Killing Dreams

In the mid nineties, lots of those movies where made. They usually run direct-to-video with some contemporary stars. Mix in a cop-scenario, interesting "girls", some action plus a small spoon of mystery/esoteric dust - and voilà you have a flick good enough for the video stores shelf for a rainy Saturday night.

I loved to see Patsy Kensit, and especially Denise Crosby. They tried best to be into the characters. Unfortunately, later you can see "trough" the plot somehow by the way the characters try to overact some of the less "believable" plot twists. That's more the problem of the script, which lefts lots questions open at the end.

The director seemed not to know which way to spin the story, so it wiggles drunken between psychology, cop-story and a little x-files. I also think there is too much repetition of the always the same (light) nudity scenes to fill the movie length up. I was saddened by the way they handled the showdown - there was MUCH more into this.

As a fan of movies in that time period, I can still give em a 5/10 on it, because they tried. But times have changed. I would only watch it on free TV if you are an fan of Patsy or Denise.

Kris Anderson (Patsy Kensit) is a cop who is psychic, an "ability" that began as a nightmare after her parents were killed in an automobile accident. Kris' premonitions are useful in crime scenes. For instance, they help her in locating hidden objects. Sometimes, though, they get her into trouble when she overlooks police procedures. Kris' police partner is Tom Cavanaugh (Bruce Greenwood), her ex-lover.

The movie's initial thrust is a crime that involved the murder of a 45 year-old woman (Janice Reynolds) who was married to an unsuccessful 29 year-old artist, David Mander (Andrew McCarthy). Reynolds had an estate worth $40 million. By terms of marital agreement, Mander gets to live in the house with an annual pension of $75,000. Earlier, at an art show, Kris had already made the acquaintance of Mander. Of course the police are suspicious of him, but Kris notices Mander's compassion when he has to tell the dead woman's little girl Sarah (from her first marriage) about her mother's death. Also, her visions do not implicate Mander.

Reynold's sister is later found dead; her $20 million trust is split between young Sarah and David Mander. DA Van Horn (Armin Shimerman) orders Mander picked up and apprehended. After a court hearing Mander is released on $750,000 bail through his lawyer, Wingate (L. Harvey Gold). Right after DNA evidence seems to implicate sex offender Robert Reynolds (Cameron Bancroft), brother of the deceased women. The focus then changes. A cop, who was guarding Sarah at her ballet class, is murdered by Reynolds. Is young Sarah's life in danger? There will be more dead bodies. Near the end there is a twist when it is revealed that there is more than one bad guy, but no spoilers will be given here. You can do worse than watch this thriller.