Dreamcatcher

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Dreamcatcher

R

Released Mar 21, 2003

2h 11m

Horror

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

27%

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180 Reviews

36%

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100,000+ Ratings

"Dreamcatcher" tells of four young friends who perform a heroic act -- and are changed forever by the uncanny powers they gain in return. Years later the friends, now men, are on a hunting trip in the Maine woods when they are overtaken by a blizzard in which something much more ominous moves. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante, then overcome a threat to the bond between them.

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Critics Consensus

An incoherent and overly long creature feature.

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Scott Tobias

AV Club

Perhaps due to the talent of everyone involved, Dreamcatcher moves with an oddly exhilarating awfulness that sets it apart from more run-of-the-mill horror films, which lack the imagination and budget to be so thoroughly misconceived.

Dec 10, 2018

Full Review

Christy Lemire

Associated Press

Dreamcatcher is unspeakably bad -- and shockingly so -- considering that it's an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, from the director of The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan) and the writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (William Goldman).

Dec 10, 2018

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Jack Mathews

New York Daily News

Dreamcatcher is pretty much a special-effects movie, with uneven results.

Dec 7, 2018

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Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

If this is what Stephen King movies have disintegrated into, then it's time to pull the plug.

Rated: F

Nov 15, 2019

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Obviously, the hole in Dreamcatcher was a little too small thus allowing a lot of the bad aspects of the film to stick in the web along with the good.

Nov 7, 2019

Full Review

Alberto Abuín

Espinof

Not only the excess of visual effects removes part of the film's quality, but also the plot inconsistencies occur non-stop. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

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Hughe J

Dreamcatcher was released in 2003 and is based on a novel of the same name written by Stephen King. It has a great cast starring Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant. It's a story of friends who while hunting in the woods come across people that are infected by alien parasites. The military arrives to contain the outbreak but an alien called Mr. Gray takes over the mind of one of the party so that he can infect the world's water supply. The group must band together with an old friend from their childhood, whom they share a telepathic link with, to stop the aliens. I read the book before I saw this in the theatre and for the most part it stayed true to the source material but the ending, and the origin of their childhood friend, were changed. The cast is good, the CGI is fine, and the new ending was acceptable. It was a bit gross, and the movie dragged on at times, but overall it wasn't as bad as the reviews claimed. If you like Stephen King then you'll probably like this movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/03/25

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Audience Member

I thought this was a great scifi horror. Solid acting, well-paced storytelling, and CGI that still looks good. I don't understand the hate it gets.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/24/25

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Local G

Its an okay movie. Its a bit too ridiculous at times.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/23/25

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Duke D

It's a decent flick. Everyone needs to calm down a little bit. Jeepers. Don't drink and review!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/05/25

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Bruce M

Terrible adaptation of a terrible Stephen King book. Awful script by William Goldman, awful direction by Lawrence Kasdan (what's with all the transitioning wipes between scenes?), awful performance by Morgan Freeman, who's forced by the script to call everyone "Bucko" or "Laddie." And what's up with his eyebrows? incredibly bad, stupid movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/16/25

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Nick E.

Another failed Stephen King adaptation.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/16/25

Full Review

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Lawrence Kasdan

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Morgan Freeman

Colonel Curtis

Thomas Jane

Dr. Henry Devlin

Jason Lee

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Synopsis

"Dreamcatcher" tells of four young friends who perform a heroic act -- and are changed forever by the uncanny powers they gain in return. Years later the friends, now men, are on a hunting trip in the Maine woods when they are overtaken by a blizzard in which something much more ominous moves. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante, then overcome a threat to the bond between them.

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Producer: Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun, Bruce Berman
Screenwriter: Stephen King, William Goldman, Lawrence Kasdan
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Gore|Violence)
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 30, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $33.7M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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