Nightmare Lover

It's too bad that bigger budget Hollywood fare often obscures movies that are far better such as this. I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film as I'd not heard much about it, but was totally captivated by it.

The performances from James Spader and the achingly beautiful Mädchen Amick are first rate, and the script is flawless. A lot of the plot feels like a rehash of Hitchcock, but it's done incredibly well, and hey, if you're going to steal from someone, might as well steal from the best.

The twists and turns really work, and take the viewer along for the ride as well. You'll find your own mind working along with the script, trying to unravel the mystery.

It's a shame this film didn't receive more publicity, as all the elements are there for this to have been a real hit. Instead, it remains one of my favorite little gems of a film... one of those that few people know about, but when they see it they think it's a great film as well.

An added bonus is that the home video version contains a few minutes of extra "steamy" scenes that were cut from theaters.

I think this film is an underappreciated modern-day classic, and I urge everyone to check it out.

DREAM LOVER is a nicely made, well-acted little film about a man who meets and marries the girl of his dreams but begins to wonder who she really is. This film marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, the son of Elia Kazan. He did a very impressive job. The cleverest touch is having a framing device which has a crazed clown at a carnival who explains the major plot developments to James Spader's character and to us as well. Spader plays a very successful businessman who just got a divorce and is very lonely. But a chance encounter with a beautiful young woman named Lena (Madchen Amick in a very incisive performance) changes that. She is perfect in every way. I can't reveal much more story than that. The plot twists and turns like a pretzel. It's not always plausible, especially the ending, but it is entertaining all the same.

Nice thriller with a decent amount of mystery let down by a rather abrupt ending. It's a shame because the film moves along nicely and is well executed for the first hour and slowly loses It's way. James Spader is good in the lead role & Madchen Amick is brilliant in her best role to date. Amick is never better than here as we learn more and more about her character and what's true and false. Just a shame about that ending though.

Perhaps the allusions to Hitchcock are not warranted, but the first time I saw this I was knocked out. DREAM LOVER has a tightly wound plot and fine performances by the entire cast. Nick Kazan has some great dialogue in here like "What you think is paranoia is heightened awareness." Some folks might fault Spader's character as very stupid (really, you should find out as much as you can about a potential mate before marrying them!) Still, this a great neo noir thriller that really goes to show that beauty is often skin deep. Definitely worth a rent.

A late night boredom trip became quite a spectacle. Not only did the performances from Madchen Amick and James Spader feel realistic and genuine, the actions of the two seemed based more in reality as opposed to the Hollywoodized version of revenge and anger. While some might call this senseless trash, I call this a spectacle of the human condition, one that portrays the hidden evils within every person. With a solid B-cast, this film was certainly worth the time and money put into it. Also, the ending proved to be one of the best `revenge of the cuckold scenes ever.'