I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

'In Dreams' is one of those movies that feels spooky from the word go. I would have given this movie a miss if not for Downey's presence in it. I am currently reading his biography and this movie came at a time when he was at the lowest patch of his career. His screen time is far less but tries to make the most of it. 'In Dreams' is a story of interwoven minds of Vivian & Claire. Downey's best scene in the movie is the one right at the end of the movie. I wish there was more emphasis on building and leading the story than showing Annette's antics and psychotic behavior. I can't find fault with the premise but the story is sort of vague. It never answers Why Claire? Why after so long? How come she is in the same town? Answers to these is left to your imagination.

This is a collection of nice looking scenes with high quality visual design and some fairly good acting. Hooray. And yet the story is ridiculous, and it just doesn't hang together. By the time you get to the clichés that serve as an ending, you'll want to slap something. The garish color and playful effects really do work as individual moments, but the story line is more a serious of dots that start to connect up and then veer into some kind of weird scribble. The waste of acting talent here is particularly odd. Annette Benning is rocking it for much of the film, until she morphs into Laurie Anderson. Downey is only in part of the third reel, and he's fairly restrained but effective. Rea has it dialed way down, to the point where there's almost nothing to it.

The splendid performances and the interesting plot of In Dreams make it one of those horror movies that could give you nightmares for the days to come. (I myself am the living proof of the movie's strong impact) The serial killer's motives and intentions are unravelled through Claire's eyes and it is this point of view that makes In Dreams a very exciting and gripping film. However, the focus remains solely on Claire and, as a result, we are none the less enlightened about the killer's personality by the end of the film. It is this focus on Claire until the end rather than the killer that leaves the audience with a huge question mark as to who this man really is and what has led him to his actions. However promising and interesting a serial killer we are prepared to come across, the film leaves us without a climax. Robert Downey Jr gives a remarkable performance as the villain, with nothing exceptional and exaggerating in his acting. His admirable performance makes up for the lack of depth the plot leaves us with, but only partially; not only because of the point of view, but because of the direction, as well. A few more close-ups would have made him a villain to remember.

I'm a car racing nut, and tonight this was up against an F1 race carried live. At the end I chose Bening's and Downey's compelling performances over the end of the race. This is an adult film that keeps you there despite some predictability.Some read into this that Claire Cooper (Bening's character) is the one with the real mental issue. I can see why this thought process occurs to and is helpful for some viewers, but I subscribe to the more "orthodox" view that Vivian Thompson (Robert Downey Jr.) is "the original and the best" when it comes to brain sludge.Some characters need to die in these kinds of movies. Why did it have to be Claire's child Rebecca (Katie Sagona) and husband Paul (Aiden Quinn)? Because we wouldn't care about Claire unless they had died. Will she be believed by her doctors and the Police? Will the Police arrive in time? Will Vivian become sane or judicially killed? Is Claire turning vengeful and "joining the dark side" by getting into Vivian's head at the end, or is it all Vivian? Can you see coming the chase through the apple factory? How about the wrap-up with the water? Okay, so "no metaphor will go un-resolved". So what?! And, writers, please use a male name that's sexual ambiguous rather than sounding 1920s and 30s (I'll say it; "sissy") in the modern age, even if the works in the context of the movie. (Apologies to all the males named Vivian.)