Director – Johnny Dickie (Slaughter Tales)
Starring – Johnny Dickie, Joey Davalos (Slaughter Tales), and Jack Mulvanerty (Creeps: A Tale of Murder and Mayhem)
Release Date – 2014
Rating – 3.5/5
For some directors it takes a lot of hard work and determination to turn film making into a career while others just fall into by complete accident. That brings me to teenage director Johnny Dickie. Dickie is an aspiring director that is super obsessed with the S.O.V. era of horror and that is visible in his films. Dickie started his film career in 2012 with the S.O.V. inspired horror anthology Slaughter Tales that showed a lot of heart but zero experience. He followed that one up with The Severed Arm Re-Amputated and Clampires and Other Sterotapes (both of which I have never seen).
Though I was not a fan of Slaughter Tales I was still really impressed by the ambition this young man had for film and horror. That desire will some day take him to the top of indie horror scene. After I watched Slaughter Tales I learned Dickie was at it again with a new film titled City of the Dream Demons. With a title like that I had to see it and Dickie was nice enough to hook me up with an online screener when it was finished. Thank you Johnny for that.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows the teenage Tommy (Dickie). Tommy has a hard time sleeping and when he does he has horrible nightmares that force him awake. However, he has an amazing night’s sleep the night of his 16th birthday and this surprises his mother very much. He thinks nothing of it and heads out to the streets of Philadelphia to get a party together but a menacing force is going behind him killing everyone he comes in contact with.
It isn’t until he is able to capture one of the beings that is killing his friends he realizes that the demon’s from his nightmares are now out and it is all because he slept too long. It is now up to Tommy and his friends to fight back against the dream demons and their leader that is holding a grudge.**Spoiler Alert**
Over the last 15 years I have seen so many filmmakers grow with each passing film. Some grow for the better while others take on a completely different style altogether ignoring the cries of their fans. However, that is not Dickie at all. Dickie grew tremendously from his first film, Slaughter Tales, to this one while keeping his style the same. Honestly, this S.O.V. look he gives his films is actually a breathe of fresh air when it comes to indie horror in general.
The acting in this one is what you would expect when you think about a film starring teenagers with no real acting experiences other than acting in their own film. Most of the scenes consist of awkward dialogue and forced acting. Though the cast does show a lot of inexperience they still have heart and drive. With more experience the entire cast would be a force to reckon with.
The story for this one is fun and told beautifully. The film felt like a comedic adaptation of the 1988 film Slime City. Dickie has a knack for writing strange stories and that is another reason I think he will leave an everlasting scar on the horror scene.
Finally, the film has a slew of on screen kills and special effects. The kills are gruesome but the special effects are very poor and the camera work is a little off ruining the gag. Overall, City of the Dream Demons is a great S.O.V. inspired bloodbath that lays the way for the future of indie horror. Better get used to seeing the name Johnny Dickie because he is not going away anytime soon. At least, I hope not!
