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Deathdream
Directed by	Bob Clark
Produced by	Bob Clark
Written by	Alan Ormsby
Starring	Richard Backus John Marley Lynn Carlin
Music by	Carl Zittrer
Cinematography	Jack McGowan
Editing by	Ronald Sinclair
Distributed by	Quadrant Films Blue Underground (DVD)
Release date(s)	August 30, 1974
Running time	88 min.
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$235,000 est.

Deathdream is a 1974 Canadian horror film, directed by Bob Clark and written by Alan Ormsby. It was inspired by the W.W. Jacobs short story The Monkey's Paw.

Plot summary

Two U.S. soldiers move stealthily through the trees. A loud shot rings out and one of them goes down, seriously wounded. The unhurt soldier calls out his comrade's name and realizes, in a moment of perfect clarity, that he himself has been targeted by the sniper. As a bullet impacts his chest, the soldier hears a ghostly echo of his mother's voice calling "Andy, you'll come back, you've got to, you promised". As the darkness comes, the motherly echo devolves into a sinister drone. Told by the U.S. Army that Andy is dead, father Charles and sister Cathy begin to grieve, but mother Christine becomes irate, insisting that a mistake has been made and Andy is alive. When Andy shows up at the front door hours later in the middle of the night there is shock, then joy. But Andy seems very different. Over the next few days, he spends most of his time sitting quietly on a rocking chair in a darkened room. He dresses to conceal his body with turtlenecks and gloves and his eyes with dark glasses. Only at night does he become animated, going out on the town to find victims, using a syringe type instrument to drain their blood, then transfusing it into himself. Charles grows increasingly suspicious of his son's behavior, but Christine can see her Andy do no wrong. On Saturday night, Andy and his high school sweetheart Joanne double date at the drive in movie with Cathy and her boyfriend, who was Andy's best friend before the war. Andy starts to hemorrhage before the feature even starts and launches a violent homicidal attack. As his friend dies defending the girls, their screams cause a general panic and a police chase ensues, Andy barrelling his car through the streets as patrol cars pursue. At home, Charles has taken his own life in despair. Christine leaves the house to follow the sirens. The chase ends at the cemetery, where the police find Andy's decayed, skeletonized remains lying in a shallow grave he has scraped out for himself, under a tombstone where he's scratched the epitaph : ANDY BROOKS 1951-1971. Christine walks up to the scene and says serenely to the policemen: "Andy's home... some boys never come home." Night has fallen, and up on the road, a car wrecked in the chase explodes, the fire illuminating the cemetery.

Cast

• Richard Backus as Andy Brooks
• John Marley as Charles Brooks
• Lynn Carlin as Christine Brooks
• Anya Ormsby as Cathy Brooks
• Jane Daly as Joanne
• Mal Jones as Sheriff
• Henderson Forsythe as Dr. Philip Allman

DVD release

Blue Underground DVD released a special edition of Deathdream in 2004. Special features include and audio commentary by Bob Clark, an audio commentary by Alan Ormsby, the featurette Tom Savini: The Early Years, the featurette Deathdreaming: Interview with star Richard Backus, alternate opening titles, extended ending sequence, trailers, and a poster & still gallery.

Trivia

• Filmed in 1972 but not released until 1974.
• Released with several different titles including Dead of Night, The Night Andy Came Home, Night Walk, The Veteran and Whispers.
• Tom Savini's first film as a special effects artist.
• Eli Roth was once attached to do a remake of this film with Iraq replacing Vietnam.
• 93 Canadians are officially listed as KIA in Vietnam, 7 as MIA.

Location

Filmed in Brooksville, Florida.

External links

• Deathdream at the Internet Movie Database
• Deathdream at Allmovie