Summary

Dreamcatcher garnered negative reviews and flopped at the box office despite a stellar cast.
Writing Dreamcatcher got Stephen King through a difficult recovery following a car accident.
New audiences are experiencing Dreamcatcher thanks to its free streaming availability.

A 2003 flop based on a Stephen King novel is getting a second chance thanks to streaming for free. Directed and co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back, and co-written by William Goldman, the man behind Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, and Misery, the sci-fi horror tale Dreamcatcher still failed to captivate audiences.

Dreamcatcher was a critical failure that failed to attract audiences upon its release. However, the unique alien invasion story helped Stephen King through a difficult time, and it has persisted among fans who are often divided on the book's quality. Still, thanks to streaming, Dreamcatcher is finding a new audience.

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By Colin Leggett

Writing Dreamcatcher Got Stephen King Through A Tough Time In His Life

In 1999, Stephen King was struck by a van while out taking a walk. He was severely injured and almost died, with doctors even contemplating amputating the author's leg for a time. However, King recovered over a lengthy and painful period that would see him inspired to write and even purchase the van that hit him to keep opportunists from doing it. He later posed for a picture with the van and had it destroyed in a junkyard.

One of the stories King was inspired to write during his recovery was the 2001 sci-fi horror novel Dreamcatcher. The story follows four friends with psychic abilities who unknowingly find themselves between a military operation and an alien invasion. While venturing into science fiction, it still tackled body horror elements, and King wrote all 620 pages of it longhand. He would later state, "I don't like Dreamcatcher very much," while speaking with Rolling Stone in 2014. Still, the book's complicated origins could prove too close for the author to enjoy it fully.

The Dreamcatcher Movie Adaptation Had All The Ingredients To Be A Hit

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The Dreamcatcher movie adaptation was fast-tracked, as it hit theaters only two years after the novel was released. The movie was also primed for success, with names like Kasdan and Goldman attached, and a studio like Warner Bros. Behind it. Dreamcatcher also featured a stellar cast, including Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Tom Sizemore, and Morgan Freeman in a villain role. However, despite the hype around the movie, it missed with audiences.

General complaints about Dreamcatcher were aimed at its length, coming in at 2 hours and 14 minutes, and an often incoherent narrative that jumped around. Many characters, like Freeman's Col. Curtis, and even the driving force of the plot, don't arrive for some time, making the film feel bloated. Dreamcatcher also leaned into King's often unique way of embracing odd sayings, with Lee's Beaver continuously uttering ridiculous things that feel like known sayings, but aren't.

Critics and audiences weren't kind, with Dreamcatcher holding a low 28% critic rating and a similarly dismal 36% from audiences. The adaptation boasted a $68 million budget, but only grossed $81.2 million worldwide. With marketing costs, it likely didn't recoup its full budget, making Dreamcatcher an unfortunate box office flop. The film's failure also halted Kasdan's active career, which saw him working consistently through the 1980s and 90s, with films like Silverado, The Big Chill, and French Kiss. Following Dreamcatcher, Kasdan wouldn't direct another film for almost a decade.

Dreamcatcher Is Finding A Second Life With Streaming Audiences

According to FlixPatrol, Dreamcatcher has found itself in Tubi's Top 10 over the last week, with viewers picking the King misfire for their nightly entertainment. Tubi is free for users, running ads throughout their films, much like your standard TV network, with genre films often finding their footing with viewers looking for a few thrills. While Dreamcatcher may have underperformed at the box office, the horror and sci-fi elements are luring in new audiences.

When checking how recent reviews measure up on Letterboxd, Dreamcatcher features a mix of low scores and shining 4 and 5-star reviews that praise it. Some of the elements of the movie that were once off-putting, new audiences find bizarrely endearing, showing that the misfire has taken on a bit of a new life. However, Dreamcatcher still only holds a 2.5 out of 5 overall on the site, making it a lower-rated King adaptation.

Certain elements of Dreamcatcher may also not have aged well. The special effects, which were top-notch for the time, suffer in certain respects, and choices, like Freeman's eyebrows, feel distracting at times. Still, the most questionable choice on display remains Donnie Wahlberg's portrayal of Duddits, a person with an intellectual disability that the actor leans into. While Dreamcatcher may make some distinct choices, missing in theaters, it now has new life over 20 years later, thanks to being available for audiences to watch for free.

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