In 1984, a Forgotten Sci-Fi Thriller Beat Inception to the Dreamy Punch

The Matrix, Dante’s Inferno, and the labyrinthian short stories of Jorge Luis Borges were all cited by Christopher Nolan as inspirations for his 2010 mind-bender Inception. But could the Brit have also borrowed from a lesser celebrated blurring of fantasy and reality that’s drifted out of the nation’s consciousness since its 1984 release?

As fellow director John Landis pointed out, the star-studded Oscar winner certainly shares a few similarities with Dreamscape. They both star national treasures as mentor-like figures. They both have key scenes soundtracked by French music. And most importantly, they’re both sci-fi thrillers in which a dream-infiltration program is exploited for nefarious purposes.

Loosely based on Roger Zelazny’s 1966 novel The Dream Hunter, Dreamscape stars Dennis Quaid as Alex Gardner, a wise-cracking psychic only interested in using his powers to win women and money. However, after being accosted by two academics, he’s convinced to join a new initiative — supervised by father figure Dr. Paul Novotny (Max von Sydow) — meant to treat sleep disorders by linking subconscious minds. Unfortunately, in the one thing they didn’t want to happen, the program is intercepted by the president’s dastardly right-hand man.

CIA head Bob Blair (a menacing Christopher Plummer) is more interested in putting the President (Eddie Albert) to sleep permanently, with the upcoming signing of an anti-nuclear treaty he deems an affront to American security the motive. “We live in a dangerous, hostile world,” he barks. “I will do whatever I have to to keep this country safe.” Can Alex discover his murderous intentions, and prevent his psychopathic stooge Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly) from carrying out the world’s trippiest assassination before it’s too late?

It’s an intriguing spin on the political conspiracy that perfectly aligns with the fears of the Ronald Reagan era. No doubt many contemporary cinemagoers could relate to its opening scene, a nightmarish vision of a terrified woman fleeing a post-apocalyptic backdrop that breaks the president out in a cold sweat. It’s fair to say Dreamscape didn’t exactly ease viewers in.

While screenwriter and director Joseph Ruben was forced to contend with a less starry cast and a much lower budget than Nolan, he still managed to evoke the surreal nature of dreams far more effectively. While Inception’s subconscious projections are rooted in the mundane — a hotel lobby, a Parisian cafe — and rarely venture into the impossible, Dreamscape’s take place amid deeply unnerving environments where physics and logic don’t apply.

See the dream-infiltrating training where Alex tries to help out a wheelchair-bound boy terrified of snakes, only to encounter a terrifying half-reptilian, half-man figure who chases the pair down an ever-winding staircase. In another exercise, Alex enters the dreams of a married man concerned his wife is cheating, where the farcical invasion of an orgy involving his brother and a priest perfectly embodies the inherent weirdness of erotic dreams.

Then there are the horrifying mutant figures occupying the nuclear wasteland that dominate the president’s every unwaking thought. Although Dreamscape isn’t classed as a horror (in fact, released just a week after Red Dawn, it was only the second film to be certified PG-13), there are several moments when it gives Nightmare on Elm Street a run for its money.

That said, at least Inception managed to avoid blurring the boundaries of consent. In a highly problematic scene that wouldn’t wash today, Alex gatecrashes research assistant Jane’s (Kate Capshaw) dream to have his wicked way, an abuse of the program treated as a boys-will-be-boys prank. Even though Jane admonishes Alex, the pair still end the film in bed for real.

The cheap special effects — particularly noticeable when Alex experiences the common dream of falling from a great height — haven’t aged particularly well, either. Still, the obvious studio trickery only adds to the wooziness of such sequences, with the finale serving up a hallucinogenic blend of rabid wolves, bludgeoned train conductors, and, in a rather novel distraction technique, Alex morphing into Tommy’s murdered father. The president, who gets to play the gung-ho hero by spearing his assassin in the chest, must have consumed an entire charcuterie board before hitting the sack.

Viewers may feel they’ve done the same by the time the film dispatches its chief evildoer, not only because of the freaky dream scenarios but for how often it constantly flits between science fiction, espionage thriller, romantic drama, and half-baked comedy. Nevertheless, Dreamscape’s madness remains just as entertaining as Inception’s method.