Nightmares & Dreamscapes was a short story collection published in 1993 that was then partially adapted (as NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING) in July 2006 for cable network TNT (though three of the eight episodes are adapted from other King collections). It’s unique in all of King’s TV projects as it’s the only anthology miniseries that was ever done, with each installment being a standalone entry. As such, it’s probably best to discuss each of them separately.

The first chapter is “Battleground,” directed by Brian Henson, and concerns a professional assassin (William Hurt) who kills a toy magnate. The assassin returns home only to soon be under siege from living green army men toys looking to avenge their creator’s demise. It is an incredibly audacious opening installment for many reasons. Firstly, the entire episode is dialogue-free with the only words being spoken coming from a brief moment on TV with a reporter confirming what happened. Secondly, it’s not a horror story per se as there is no sense of sinister aura around the toys — no preying on automatophobia like in the CHILD’S PLAY movies, POLTERGEIST, or MAGIC — but still feels in line with a tale from EC Comics. Thirdly, it’s an inherently goofy idea with scrambling plastic guys waging war against a stone cold hitman. But, for all of its gambles, this entry really worked for me. It is goofy but committed to the world it is portraying and does so with great style. Hurt, who has never been an understated actor, does well as the embattled villain that audiences root for but also are totally cool with him being killed by the sentient playthings. My only gripe with “Battleground” is that the score (by Jeff Beal) is too bombastic — it emphasizes too much of the action and introduces too many stings rather than letting the action play out on screen.

Ale — what are your thoughts on King’s short story work? And what did you like and/or dislike about “Battleground?”

Alejandra Gonzalez: Actually, out of everything I have read by King, his short stories are my favorite. I really loved reading Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and it may actually be my favorite of his short story collections though I know most people prefer Skeleton Crew. You’re absolutely right in being spooked the most by his shorter work, and I totally feel the same way. As far as “Battleground” goes, I actually didn’t like much about it until I heard what you had to say. I thought the premise was ridiculous and that it bordered on boring because of the lack of dialogue, but, thinking about it now, I think I can appreciate how goofy the idea of an adult TOY STORY is. I had an opposite reaction with the score, which I liked at first but then grew to greatly dislike. The thing is, the score is well done and really great but completely wrong for this particular episode. I think the idea was to include a very elaborate score in order to create tension and suspense in the absence of a dialogue. However, it doesn’t do that at all, and I think they would have been better off with total silence at some points. Less is more.
 

 

Rob Dean: “Crouch End,” directed by Mark Haber, is based on the short story of the same name and was inspired by the time King was in London and went to meet up with Clive Barker for dinner. He went to Barker’s neighborhood, but couldn’t find the author’s flat for the life of him. That brief and mundane anecdote (courtesy of Joe Bob Briggs’ “The Last Drive-In” on Shudder) is far more entertaining than anything in this segment. I was dying for this to end. The main problem with “Crouch End” is that the central characters are completely unlikable and unsympathetic. Bailey is an egotistical blowhard that only gets worse once they cross over, while Forlani plays a subservient and superstitious woman who simply bends to her new husband’s will. When things go badly (rendered poorly with bad effects), rather than care more for the couple it just exacerbates their worst qualities. The acting is fine, but totally hampered by rudderless direction and paper thin writing. You know those annoying couples that are killed off early or in a quick scene in monster movies or FRIDAY THE 13TH films? This is 45 minutes with that couple.
 
 

 

One thing that’s notable, to me, about “Umney’s Last Case” is how much King seems to be taking himself to task. I don’t remember the details of the story, so maybe this isn’t in the original text, but there’s a real criticizing streak in this segment where the author is shown to be selfish, cruel, somewhat a fraud, and a bit of a hack. It’s an interesting element of King (who would literally put himself into his texts with The Dark Tower series) confronting his own doubts and faults through the veneer of a fun genre dive.

 

Alejandra Gonzalez: I really loved “Umney’s Last Case!” First, I gotta say, I love Macy. His performance as Umney in this, for some reason, really reminded me of his performance in PLEASANTVILLE despite playing majorly different characters. It was really fun seeing him play a funny character and a more serious one in the same episode, and I think it shows his immense talent as well as how versatile he is as an actor. As far as the story goes, because so many of King’s stories involve writers as their protagonist, I find myself mixing up minor details of a lot of them! I wish I was better at keeping them aligned, but this reminded me a lot of THE DARK HALF because of the whole “double” element, and also how the characters’ writing is what gets them into their nightmarish situations to begin with. I agree with what you said about how much I enjoyed this until the end. Still, the conclusion wasn’t enough to make me dislike this episode, and it is probably my favorite out of these first few.
 
 

 

Rob Dean: The Mikael Salomon-directed fourth installment is a real mixed bag for me. On the one hand, the premise remains very interesting and it has the feel of a Vonnegut short story about science overcompensating for humanity’s inherent nature and the risks of tampering in God’s domain. The acting by Livingston and Henry Thomas, as the genius brother, is strong and are a pair of lived in performances that help sell the drama of the situation.

My issues with it are two-fold: 1) I feel like not a lot of thought went into the side effect of the cure for aggression. Alzheimer’s doesn’t just make people “silly” or turn them into “fools” as this segment literally says. It seems glib to treat the issue so flimsily in the dialogue, yet insist it’s so grave in the narrative, and creates a real disconnect within the story. 2) the format makes NO sense. It starts off as a recorded confession by Livingston about what the brothers did to doom the planet and how he just killed the genius would-be savior of mankind. But there are tons of weird flashbacks, and then photos, and other interviews, and it’s just jumping around constantly between types of material used that it doesn’t really work and never feels like a whole piece.
 

So that’s it for the first four installments of NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES. Just like with most anthologies, these were a mixed bag of content and quality. Join us in two weeks for the thrilling conclusion of this miniseries, which includes one adaptation that I’m already mildly dreading.