Dreamland
The look of the thing says horror, while the story is pure sci-fi.Dreamlandplays like a low-budget episode ofThe X-Filessans Mulder and Scully. It starts with a young couple, Megan (Jackie Kreisler) and Dylan (Shane Elliot), driving an old beater from Vegas to Reno to visit her parents. Along the way, they drop by a kitschy diner for a bite to eat. Decorated with all manner of alien paraphernalia, the shack is situated near Area 51. While there, the tobacco-chewing clerk (Jonathan Breck,Jeepers Creepers) tells the duo a fantastic tale about locals who travel through time. They write him off as a kook and continue on their way. When their car breaks down in the middle of the desert, the two get separated, and Megan encounters one strange thing after another: a spooky little girl, a dying soldier, and Adolph Hitler (a development far more ridiculous than scary). Eventually, they're reunited. Dylan claims he's fixed the car, so they return to the road, but something about him has changed. From that point onwards, the trip grows more bizarre until all the mysteries are resolved by montage. That seems to be the intention, at any rate. Written and directed by veteran soundman James Lay (House of 1000 Corpses),Dreamlandoffers an intriguing premise and a few minor frights, but the end result feels more like a rough draft than a finished film.--Kathleen C. Fennessy