After working as a production assistant for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, a young David DeCoteau started making adult films. Under the pseudonym “David McCabe,” he directed several gay adult films, saving up for his first mainstream movie. DeCoteau raised $30K, which was enough for a 10-day shoot on 16mm film, so he developed a treatment called Succubus. Through a mutual friend, DeCoteau contacted Debra Dion, the development head at Empire Pictures and Charles Band’s then-wife. Since David already had filming locked down, Band was more than eager to join in, offering to reimburse DeCoteau’s $30K. At the time, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street was hugely successful, and Band wanted to capitalize on it. So, he asked David to change the title and create a new marketing campaign for this yet-to-be-made film. Under Band’s Wizard Video label, DeCoteau’s Dreamaniac hit store shelves in late 1986.
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Rating
Synopsis
Heavy metal artist Adam (Thomas Bern) agrees to loan his house to his girlfriend Pat (Kim McKamy) for a party. Her sister Jodi (Lauren Peterson) wants to get into a local sorority, offering to pay Adam to use the house. Soon enough, the other guests arrive, including sorority sisters Francis (Cynthia Crass), Jan (Linda Watts), and Rosie (Lisa Emery). Meanwhile, Adam performs a ritual to summon the succubus Lily (Sylvia Summers) to help him become a rock star. Unfortunately, Adam’s plan backfires as Lily kills the partygoers one by one to appease her need for a sacrifice. Eventually, Adam falls under Lily’s spell and joins her in attacking the party guests, even going after Pat. With help from local nerd Jamie (Bob Pelham), Pat learns what Lily is and must try to stop her. But will she overpower this succubus or fall victim to the dreamaniac?
Review
Despite this film’s quality, David DeCoteau has made some enjoyable B-movies, like Creepozoids and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. Sadly, Dreamaniac is not one of those enjoyable B-movies but rather an 82-minute endurance test. But before going into the negatives, I want to spotlight a few decent aspects of this movie. For starters, Kim McKamy, aka Ashlyn Gere, is pretty likable and easy to root for as the leading lady. Also, this movie has a delightfully cheesy synth score that could only have come from the 1980s. Plus, there are gruesome gore effects, such as a decapitation by a power drill and a scene of genital mutilation. These effects are the work of Tom Schwartz, whose credits include Scanners, Galaxy of Terror, and Hell Night. Sadly, these positive qualities can’t compensate for how dull and monotonous this movie is.
The movie’s biggest problem is that it’s boring, which is the worst thing a movie can be. Until the killings start, there is so much filler and padding that you’ll be checking your watch half the time. It doesn’t help that the cast, aside from McKamy, is either unlikable, uninteresting, or both. To her credit, Sylvia Summers is trying to be an over-the-top horror villain, but it doesn’t work. There are a few chuckle-worthy lines here and there, but most of the dialogue is utter garbage. While there are some gory moments, most of the kill scenes are substandard and lack any creativity. Plus, it has one of those “fake out” endings that will leave you more annoyed about what you just saw. Overall, Dreamaniac might be worth some laughs if you have friends and alcohol, but otherwise, it’s not worth it.
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