Dreamkatcher (2020)

(On Cable TV, October 2021) Trite, dull and indifferently executed, writer-director Kerry Harris’ Dreamkatcher is low-budget horror at its most unremarkable. A story of a mom at odds with her new step-son while he’s under the influence of demonic possession, it’s not a story without promise, but it wastes it all in muted execution. The possessed child angle is not without a few mild shocks, but they disappear in a series of plot holes, unlikable characters (what kind of dad leaves his girlfriend and son alone together for days when there’s clearly no trust there?), slow pacing and unconvincing moments. Horror favourite Lin Shaye has a walk-on role as an expert on the occult, but it’s not very well handled and feels like an inept attempt to raise the film’s profile by leeching off her Insidious fame. At least I’m reasonably confident that I’m going to forget all of Dreamkatcher within days.