · score: 35 · scale: 100 · review count: 38; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in British Columbia.; The film's budget was $68 million.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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