Rating: 
Summary: True Horror
Review: "In Dreams" is the most terrifying movie i have ever seen, peroid. Everything in the movie has this stange reluctant quality, showing just enough for the viewer to crave more, yet at the same time producing an eerie fear for what is ahead. The story, thought a bit convoluted, takes the viewer hostage from the very beginning when the curiousity builds as the depths of an underwater town is being explored. Till the credits roll, and you are release, yet yearning to become the victim once again, just for a little longer. The acting is terrific especially from Benning who portaits the other side of sanity so convincingly, it gave me chills. She a character of need, and us, the mute witness, want to give her the assurance she so desperately longs for. Downey is great in his brief roll. He will scare you on a much more primative level, he almost seems too comfortable in this role. The imagery is great, the fixation with apples and nursery rhymes add to the atmosphere, feeding the unbridal terror that continues to build throughout the movie. Watching it is like walking through a peaceful meadow, feet gently dancing across the soft grass, slowly becoming trapped in a small room feet cold against the harsh floor. "In Dreams" gets to you on every level, this movie is not for everyone, but if you want to see a movie that will disturb, intrigue and terrify you, "In Dreams" is the movie for you.
Rating:
Summary: The most psychologically suspenseful movie of the year......
Review: I went to see In Dreams, and I didn't know what to expect, I hadn't seen very many of the commercials and I didn't read into the reviews that much.What I saw was a very good suspense-filled movie that was very original on plot and had great depth of the main character, and the development of the villain was ongoing until the film's climax. The story centers around Claire Cooper (Bening) who is a children's book illustrator. All of her life, she has been haunted by strange dreams of a childhood that was not hers. As the movie progresses, the dreams get worse and worse, and finally, she finds the source of the horrific dream imagery, Vivian Thompson (Downey, Jr.). When I saw this in the theater, I wasn't very impressed with the quality of the picture and sound, it was the movie that was good. On DVD, both the sound and video are very impressive. The DVD comes with two English soundtracks, one in Dolby 5.1 Digital, and the other one in 2.0 Dolby Surroundsound. Both tracks are great on the atmospheric sounds of the movie's locations. The video is in anamorphic widescreen, and the colors match what the director and cinematographer were trying to accomplish, a very dark and surreal picture. All together, this DVD is a must for suspense fans because it really is a psychologically scary movie and the suspense builds up very nicely. This disc should be in everyone's DVD collection, it is in mine.
Rating: 
Summary: "In dreams I walk with you"...
Review: Somehow I feel that if this film had been even stranger, it may have been more critically popular. Had it not bothered with as linear a storyline and just followed the dream-logic plotlines it may have been hailed as a David Lynch-like fairy tale nightmare; add more violence and it could be a Dario Argento film. But instead we have something by Neil Jordan, who gives this film more wonder and magic (albeit dark) than anyone else could. I think it's a great film. See, it's called In Dreams, not In Logic. Its surreality is its strength, staying visually spectacular at all times and boosted by an absolutely great performance by Annette Bening. I think the plot contrivances are almost subversive; OF COURSE there are moments of coincidence because that's what happens in dreams. Moments of opportunity or clarity (claire-ity?) arrive for our heroine and she takes them in stride. The film's general feel is continuously reinforced by the eerie flooded dream village in the reservoir, and the fairy tale orchard. This is a Grim tale alright, but its beautiful, trippy and saturated in atmosphere. Killer ending too, closing a disturbingly satisfying thriller by a masterful director. Highly recommended for those who like to dream.
Rating:
Summary: A Chilling Psychological Thriller
Review: I'm a die hard Robert Downey, Jr. fan, so I typically rent any movie that he's in. I got "In Dreams" expecting a run of the mill, Scream-esque horror movie. What I got was the best thriller I've seen since Halloween H20. In a movie that brilliantly revolves around a type of Snow White theme involving apples, Annette Bening plays Claire Cooper, a woman haunted by clairvoyant dreams. When a gender shifting killer (Robert Downey, Jr.) invades Claire's dreams, his plans are conveyed to her and wreak havoc on her life and family. Claire slowly goes insane as the killer, Vivian Thompson, feeds her clues to his next killings bit by bit. She slowly uncovers Vivian's terrifying story in a sequence of coincidental events. The most chilling aspects of the movie are the least obvious, such as the haunting peace of the underwater town, the Northfield Reservoir, and the cleverly frightening insertions of the Andrews Sisters' song "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree". Also, Vivian's "nursery rhyme" is one that's been staying with me for a while, proving how good and genuinely scary this movie really is.
Rating:
Summary: Not Such Sweet Dreams
Review: Add Annette Benning to that long list of performances that didn't get nominated for, let alone, win an Oscar. Annette is simply stunning in this Neil Jordan thriller that got lost in 1998 and did not receive the acclaim it should have. "In Dreams," based on the book "Doll's Eyes" by Bari Wood, is a haunting, and sometime disturbing, film. Annette plays a woman who has been haunted by strange dreams all of her life, sharing the life of a serial killer, played quite convincingly by Robert Downey, Jr. Aidan Quinn plays her husband, and in a delightful but short role, Pamela Payton-Wright shines as Benning's sanitorium roommate, Ethel. The film abounds in delicious imagery, focusing on apples and Snow White. The terror mounts subtly, and is quite chilling. When Annette learns the fate of her daughter, Rebecca, she gives one of the most effective expressions of grief captured on film. Later, when she is being questioned by psychiatrist Stephen Rea, she blows you away with her attempt to be in control, when she obviously is not. A totally stunning tour de force for Annette. Her performance alone makes this a five-star movie, although I would have appreciated a more detailed explanation for why her character shares this psychic link with Downey. Also, her relationship with her husband is not totally fleshed out. And how did Downey's character survive living in an abandoned orchard? Those questions' resolutions would have made this an absolutely perfect five stars. But, nonetheless, "In Dreams" is the kind of thriller that stays with you even after the credits have finished. Also, kudos to Jordan for his use of songs in the movie. "If," "Ebb Tide," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," and Roy Orbison's title theme, are haunting and sure beats the rock crap we have to put up with most of today's movies. Watch this and enjoy a really different thriller!
Rating:
Summary: True Horror
Review: "In Dreams" is the most terrifying movie i have ever seen, peroid. Everything in the movie has this stange reluctant quality, showing just enough for the viewer to crave more, yet at the same time producing an eerie fear for what is ahead. The story, thought a bit convoluted, takes the viewer hostage from the very beginning when the curiousity builds as the depths of an underwater town is being explored. Till the credits roll, and you are release, yet yearning to become the victim once again, just for a little longer. The acting is terrific especially from Benning who portaits the other side of sanity so convincingly, it gave me chills. She a character of need, and us, the mute witness, want to give her the assurance she so desperately longs for. Downey is great in his brief roll. He will scare you on a much more primative level, he almost seems too comfortable in this role. The imagery is great, the fixation with apples and nursery rhymes add to the atmosphere, feeding the unbridal terror that continues to build throughout the movie. Watching it is like walking through a peaceful meadow, feet gently dancing across the soft grass, slowly becoming trapped in a small room feet cold against the harsh floor. "In Dreams" gets to you on every level, this movie is not for everyone, but if you want to see a movie that will disturb, intrigue and terrify you, "In Dreams" is the movie for you.
Rating:
Summary: Within the Mind's Eye
Review: The fabrics from which dreams are woven can be horrendous, and more catastrophic still when the visions return to the fertile grounds of your mind night after chaotic night. This point is made even more pronouncedly when the dreams happen to be about things that are occurring or are going to happen, especially when they teeter on the edge of insanity, or, as is the case with Claire, on areas that hit close to home. For several nights now she has been seeing visions of an apple orchard and a figure leading a little girl through it, leading her to believe that the child in her mind might well be a little girl that has gone missing. So, with an outstretched mentality, her mind goes searching, looking for something which she can clamp onto. Unfortunately for her, the mirror sometimes has a darker side, one that can peer into the mind that dreams visions, and that hands that can effectively whittle away many of the pieces that lead a person toward happiness, security, and the warmth that we like to call home. In dreams had some beautiful depictions within it, capturing the aura of a town floating beneath waters unleashed by river diversion, showing a person in the first few minutes that it had a surreal feeling to it and that there was the ability to seem frightfully eerie running laps through its veins. This was further accented by the visions that were seen throughout the film, those of children and a past foretold in the shadows of a nursery rhyme wearing a shroud of insane speech and garble imagery, keeping its viewer enmeshed in the tale that was being portrayed upon the screen. It also seemed to have a storyline going for it that was interesting until the final chase that is inevitable begins to ensue, dragging on for a time before leading toward a vindictive ending that leaves everyone shattered as sprawling in the dust and that makes up for the duration of the run. This was an interesting ride, too, because getting a handle on what exactly is going to happen is a bit hard until alter in the movie, and then its all apples from there. Combine this with the acting, which was done beautifully, the fact that the movie was something containing portions that entranced me within their bleakness, and the madness in the eyes of a Downey seems somewhat believable int he role, and you have something that is worth watching and that does the book its based on, Doll Eyes, a fair amount of justice. It'll make you question all the delightful dreams that manifest within your mind!
Rating:
Summary: amazing Annette in a disturbing role
Review: Annette Bening is great as an ordinary woman who starts having dreams of kidnappings and murders before they happen. Her family and police won't listen to her until it's too late. She discovers that the dreams are actually the communications of a disturbed man (Robert Downey Jr.) who endured horrifying abuse as a child, and for some reason he has chosen her to receive messages of his criminal doings. This is a terrifying psychological thriller, replete with imagery that will stay with you for a long time. The details of the abuse are not for the weak ---- I am still disturbed, years after watching this, by the treament of the child who later becomes a criminal.
Rating: 
Summary: Great cast, not so great script
Review: What is so surprising about In Dreams is that so many talented people got lured into it. This has to be another case where a lot went wrong between a promising script and the finished product. The renowned producer Robert Evans once remarked that the biggest problem with movies today is that too many are made by a committee, rather than by individuals. Perhaps that is the problem here. Annette Bening plays Claire Cooper, who lives in an ordinary town, but who has an extraordinary gift. She is psychic. This is not something she wants in her life, but she is unable to escape it. She has recurrent nightmares about a young boy who, tied to his bed, tries frantically to escape when water begins to fill his room. At the same time, a series of murders begins to occur in the town. She knows her dream is somehow related to them. There are the usual elements of such fare. No one believes her. Her husband is convinced that it's really mental illness. The audience is given enough clues to know that she isn't a fake. There are scenes that make us jump. At times the tension builds, especially in the eerie underwater sequences. Several great movies, such as Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, have been made from premises as absurd as this. After all, the best pictures cause us to get so caught up in them that we temporarily lay aside reason and logic. In Dreams tries hard, but it's rarely able to do that. I think the main problem is that, unlike the movies I mentioned, there is not a whole lot to make us care that much about Claire. It isn't the acting. Bening is professional and convincing, as is Robert Downey, Jr. as the strange Vivian Thompson. Scenes which would bond us to her emotionally are absent. It is always convenient to blame the director. Respected director Neil Jordon certainly hit a career low point here. In this case, I think he didn't have enough to work with. Like a chef, a director can't whip up something delectable if he hasn't the right ingredients. In Dreams makes a decent "popcorn" movie. It is simply not up to the standards of the people who worked on it. All of them will recover and go on to bigger things. If the production was run by a committee, I'm sure it's disbanded.
Rating:
Summary: a lost story
Review: The first part of story seems to have some suspension and frightening plot, but the story got lost on 2nd part. It is not any actor's fault perhaps, but director's or screen play writer's. As the story reached the end, I don't even feel I care anymore, even though it would shock you at the last scene. Once again I like Rober Downey Jr.'s protrait of Vivian, a dark, weired, routhless but still charming killer, who only appeared actually on the 2nd part of the film. But it didn't save anything from the lost story, which wasn't that good really. Maybe the only thing the film has achieved is its visual effects, beautiful, haunting and chilling.
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