Dream Deceivers (1992) User Reviews

Shocking on so many levels

[Superunknovvn · 8/10 · 29 October 2006]

I distinctly remember seeing this documentary as a 10 year old in 1993. I recently discovered it on video google and I have to say that this hasn't lost any of its power.

"Dream Deceivers" tells the story of two teenagers who tried to shoot themselves in 1985. One of them died, the other one, James Vance, survived horribly disfigured. In 1990 Judas Priest, one of the kids' favorite bands, were taken to court and accused of putting subliminal messages into their songs (or more specifically into their version of "Better By You, Better Than Me") that would drive their fans to suicide.

This film is short, heavy and in your face, like a brick through the window or a punch in the stomache. It takes less than an hour to reveal the hyprocrisy of the whole trial. Another reviewer has said that David Van Taylor hasn't been objective in his approach, but I disagree. Every party tells the story from their point of view, it's just really clear that the parents are the ones denying their own responsibility, trying to put the blame on anyone but themselves. It's unbelievable that this case ever came to trial in the first place and it's shocking to learn about the troubled childhood of James Vance and his friend. The scariest thing, however, is that we as a race always tend to look for obvious "monsters" to put the blame on. Making bands responsible for misguided kids is comparable to witch-hunts in the middle ages. You could say this is just a portrayal of the American society in the late 80's/early 90's, but I don't think things have changed all that much. These days it's Marilyn Manson or Eminem or anybody who questions the American government in any way. There's always someone to point the finger at. Freedom of speech is still at stake. The situation hasn't gotten better, if anything it's gotten worse.

"Dream Deceivers" still gives me the creeps after all these years, because the main problem prevails: The youth is helplessly lost in modern day society and no one is willing to take responsibility. There's a lesson to be learned here and we better learn it fast.

Thought-provoking and a little insightful look into a controversial trial

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 7/10 · 9 April 2013]

The greatest achievement of this documentary is to offer very few positive lights amidst some outstanding acts of stupidity, and what makes this a good documentary is that it focus on both sides of an issue without the interference of the director. Of course, this was made back in the days where documentaries weren't so much used as deadly instruments of propaganda, or deeply biased or conflicted with ideas favoring one side and being critical with the other. Here we follow an American family who decided to enter a lawsuit against the band Judas Priest for hiding subliminal messages in their music which was responsible for the death of one kid in a suicide pact with another one who survived the suicidal attempt but ended up practically faceless, and we follow the band defending themselves against such ruthless lawsuit and we follow the surviving kid, James Vance, who tells little about the reasons why he would engage in such act.

Like I said, the director isn't an intrusive one, he's just a follower of the events and that's why "Dream Deceivers" is an interesting doc to watch, whether you're fan of the band or not. The scenario in itself is painfully absurd to imagine and to see but it makes you wonder about a lot of to which extent artists should be responsible for their act. Since the "Natural Born Killers" trials weren't filmed - or at least weren't made into a documentary (and which would provoke a far more interesting and dangerous discussion than this trial), with Oliver Stone and Warner Bros. having to defend their movie against John Grisham and other plaintiffs, this movie is the next best thing that brings some thoughtful question in our heads.

It was proved in court that there's no subliminal messages of "Do it!" in the music, and if there was a meaning within the lyrics doesn't have nothing to say about 'go forward and shoot yourself', so all in all, pointless. Even so, that doesn't mean we're seeing Judas Priest look too good in this due to some of members reactions towards crucial moments of testimonies on the stand. It's not their fault, period. What we have to look at is the upbringing of both kids, the root of, if not all, to most of their problems and the way they coped with life, their parents are the ones to blame. Do I need to mention about religion having some part on this? Here's another case of extremists looking for someone or something, in this case the band, to blame. Most viewers will be repulsed by the families and their arguments.

The obstacles in the way of the film comes in presenting some fans giving their thoughts on how they started to listen Priest's music, kids that are used here almost in the same context, behavior and problematic life of the ones from the deadly pact, however, they don't add much to the sides neither much of the band's comments on anything - except when Rob Halford goes to the stand and is required to sing (quite hilarious, actually). The trial is greatly presented just as much of Vance's interviews, not much in what he has to say - although you feel a little sorry for him - but to look at his face and see what he made to his life. What bothers the most is like when he says he didn't want to die but he knew he would shoot himself, something "good" had to happen. He would die three years later due to an overdose brought on by his addiction to painkillers ultimately brought by this incident.

The bottom of line is: with a movie like this I found very difficult to someone claim that musicians, bands, filmmakers, painters, writers or any kind of artists can cause, demand tragedies to happen. At the most, it can be used as some influence to bad actions but that doesn't excuse anyone. Help is out there to be sought if one thinks he might do something wrong. Very good but not much insightful as it could be. 7/10

Doesn't pass the smell test...

[The_Boxing_Cat · 7/10 · 6 December 2018]

It truly is a tragedy that these two young men arrived at such unfortunate circumstances. However, none of it had to do anything with heavy metal music.

It seems to me that the parents were not the Jesus following people they claim to have been. The truth about the two family's checkered past came out in open court. A high price to pay when chasing the all mighty dollar.

A brilliant doc on a tragic and absurd case in which no one comes out looking very good...

[Smith568 · 10/10 · 19 January 1999]

This documentary provides a chilling post mortem on the tragic case of two Reno, Nevada teens who decided to shoot themselves in the head with a shotgun rather than go on living, and the ensuing civil court case staged to place the blame on the heavy metal combo Judas Priest. It is a heartbreaking case, but a fascinating film. It is a great look back at mid-1980's american culture, and should be compared to the fictional "Gummo." The question explored by both the court case and the film is whether or not the boys shot themselves because of the music or because of the heartless, spineless and absolutely mindless "society" they were forced to grow up in. The film includes fantastic interview footage with both the surviving boy, the members of Judas Priest, and assorted family members and other characters who revolve around the case. I got the feeling that the film maker did a great job of trying to be as objective as possible - and no one comes out looking all that good...

Scapegoating a metal band for the misguided suicide pact of 2 delinquents who abused alcohol & drugs

[Wuchakk · 9/10 · 27 October 2019]

"Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest" (1992) is a one hour documentary of the infamous Reno, Nevada, trial that took 5.5 weeks in the middle of summer 1990. Just before Christmas in 1985 two youths in a suburb of Reno shoot themselves under the chin in a curious suicide pact. The 18 year-old dies immediately while the 20 year-old survives, albeit with a horribly disfigured face. Almost five years later the parents take Judas Priest to court, suggesting that the band was responsible for the tragedy due to a subliminal message of "do it" in the song "Better by You, Better than Me," a Spooky Tooth cover from their 1978 album STAINED CLASS.

While that was the specific accusation, the mothers more generally felt that Judas Priest's music negatively influenced their sons and led to their suicide pact, pointing out that they were listening to the band's music while drinking & smoking pot in the hours before the tragedy.

Being a fan of the band and familiar with all of their (currently) 18 albums, I knew this was a crock of sheet from the get-go. While a case could be made for partially blaming the music of certain dark bands for inspiring listeners to commit suicide, like the band Shining, who openly call their style suicide metal, this argument can hardly be made against Judas Priest. They don't have any pro-suicide songs and their lyrical content runs the gamut of moods and experience: They have serious songs, fun songs, energetic songs, sad songs, love songs, fantasy songs, etc. but no pro-suicide songs. The closest you can cite would be "Beyond the Realms of Death" (from the same 1978 album as "Better by You, Better than Me"), but that track is actually about a person who retreats from cold, harsh reality to find sanctuary in his mind and eventually dies; it's not about suicide.

In an interview with singer Rob Halford over 20 years after the trial he said that it haunted him and he thinks about it every day. Everyone in the courtroom was in torture: the band, the families, the friends, the judge, the onlookers and the fans. The band wrote two songs about the torturous experience: "Between the Hammer and the Anvil" (1990) and "Bloodsuckers" (2001).

The documentary isn't just compelling for fans of the band, but for anyone interested in psychology, scapegoating and pivotal court cases. It's honestly objective, showing both sides of the issue, but the weakness of the parents' case is glaring from the start. These two youths were problem children who had a history of family hitches, delinquency and alcohol & drug abuse. So they liked Judas Priest, so what? Millions of others do too, but they don't try to commit suicide. Instead they just enjoy the music and live. The parents desperately needed someone to blame; not to mention make money doing it.

GRADE: A

Great documentary

[chinpeng · 10 November 2004]

Dream Deceivers is only an hour long but it packs a lot into that hour.

The film follows the trial and accounts of events when two troubled teens in Reno decided to commit suicide. One succeeded, the other failed and was horribly disfigured. The family of the disfigured boy decide to sue Judas Priest but their case doesn't hold together. It amazes me that the case even went to trial. A sad story of the breakdown of family life. This film raises many questions about life in the modern age. Every youth interviewed seemed to come from a similar type of family with religious working-class parents who have been through a divorce or two.

Highly recommended.

very well done

[detroit-23588 · 8/10 · 5 October 2015]

This documentary was done very well. It was not one sided in any way. It was nice to see how we actually dressed in the 80's instead of the Hollywood vision of polo shirts and weird hair. I feel for the families, but Judas Priest did not make these kids do what they did. The album this references is called Sad Wings of Destiny. In my opinion one of the best albums ever made, I put it right up there with Dark side of the Moon and And Justice for All, I have literally listened to this album a hundred times and it has never made me want to kill myself. I am also surprised that Tipper Gore and Nancy Reagan were not in it,

Interesting Documentary

[Schneir5-1 · 10/10 · 27 December 2021]

I saw this a few years ago on Bestgore, but I remember that it was a really interesting documentary. It's shocking that James Vance was still alive; he looked like a puppet rather than a person.

How did this somewhat interesting case make it to a courtroom?

[stewartrandellmcguire · 3/10 · 20 April 2009]

This documentary was interesting in a historic context for those of us who were youths and fans of heavy metal during the time in which the story unfolds (mid 1980s). But in retrospect shows a very unsophisticated attempt by the parents and attorneys of the two deeply troubled young men to pin the blame for a botched double suicide solely and squarely on the band Judas Priest in a Reno courtroom circa 1990. (Spoiler?) Instead interviews and court testimonies reveal a startling portrait not of the band, but of the histories of the two young men and their less than ideal family lives. This is the 1980s version of 'Parents blaming popular music for all problems associated with juvenile bad behavior.'

Good

[Droz-4 · 10 October 1999]

I saw this documentary when I was in 10th grade in this class that I had about law and government. I found this documentary very interesting because Judas Priest happens to be my favorite band of all time, and also because of the interviews with the kid who survived and with the band. It is also pretty disturbing because the boy's face was seriously disfigured after the suicide attempt. I do not believe that the band was in any way responsible for the two teens deaths. Although I do listen to my old Priest records when I am depressed, I have never tried to do anything like that. Anyway, I recommend this documentary because it is very interesting and thought provoking

!gniweiv dednemmocer ylhgiH

[take2docs · 8/10 · 4 March 2023]

The 'music' genre categorized Heavy Metal is probably most known for its noise pollution and for its largely mentally/emotionally disturbed fanbase -- namely, the legion of antisocial apologists who look up to their talentless stage idols as if glorified demons.

Indeed, for anyone in need of having their religious faith strengthened, say, as to belief in the biblical God(head), I would offer Heavy Metal as one solid piece of damning evidence within the court of public opinion; an exhibit clearly demonstrating the existence of a supremely dark energy at work in the world, which presents itself as a very real anti-Christ.

Ironically, that spiritual darkness can sometimes indirectly/unintentionally offer proof of its antithesis, if not lead one to belief in God, is perhaps no more evidenced than in the Christophobic content and devilish album covers stereotypical of this trashy 'music' genre.

All this being said, it was not Heavy Metal that was on trial in the early 1990s court case involving the British band, Judas Priest. As the trial judge dutifully noted, said genre is 'constitutionally protected,' however many of us deep down beneath our practicing democratic values may wish that it wasn't. Specifically, the judicial issue regarded whether the band's 'music' contained backward masking and, if so, if this directly led to two male youths wanting to end their lives.

We not only hear from one of the survivors of the suicide pact (a young man whose appearance may have you thinking of the elephantine Joseph Merrick), but from the very lead vocalist of said band, who (supposedly) can't fathom how it is anyone could possibly interpret their 'music' as being pro-drugs and pro-Satan...as well as from Judas Priest fans, who say neither is the band's 'music' pro-suicide. Maybe not but, then again, death-obsessed and notoriously downbeat Heavy Metal is not known for its inspiring pro-life messages and uplifting melodies, now, is it?

In one scene, a Judas Priest enthusiast remarks how he wished he lived in a world without hate. I felt like responding, well, how about not listening to angst-ridden pseudo-music, for starters? Elsewhere, we hear from the frontman of Judas Priest as he ridicules happy, feel-good, love-centric music for it being somehow mawkish and -- if you can believe it -- not 'intellectual,' the way that Heavy Metal is. What a laugh. Spoken just like a spin-doctoring pseud. Yeah, like screaming hate-filled or otherwise angry lyrics into a mic is so highbrow. On the contrary: incorrigibly negative, low-souled, and intellectually immature is what it is. What spiritual losers these Heavy Metal 'musicians' are.

Surprisingly, despite the film having much to do with a 'music' genre I find utterly contemptible, I was quite fascinated by it, nevertheless. That Heavy Metal bashers like myself are drawn in to the story is a credit to the director of DREAM DECEIVERS, a film that remains fairly neutral in its presentation, content with documenting -- for the most part, absent of bias -- this infamous court trial and the details surrounding it.

December 23, 1985. Sparks, Nevada. Raymond Belknap (18) and James Vance (20), diehard metalheads, decide to blow their brains out. The question that brought this tragedy to court was, were the boys subliminally influenced by their favorite song, "Better By You, Better Than Me" by Judas Priest? Their grieving mothers adamantly believe this was so. High-tech sound equipment is brought into court and the song played in reverse to see if the so-called 'trigger term' 'Do it' could be heard. Admittedly, the controversial phrase is rather ambiguous and never mind that it's only one word shy of a popular shoe brand slogan...still, a strong case is made for the existence of back-masking in Heavy Metal, nevertheless.

Outside the courthouse have gathered a crowd of Judas Priest supporters, appearing every bit as punkish and lightness-intolerant as their lowlife idols. Their (predictable) message? Stop blaming Heavy Metal...but as noted, it was not Heavy Metal that was on trial here.

Interestingly, Heavy Metal's alleged association with juvenile delinquency/criminal activity can be found in multiple cases other than this one; in news stories of school shootings, and there's the 2005 "Death Metal Murders" BBC documentary, as another example.

As for Belknap and Vance, one can only hope that wherever they are now, they've given up listening to hellish acoustics.

Director wasn't being objective...

[PrairieDoggin · 22 September 2004]

The purpose of this documentary was to prove a one sided opinion of facts presented in this case. Van Taylor was looking at this from Judas Priest's point of view. He essentially was looking to disprove the families claim that the music and "subliminal" messages were to blame for these kids problems and ultimate suicide attempt. Van Taylor, through interviews, court proceedings and song lyrics mixed in, basically disproves any theory that the family tried to push across. These kids had horrible childhoods and grew up in alcoholic/drugs/abusive households where the NATURAL father wasn't in the picture. I loved the point where the boys (Belknap) sister, was on the stand, and had to basically tell the court she had attempted suicide twice and was NEVER a listener of heavy metal.