A good friend of mine referred to Stephen McHattie as Canada’s Lance Henricksen recently, and while at first, I was a bit taken aback by this comparison, the more I dug into McHattie’s catalog, the more of a genius my buddy became. Regardless of who you want to compare him to though, McHattie is a legend in his own right, and I’m still in awe by the fact that I was able to go back in forth with the man himself.
Stephen’s resume includes some heavy hitters, films that are pretty much staples of Blu-ray collection throughout the world. 300 comes to mind, and from what I gathered during our chat, Stephen has fond memories of being on that set. And while there’s a lot of other big-budget titles under his belt, I think it’s some of his lesser-known credits that really highlight his range.
His portrayal in the film Pontypool jumps out as one of my favorites, and before falling in love with Grant Mazzy, I can remember a time when my Facebook movie groups were flooded with conversations revolving around the film. I, like many others, jumped in, and it has been a long time since I’ve been that impressed with a blind dive.
Taking a break from television and streaming, I was happy to hear that the director of Pontypool, Bruce McDonald, was back to working in film. With Dreamland, the Pontypool band was back together, and I couldn’t have been happier.
On the night of the strangest weddings in cinema history, a grotesque gang boss hires a stone-cold killer to bring him the finger of a fading, drug-addicted jazz legend.
So, did lightning strike twice? Yes! It’s as crazy as it sounds, and while the film may not be for everybody, Dreamland is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It definitely delivers something new, and if you’re looking for a wild ride, I assure you, this just may be the fresh excursion you’re looking for.
Dreamland is directed by visionary filmmaker Bruce McDonald (Pontypool, Weirdos, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo) from a script co-written by Tony Burgess (The Hoard, Saturn’s Rings) and Patrick Whistler (“Cardinal”). The film stars, our friend, Stephen McHattie (Watchmen, The Fountain), musician/actor Henry Rollins (frontman of Black Flag, Feast, Lost Highway), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers, Cape Fear) and Tomis Lemarquis (Blade Runner 2049, Snowpiercer).
Uncork'd Entertainment and Dark Star Pictures will release the horror/crime/thriller Dreamland in theaters, on VOD and Digital HD on June 5, 2020.
Jessie Hobson