Dream/Killer
{{Short description|2015 documentary film}}
{{About|the 2015 documentary film|the video game |Dreamkiller |the 2010 psychological thriller |Dreamkiller (film)}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Dream/Killer}}
{{Infobox film
|italic_title=no
| name = dream/killer
| image = Dream_Killer_(2015_documentary).png
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Andrew Jenks
| producer = {{plainlist |
}}
| writer =
| starring = {{plainlist |
- Ryan W. Ferguson
- Bill Ferguson
- Leslie Ferguson
- Charles Erickson
- Kevin Crane
- Kathleen Zellner
}}
| narrator =
| music = Jay Wadley
| cinematography =
| editing = Sam Lee
| studio =
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2015|04|15|Tribeca Film Festival}}
| runtime = 1 hour 46 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Dream/Killer, stylized onscreen as dream/killer, is a 2015 documentary film about the wrongful conviction of Ryan Ferguson based on the testimony of a classmate who said that he’d dreamt that Ferguson was the killer.{{cite web |url=https://innocenceproject.org/ryan-ferguson-speaks-about-dream-killer-the-new-film-about-his-case/ |title=Ryan Ferguson Speaks about Dream Killer, the New Film about his Case |website=Innocence Project |date=11 May 2015 |access-date=22 February 2022}} The film details the case and Bill Ferguson's journey to free his son. It debuted at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.{{cite news |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/04/meet-the-2015-tribeca-filmmakers-4-the-justice-system-is-broken-in-andrew-jenks-dreamkiller-63412/ |title=Meet the 2015 Tribeca Filmmakers #4 : The Justice System is Broken in Andrew Jenks' 'dream/killer' |publisher=Indiewire |access-date=22 February 2022}} It aired in August 2016 as a two-hour special on the Investigation Discovery network.{{cite web |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Investigation-Discovery-to-Present-Controversial-Documentary-DREAM-KILLER-814-20160809 |title=Investigation Discovery to Present Controversial Documentary DREAM KILLER, 8/14 |publisher=Broadway World |date=9 August 2016 |access-date=15 August 2016}} The documentary was later released on Netflix in 2019.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.netflix.com/title/80081990 |title=dream/killer |publisher=Netflix}}
Persons featured
- Ryan W. Ferguson
- Bill Ferguson
- Leslie Ferguson
- Charles Erickson
- Kevin Crane
- Kathleen Zellner
Synopsis
dream/killer details the wrongful conviction of Ryan Ferguson who spent ten years in prison before having his conviction overturned. The film focuses on Ryan's father, Bill, as he pursues a campaign to keep public attention on Ryan's case and work with lawyers to appeal Ryan's conviction.{{cite web |title='Dream/Killer' Review: 2015 Tribeca Film Shows How Injustice Affects A Family |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/dreamkiller-review-2015-tribeca-film-shows-how-injustice-affects-family-1889482 |website=International Business Times |access-date=23 February 2022 |date=20 April 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/12/01/must-see-wrongful-conviction-doc-dreamkiller-indicts-a-system/ |title=Must-See Wrongful-Conviction Doc 'dream/killer' Indicts a System |website=Village Voice |access-date=21 February 2022}} The film documents the investigation into claims that Missouri prosecutor Kevin Crane pressured witnesses into implicating Ferguson{{cite news |last=Perez |first=Alex |title=Murder Convict May Be Freed By Appeals Court After Case Unravels |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/murder-convict-freed-case-unravels/story?id=20207994 |publisher=ABC News |date=September 10, 2013}} as well as omitting evidence and using flawed interrogation techniques.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/movies/review-dream-killer-a-fathers-battle-to-free-his-son-in-a-wrongful-conviction.html |title=Review: 'Dream/Killer,' a Father's Battle to Free His Son in a Wrongful Conviction |work=The New York Times |date=4 December 2015 |access-date=22 February 2022|last1=Jaworowski |first1=Ken }}
Reception
In The New York Times Ken Jaworowski wrote, "dream/killer remains fast-paced and frightening". Rolling Stone writes that the film "show(s) the corruptive nature of power and brutally slow machinations of the U.S. justice system".{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-lists/15-must-see-movies-at-tribeca-film-festival-2015-176291/dream-killer-226100/ |title=15 Must-See Movies at Tribeca Film Festival 2015 |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=22 February 2022}} Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times was critical of the film however, writing that it presented itself as "a genuinely awful story of bad cops, corrupt prosecution, incompetent defense and an appeals process marred by the blind upholding of convictions."{{cite web |title=Review: 'Dream/Killer' a nightmare in tone |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-dream-killer-movie-review-20151211-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=23 February 2022 |date=11 December 2015}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite AV media|url=https://www.netflix.com/title/80081990|title=dream/killer|publisher=Netflix}}
- {{IMDb title|4504438}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|dreamkiller_2015}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream Killer}}
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:2015 documentary films
Category:American documentary films
Category:Documentary films about crime in the United States
Category:Documentary films about incarceration in the United States
Category:Documentary films about law
Category:Documentary films about miscarriage of justice in the United States