 dreamscape is a 1984 science fiction horror film directed by joseph ruben and written by david loughery, with chuck russell and ruben co-writing. ==plot== psychic alex gardner (dennis quaid) was the 19-year-old prime subject of a scientific research project documenting his psychic ability, but in the midst of the study he disappeared and has since been using his talents solely for personal gain, which lately consists mainly of gambling and womanizing. after running afoul of a local gangster/extortionist named snead (redmond gleeson), gardner evades two of snead's thugs by allowing himself to be taken by two men, finch (peter jason) and babcock (chris mulkey), who identify themselves as being from an academic institution. at the institution, alex is reunited with his former mentor dr. paul novotny (max von sydow) who is now involved in government-funded psychic research. novotny, aided by fellow scientist jane devries (kate capshaw), has developed a technique that allows psychics to voluntarily link with the minds of others by projecting themselves into the subconscious during rem sleep (i.e., while they are dreaming). novotny equates the original idea for the dreamscape project to the practice of the senoi, who believe the dream world is just as real as reality. alex is blackmailed into joining novotnyâs project that he (novotny) intended to use for a benevolent purpose as a clinic to diagnose and treat sleep disorders, particularly in the form of nightmares, but the project has been hijacked by bob blair (christopher plummer), a powerful government agent with possible cia ties, though it is never clearly revealed in the film. alex eventually discovers that he is actually involved in a u.s. government-funded project to use this dream-linking technique for assassination. before the plot is revealed, al
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