Death Dream

Posted by Zac in Entertainment and Pop Culture Movies.

One evening a families dinner is interrupted with news of their son Andy’s death in Vietnam. Andy’s mother refuses to believe it, and sits up that night calling for him to come home. Miraculously he does, but with something far worse than shellshock. Andy truly did die in ‘Nam, and now needs blood to keep his corpse from rotting.

For those of you who are still reading, this film works as both a variation on the classic story The Monkey’s Paw and a commentary on the effects war has on the soldiers who fight and their families at home. John Marley (The Godfather) plays Andy’s father with shades of grey, which I found more realistic than playing him as either all good or all bad. The movie takes it’s time building to a genuinely heartbreaking climax, which is fine with me, but today’s audience may find it boring.

Death Dream was directed by the late Bob Clark (Black Christmas, A Christmas Story) and written by Alan Ormsby. The pair had previously collaborated on Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things and several of the actors from that film pop up here. This was also an early credit for make-up effects artist Tom Savini. If you like this movie, I’d also recommend Joe Dante’s episode of Masters of Horror titled Homecoming.

Entertainment and Pop Culture, Movies |