Plot

Based on the novel by Stephen King, Lawrence Kasdan's DREAMCATCHER follows four friends who receive psychic powers as children when they aid and befriend a mentally retarded boy named Duddits. As adults, Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Henry (Thomas Jane), Beaver (Jason Lee), and Pete (Timothy Olyphant), reunite every winter at a cabin deep in the Maine woods to hunt, drink, and celebrate the bond they share with Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg) and each other. However, this year their wilderness reunion is marred by disturbing incidents which begin with the discovery of a lost, sick hunter and a frozen figure in the middle of a remote road. As events escalate and horrific creatures emerge from unsightly spaces, heavily armed government operatives, led by the imposing Colonel Curtis (Morgan Freeman), arrive in the area, and soon the situation becomes an all-out battle for the fate of humanity.

A crazy-quilt combination of horror, thriller, sci-fi, drama, and action genres, DREAMCATCHER features aspects of other King screen adaptations such as STAND BY ME, IT, and THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, along with films such as THE THING and SIGNS. Seemingly disparate elements that filter into this giddily strange story include creeping red mold, fatal bowel movements, deadly worms with needlelike teeth, an imaginary space called the "memory warehouse," a deranged military officer, and an ailing man obsessed with Scooby-Doo. Director/screenwriter Kasdan, along with veteran screenwriter William Goldman, revel in the absurdity of the tale, crafting an often chilling and sometimes funny film that delights in its own thoroughly entertaining outrageousness.