I wasn't aware of this film's existence until I picked up the region 4 DVD recently on the cheap from a video store sale. The movie deals with most of the same dream related themes and jargon as for Nightmare on Elm Street. All this stuff seems like a bit of a buzz in 84'. Both film were probably in production at the same time, but some of the scenes are strikingly similar. I won't go into detail though. Quaid gives a likable performance as always, and has a reasonably decent foe in David Patrick Kelley, giving his usual smarmy mean guy performance. George Wendt is in the cast here as a novelist, and later plays a neighbour to a novelist in the 86' horror movie House. The special effects are competent, with a lot of blue-screen stuff that strangely sports old film artifacts, but it doesn't look like old file-footage. It mixes a lot of surreal backdrops with on location live-action stuff during dream sequences that doesn't always blend together well. There is some decent stop-motion animation with snake creatures, sort of like the old Ray Harryhausen outings, Jason and the Argonauts etc. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of variety, as it seems the film maker's have a bit of a pre-occupation with snakes, that's the only sort of creature you get through the whole movie. The makeup here is sort of similar to in the 80's TV series V. It's not a bad movie, but it's a bit murky, with a bit to much mean spirited stuff. Worth a watch if your interested. Average.