Dreamkiller (film)
Encyclopedia
Dreamkiller is a 2010 Psychological thriller
directed by Catherine Pirotta
and starring Dario Deak
and John Colton, who portray a scientific team of two doctors who embark on a research project to cure fear-ridden, phobic patients of all varieties. Just as fame and honor creep into the lives of Doctor Nicholas Nemet (Dario Deak), and Doctor Marvin Stalberg (John Colton), a series of murders occurs among cured patients which mirror the victims’ initial homicidal fears.
The film opened on February 19, 2010, on a limited release starting in Los Angeles and enjoyed an unusually long engagement of over 14 weeks in LA before beginning to expand in July 2010. Many saw the film as a sleeper hit
for its relatively unknown cast and low-budget production, while achieving success and popularity during its limited but very rare long theatrical run. LaDale Anderson of Canyon News wrote, "A new independent film that is being compared to “The Blair Witch Project,” is taking the Los Angeles region by storm”.
Diandra Newlin as Natalia Nemet
and veteran screenwriter Clyde Ware (Airwolf
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
) and produced by Delaware Pictures out of Raleigh Studios. The director described the film: "Fear is something everyone can relate to. I wanted to touch on fears that aren’t always talked about, like the fear of falling in love or rejection."[7]
“The theme of the film is fear. It limits us and stops us from doing things and fear kills our dreams. In the film, a group of patients with regular fears are being treated and their deaths begin to mirror what they fear. In life, if we don’t take control of our fears, it takes control of ourselves.
You can control people and nations with fear."
was scored by Swedish Composer Marcus Sjowall with additional songs by Mike Pelavin and Dario Deak, Diandra Newlin
and theme song "Dreamkiller" by Film/TV Composer Patrick Bowsher. As part of the promotion for the movie, a number of concerts were booked around Los Angeles featuring songs from the “Dreamkiller” soundtrack as played by The Ramp and featuring Dreamkiller’s lead actor Dario Deak
singing. Concerts took place in various Los Angeles
venues including the legendary Whisky a Go Go
.
“Every one of us has a whole list of fears, and it was interesting how many people were actually happy and willing to talk about them,” Deak said.
This responsiveness was encouraging to Deak and Pirotta, who see bravery not as an absence of fear but as an acknowledgment and confrontation of it. One of the main goals of the “Dreamkiller” campaign is to spread a feeling of normalcy, to reassure viewers that their fears do not place them in a minority.
A potential partnership with UCLA’s Counseling Center fell through, but Pirotta and Deak pursued connections with other psychological services offices nationwide, as well as celebrities and well-known figures.
“When you hear celebrities talking about their fears, you feel a little more normal,” Pirotta said.
“There are no shortcuts in life – that’s one of the messages in the movie – sometimes you just have to be strong and get up every time you fall, and at the end the only way to defeat fear is to be brave,” Pirotta said.
Among the fears used in the As part of the same marketing campaign, a video titled “Don’t fear black cats” featuring the lead actor of the movie Dario Deak
with his self-rescued black cat "Penelope", was launched with a mission to bring awareness to human fears based on superstitious beliefs and stereotypes. The video was received with raving support and participated at the annual North Shore Animal League America's DOGCATEMY AWARDS in New York on Nov 5th 2009.
(The Twilight Saga Eclipse) and Carolyn Hennesy
(Cougar Town).
about a possible TV Series adaptation of the film.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
directed by Catherine Pirotta
Catherine Pirotta
Catherine Pirotta is a Peruvian director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Catherine Pirotta was born in Lima, Peru. She traveled to the United States to attend the film program at Los Angeles City College and UCLA...
and starring Dario Deak
Dario Deak
Dario Deak is a Bosnian-American film and television actor.His acting career since 2004 has included parts in the hits Hostage and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy...
and John Colton, who portray a scientific team of two doctors who embark on a research project to cure fear-ridden, phobic patients of all varieties. Just as fame and honor creep into the lives of Doctor Nicholas Nemet (Dario Deak), and Doctor Marvin Stalberg (John Colton), a series of murders occurs among cured patients which mirror the victims’ initial homicidal fears.
The film opened on February 19, 2010, on a limited release starting in Los Angeles and enjoyed an unusually long engagement of over 14 weeks in LA before beginning to expand in July 2010. Many saw the film as a sleeper hit
Sleeper hit
A sleeper hit, a.k.a. surprise hit , refers to a film, book, single, album, TV show, or video game that gains unexpected success or recognition...
for its relatively unknown cast and low-budget production, while achieving success and popularity during its limited but very rare long theatrical run. LaDale Anderson of Canyon News wrote, "A new independent film that is being compared to “The Blair Witch Project,” is taking the Los Angeles region by storm”.
Plot
A revolutionary form of psychotherapy designed to rid patients of their phobias yields deadly results when test-subjects begin dying in the same manner as their worst fears. When the Nazis were at the height of power, Adolf Hitler began working with doctors Carl Clauberg and Joseph Mengele to develop a weapon capable of inducing psychosis in enemy combatants. In 1945, Hitler's concentration camps were liberated, and Allied forces were said to have confiscated and destroyed all evidence of the experiments. Flash forward to the new millennium, when some of the most respected doctors on the planet unveil their latest project - the F.R.I.T. program. Though the doctors are confident that the F.R.I.T. program can help patients to conquer their greatest fears, the public isn't convinced. Their skepticism is confirmed when the test subjects begin perishing under mysterious circumstances. Someone - or something - is preying on their deepest, darkest fears, and now the race is on to save the rest of the patients before its too late.Cast
- Dario DeakDario DeakDario Deak is a Bosnian-American film and television actor.His acting career since 2004 has included parts in the hits Hostage and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy...
as Nick Nemet - John Colton as Dr. Marvin Stalberg
- Penny DrakePenny DrakePenny Drake is an American Independent film actress and model. She is the daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor.Her modelling career since 2008 has included work for Herra Couture, Flora Zeta and Ed Hardy...
as Detective Annette Defour - John SavageJohn SavageJohn Savage may refer to:* John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers * John F. Savage Hall, the basketball arena for the University of Toledo* John Savage , actor* John Savage , baseball head coach...
as Agent Barnes - Tyrone Power, Jr. as Agent Benett
Diandra Newlin as Natalia Nemet
Production
Dreamkiller was written by director Catherine PirottaCatherine Pirotta
Catherine Pirotta is a Peruvian director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Catherine Pirotta was born in Lima, Peru. She traveled to the United States to attend the film program at Los Angeles City College and UCLA...
and veteran screenwriter Clyde Ware (Airwolf
Airwolf
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....
, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
) and produced by Delaware Pictures out of Raleigh Studios. The director described the film: "Fear is something everyone can relate to. I wanted to touch on fears that aren’t always talked about, like the fear of falling in love or rejection."[7]
“The theme of the film is fear. It limits us and stops us from doing things and fear kills our dreams. In the film, a group of patients with regular fears are being treated and their deaths begin to mirror what they fear. In life, if we don’t take control of our fears, it takes control of ourselves.
You can control people and nations with fear."
Music
The music for DreamkillerDreamkiller
Dreamkiller is a fantasy first-person shooter where the player takes on the role of Alice Drake, a psychologist with the ability to enter the minds of her patients to fight the monsters appearing in their dreams. The game is developed by Mindware Studios and published by Aspyr for Microsoft...
was scored by Swedish Composer Marcus Sjowall with additional songs by Mike Pelavin and Dario Deak, Diandra Newlin
Diandra Newlin
Diandra Newlin is an American actress, singer, and fashion model.-Personal life:Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1991 to Jim and Donna Newlin, Diandra Newlin grew up in Richmond. Her father is the senior product manager for ChemTreat/Danaher Inc., and her mother is a registered nurse and SAG actress....
and theme song "Dreamkiller" by Film/TV Composer Patrick Bowsher. As part of the promotion for the movie, a number of concerts were booked around Los Angeles featuring songs from the “Dreamkiller” soundtrack as played by The Ramp and featuring Dreamkiller’s lead actor Dario Deak
Dario Deak
Dario Deak is a Bosnian-American film and television actor.His acting career since 2004 has included parts in the hits Hostage and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy...
singing. Concerts took place in various Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
venues including the legendary Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
.
Marketing
Delaware Pictures launched a marketing campaign for the film, titled “What Do U Fear?,” posing this central question to many an ordinary citizen, with many a forthcoming response.“Every one of us has a whole list of fears, and it was interesting how many people were actually happy and willing to talk about them,” Deak said.
This responsiveness was encouraging to Deak and Pirotta, who see bravery not as an absence of fear but as an acknowledgment and confrontation of it. One of the main goals of the “Dreamkiller” campaign is to spread a feeling of normalcy, to reassure viewers that their fears do not place them in a minority.
A potential partnership with UCLA’s Counseling Center fell through, but Pirotta and Deak pursued connections with other psychological services offices nationwide, as well as celebrities and well-known figures.
“When you hear celebrities talking about their fears, you feel a little more normal,” Pirotta said.
“There are no shortcuts in life – that’s one of the messages in the movie – sometimes you just have to be strong and get up every time you fall, and at the end the only way to defeat fear is to be brave,” Pirotta said.
Among the fears used in the As part of the same marketing campaign, a video titled “Don’t fear black cats” featuring the lead actor of the movie Dario Deak
Dario Deak
Dario Deak is a Bosnian-American film and television actor.His acting career since 2004 has included parts in the hits Hostage and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy...
with his self-rescued black cat "Penelope", was launched with a mission to bring awareness to human fears based on superstitious beliefs and stereotypes. The video was received with raving support and participated at the annual North Shore Animal League America's DOGCATEMY AWARDS in New York on Nov 5th 2009.
Release
The film premiered on February 17, 2010 at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. Among the celebrities who attended to support the film were Boo Boo StewartBoo Boo Stewart
Boo Boo Stewart is an American singer, dancer, model, child actor, and martial artist.-Early work:...
(The Twilight Saga Eclipse) and Carolyn Hennesy
Carolyn Hennesy
Carolyn Hennesy is an American actress and writer, who stars in the soap opera General Hospital and the sitcom Cougar Town....
(Cougar Town).
Possible TV series
On June 13, 2010, Pirotta talked with Canyon NewsCanyon News
Canyon News is an English-language weekly newspaper published in Beverly Hills, California. It is distributed internationally and is published in conjunction with the San Francisco News...
about a possible TV Series adaptation of the film.