Dream Demon – UK, 1988 – Details of Arrow Video Blu-ray coming in May

Dream Demon will be released by Arrow Video on Blu-ray in Canada, the UK and the USA in May 2020. Hardly seen since its VHS release, the film has been newly-restored from the original camera negative and in a brand new Director’s Cut! Special Edition Contents:

Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by director Harley Cokeliss
Director’s Cut and Original Theatrical Version
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new scene-select audio commentary with director Harley Cokeliss and producer Paul Webster
Newly-filmed interview with director Harley Cokeliss
Newly-filmed interview with producer Paul Webster
Newly-filmed interview with actress Jemma Redgrave
Newly-filmed interview with actor Mark Greenstreet
Newly-filmed interview with actor Nickolas Grace
Newly-filmed interview with actress Annabelle Lanyon
Newly-filmed interview with composer Bill Nelson
Foundations of Nightmare: The Making of Dream Demon – contemporary documentary taking a look behind the scenes of the production of Dream Demon, featuring on-set interviews with director Harley Cokeliss, producer Paul Webster, actors Timothy Spall, Jemma Redgrave, Kathleen Wilhoite, composer Bill Nelson and many more
Image Galleries
Original Theatrical Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Bilson, author of the Dream Demon novelisation, and director Harley Cokeliss
Reversible poster featuring exclusive newly-commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy

Meanwhile, here is our previous coverage of this ’80s rubber-reality pic:

“A terrifying game of hide and seek in the darkest corners of your mind.’

Dream Demon is a 1988 British horror feature film directed by Harley Cokeliss [as Harley Cokliss] (Battletruck) from a screenplay co-written with Christopher Wicking (To the Devil a Daughter; Demons of the Mind; Scream and Scream Again; et al). The movie stars Jemma Redgrave, Kathleen Wilhoite, Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail and Mark Greenstreet.

Plot:

Diana (Jemma Redgrave) is an upper-class young woman with a troubled past, who is on the verge of marrying the caddish Oliver (Mark Greenstreet). Diana begins experiencing terrifying dreams. She sees her past, present and future, while at the same time entering a dark dimension of her own.

One day, Diana is visited by Jenny (Kathleen Wilhoite), an American tourist and also a victim of a turbulent past. Without knowing how or why, Diana suddenly pulls Jenny into her nightmarish world…

Reviews [click links to read more]:

“I loved the idea of the world beyond the mirror, the weird effect as people disappear from real life is nicely done and some of the gore effects are spectacular. It’s just a shame it hasn’t got any real baddies in it. The storyline cries out for a Pinhead or a Freddie Krueger – two wastoids from 80s building site “comedy” Auf Weidersehn, Pet just don’t cut it…” British Horror Films

“The film does get into Freddy Krueger territory once in a while, when Redgrave begs Wilhoite not to let her sleep, and there are too many scenes where you are supposed to believe the subjects are awake, when in fact you know they are dreaming and something bad is about to happen. Redgrave is good, but is outshined by Wilhoite.” Charles Tatum, eFilm Critic

“Dream Demon has some very strong visuals – the first few dreams are considerably well done – and the performances are all believable, but the story is too threadbare. This becomes especially noticeable during the film’s a-bad-thing-happened-in-the-house-and-that-past-trauma-is-responsible-for-the-current-crisis denouement.” It All Happens in the Dark

” …all the murky symbolism about Jemma Redgrave’s marital fears, Kathleen Wilhoite’s forgotten memories about her childhood abuse, mirror-reversed apartments, angels, the two reporters who keep turning up as monsters and a considerable degree of confusion between when it is dream and reality, adds to a puzzling mess.” Richard Scheib. Moria

“Blurring the line between reality and dream, the film keeps the audience off-balance, while the effects are employed sparingly but to good effect. With more time and money, Cokliss might have sorted out the shaky plot and made more of some intriguing ideas. Still, stylish photography, excellent sets, and Bill Nelson’s jagged soundtrack ensure scariness.” Time Out

“Features a variety of nightmarish scenes where people morph into other people, a reporter’s flesh gives way to punches, hellish basements, ghosts, alternate dimensions, mirror worlds, a woman wakes up only to find herself still in a dream, etc. Weak horror but mildly entertaining.” The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre

Choice dialogue:

Minister (Richard Warner): “It’s not everyday that a Falklands hero is married in this little church.”

Peck (Timothy Spall): “Stuck up cow! What’s up her knickers?”

Peck (Timothy Spall): “How about a nice fry up?”

Cast and characters:

Jemma Redgrave … Diana
Kathleen Wilhoite … Jenny Hoffman
Timothy Spall … Peck
Jimmy Nail … Paul
Mark Greenstreet … Oliver
Susan Fleetwood … Deborah
Annabelle Lanyon … Little Jenny
Nickolas Grace … Jenny’s Father
Patrick O’Connell … Detective
Andrew Jones … Designer
Richard Warner … Minister

Filming locations:

53 Eton Avenue, Belsize Park, London, NW3, England
Lee International Studios, Wembley, London, England

Technical details:

86 minutes
Sound: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1

Trivia:

The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror states that the film “was originally written by David Pirie and Richard Rayner for Christopher Petit, this then passed through several talented hands before emerging as an uneasy, compromised, tentative stab at a British A Nightmare on Elm Street (1985) with a few overtones from Hellraiser (1987).”