Dreamcatcher (2003)

DREAMCATCHER (2003) 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Ted Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael O'Neill and Rosemary Dunsmore. Screenplay by William Goldman and Lawrence Kasdan. Based on the book by Stephen King. Music by John Newton Howard. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Rated R. Running time: 136 mins.

Getting right to the crux of the matter: You can't keep a straight face and be frightened by an alien that crawls out of a human being's anus.

Sorry, but it lacks the emotional or traumatic impact of a Psycho shower scene or a creature ripping through a stomach a la Alien.

The human tush is usually the butt of jokes -- no pun intended. A kick in the pants, a slip on a banana peel. A thing from outer space exiting from the human posterior is gross, not scary.

And that is the main drawback of Dreamcatcher.

Based on a Stephen King novel, Dreamcatcher is the story of four lifelong friends who, through the intervention of a fifth friend, have their own private psychic network. They cling to each other because their mental acumen sets them apart from the mainstream populace.

The friends get together at a cabin they use as a hideaway in, where else, but Maine -- after all, this is a King work -- during a cold, wintery weekend.

Without getting into specifics, the story tries to mesh a malevolent alien, a crazed U.S. military officer who battles E.T.s and the four pals mental links, which come and go at the whim of the plot.

Perhaps my expectations were too high. After all, one of the script's writers is the legendary William Goldman, who also adapted the King novels Hearts in Atlantis and Misery, as well as a few trifles with such titles as All the President's Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, Marathon Man, Heat and The Hot Rock.

The co-author is director Lawrence Kasdan, whose credits as a writer include The Big Chill, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The Dreamcatcher script seems unfocused, as if the two never discussed what they were writing. At times, it plays tongue-in-cheek; at other moments it's deadly serious and horrific. It fails to come together.

As Jonesy, Henry, Pete and Beaver, the four friends who years earlier saved a strange boy named Duddits, Damian Lewis, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant and Jason Lee bring an everyman touch to their roles.

Morgan Freeman goes a bit over the top as Col. Curtis, the Gen. Jack D. Ripper-like military man obsessed with hunting down and exterminating visitors from the stars.

Dreamcatcher offers exquisite scenery, a few chills and spine-tingling moments, but overall it leaves you hungry for more.

A good reason to catch the film though, is the added bonus of seeing The Animatrix short, "The Final Flight of the Osiris," which will whet your appetite for the May 15 release of The Matrix Reloaded.

This animated advertisement for the movie is nonstop action and effects.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom

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X-RT-RatingText: 1.5/4