"Bad Dreams" has Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin) awaking from a thirteen year-long coma that she was put into when the leader of a cult which her mother was a part of led a mass suicide by fire in a remote farmhouse. As Cynthia tries to assimilate into life again, those around her in the hospital begin dying in mysterious suicides— and the fact that Cynthia is beginning to see the ghost of the cult leader lurking around doesn't make things look all that great.This was one film that has been on my "to watch" list for a long time, but I have to say it was a pleasant surprise and far exceeded my expectations. Surprisingly high-gloss, the film, directed by Andrew Fleming (who later found success as a mainstream Hollywood director) was released in 1988 by 20th Century Fox with the expectation that it would become a blockbuster and ignite a franchise of sorts— neither of these things happened, and for understandable reasons, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a really well-made horror film, especially by '80s standards.The comparisons to "A Nightmare on Elm Street" are fair enough, although the truth is that this film really doesn't have all that much to do with dreams at all— it's really about the traumatic effects dealt onto a young woman who spent her childhood in a sinister cult, which makes for grim subject matter as is. It is a slasher film in an unconventional sense— that being that the deaths are suicides— but the setups for each of them are based on the maneuvering hand of Harris, the malevolent cult leader's ghost. Lots of great special effects here that should be taken note of, and really nice photography. The film has a polished studio look that isn't particularly common for slasher films of this era. Jennifer Rubin plays the doe- eyed, flighty Cynthia convincingly, and "Re-Animantor's" Bruce Abbott plays her psychiatrist/eventual love interest; Richard Lynch is in stark opposition as the wild-eyed cult leader, who spends half of the film covered in gruesome fourth degree burns.Overall, "Bad Dreams" is an effective thriller and is a surprisingly classy oddball of the late 1980s slasher crop. While the film's victim count feels by-the-numbers, it is still an entertaining watch bolstering some solid performances and a visibly adept craftsmanship behind it. It's no surprise that Fleming found success with his later more mainstream pictures given what he was able to pull off here. Worth some attention from any fans of eighties horror. 7/10.

Bad Dreams is a fun late 80's horror film that feels a lot like The third part of A Nightmare on Elm St. Like that movie, Bad Dreams takes place in a hospital setting. The story goes that a girl named Cynthia was the sole survivor of a mass suicide in a cult community named "Unity Fields". She ends up in a coma for thirteen years, but when she awakes, several of her fellow patients at the psychiatric hospital start dying. It appears like they are committing suicide, but could it be murder? The film is a lot like A Nightmare on Elm St 3, which also stared Jennifer Rubin. There is a burned man seemingly going after the patients, the doctors believe the people are killing themselves are refuse to think otherwise. Although it is similar, Bad Dreams is a decent horror flick with some gruesome moments.The hospital setting in a horror film is always fun to me. You would think it's safe, but it almost never is. The acting is pretty good in this as well. There is also a nice little twist to the story as well. The DVD is hard to find, I own the VHS. So if you come across this, I say buy it.8/10

Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin), the only survivor of a mass suicide by hippie cult Unity Field, wakes from a 13-year coma to find the spirit of cult leader Harris (Richard Lynch) urging her to take her life to so that he can finally deliver the eternal bliss he promised to his followers. When she refuses, he starts to attack those around her.If you've seen A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, then you're going to get a strong sense of deja-vu watching Bad Dreams: with a horribly disfigured bogeyman who kills from beyond the grave, a group of mentally unstable people in an institution suffering inexplicably nasty fates, and Elm Street 3 actress Jennifer Rubin in the lead, the similarities are too obvious to ignore.After plenty of unexceptional Elm-street style death scenes, the film eventually attempts to distance itself from Wes Craven's iconic series by revealing its seemingly supernatural occurrences to be the result of mind-altering drugs dished out by an evil doctor; it's an ending that makes very little sense (precisely what the doctor is trying to achieve is unclear) and one which does nothing to alter the fact that this is a derivative horror at its most mediocre.4.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 5 for the spectacular fire scene at the beginning, which features some cool special effects and a few impressive burn stunts.

Bad Dreams (1988) Directed by: Andrew Fleming Story by: Andrew Fleming & Michael Dick & P.J Pettiete & Yuri Zeltster Screenplay by: Andrew Fleming and Steven E De Souza Review: Bad Dreams is a late 80's horror movie that's often overlooked, it's got some good performances from Bruce Abbot, Jennifer Rubin and Richard Lynch. The rest of the cast do a pretty good job too.The movie does have a few similarities to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors such has the burnt villain, the mental hospital and patients. The film has some pretty good FX such has the burnt body of Harris (Richard Lynch) and the gore effects. The Plot:A young girl named Cyinthia (Jennifer Rubin) is a part of a love cult called Unity Fields who one day commit mass suicide by setting themselves on fire. Cyinthia is the only survivor and after 13 years she comes out of a coma and finds herself in a mental hospital. Her memories of what happened are suppressed but with the help of Dr. Alex Karmen (Bruce Abbot) she slowly begins to remember. Soon she begins to see Harris who tells her to join them otherwise someone else will take her place until she accepts. Has her fellow patients in the group begin to commit there own suicides it's only a matter of time before Harris will come to claim her soul, could Harris be back from the dead or could there be another explanation to Cyinthina's Bad Dreams.Overall:Bad Dreams is a underrated horror movie that should be seen. It's got an interesting plot, good gore and make up effects, good performances and a great twist at the end. Check this film out.