Dream Scenario | 2023 | R | – 6.7.7

Why is “Dream Scenario” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language, violence and some sexual content.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene in a dream sequence with partial nudity, an implied sex scene that includes discussions of sexual fantasies, a few kissing scenes, many dream sequences that depict violent acts including people being shot with arrows, beaten and choked resulting in bloody wounds, a dead dog with blood under its head, many arguments, and over 20 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a professor (Nicolas Cage) leading a quiet life with his family learns that he has been appearing in other people’s dreams, even people he has never met before, the phenomenon becomes a sensation and his sudden celebrity spins his life out of control. Then, to make the situation even worse, the dreams take a menacing turn. Also with Julianne Nicholson, Lily Bird, Jessica Clement, Star Slade, Tim Meadows and Dylan Baker. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli. [Running Time: 1:42]

Dream Scenario SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A young woman in a dream sequence is shown seated on a sofa calling out to someone in the shadows; the man walks across the room, sits next to her on the sofa and kisses her on the ear with his tongue, puts his hand between her legs and kisses her passionately; we later see her wearing a bra (cleavage, bare abdomen and shoulders are seen) and thrusting on top of him. A young woman asks a man to re-enact a sexual dream she has had about him; the man stands in the shadows, approaches her and sits on a sofa next to her, she kisses him, tells him to touch her and he appears very uncomfortable; she unfastens his belt and he flatulates, and then appears to ejaculate (we do not see anything) and flatulates again.
► A husband and his wife kiss, flirt and talk about sexual fantasies while lying in bed; the woman describes a man riding naked on a horse (sex is implied). A husband kisses his wife on the cheek. A dream sequence shows a husband and his wife walking, holding hands, dancing and flirting (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A man asks a young woman about her dreams and she describes them as “the most intense sex dreams.” A woman approaches a married man and asks him to go for coffee with her and he accepts, to the chagrin of his wife. A wife asks her husband if he has ever fantasized about other women and he says he has.

Dream Scenario VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – A man in a dream hits a young man in the back of the head with a heavy tool, the young man falls to the ground with a bloody head wound and the man straddles him and continues hitting him repeatedly (we see more bloody wounds open on the young man’s face and blood pools under his head). A young woman in a dream opens her apartment door and allows a man in, the man seems threatening and when she tells him to leave, he grabs her by the throat and chokes her. A man dreams about jogging on a road and being shot in the arm, back and throat by someone using a crossbow (we see the arrows and spots of blood on his clothing and gushing blood from the throat wound).
► A man tries to force his way into a theater and the door slams on a woman’s finger as she tries to keep him out (we see her finger bent unnaturally and a lot of blood pours and spurts from the wound); he moves along the aisle and several men in the theater audience tackle the man to the floor. A server in a restaurant asks a man to leave because other people in the surrounding tables are uncomfortable with him being there; he refuses to leave until a man approaches him, spits on his plate (we see saliva) and the first man stands up and throws food at him (we see the first man with a bloody face and nose later implying that the other man punched him in the face). A young man in a dream sequence walks through a forest where other men are standing motionless, he is followed by another man that appears to be soaked with blood, and the young man hides behind a tree but the other man finds him and grabs him by the face with a blood-soaked hand as the young man screams.
► A man enters a house at night, picks up a kitchen knife and goes to a bedroom where a man and a woman are sleeping, repeating, “I have to kill you,” and slumps to the floor as the man and the woman call the police (no one is harmed). A dream shows what seems to be an earthquake rumbling as people in and around a building run seeking shelter; rubble is thrown into the air and a person falls in the background. A young woman in a dream sits on top of a piano as two alligators walk toward her on the floor. A young man in a dream casually pulls out a bloody tooth from his mouth (we see the tooth, blood and a strand of bloody saliva). A teen girl dreams that her father kicks open a door and marches loudly toward her while she is asleep and she wakes up and screams. A woman in a dream sequence leans over a wounded man in a street after being struck by a car and we see his bloody face. A woman pantomimes being choked and makes a choking sound.
► A man collapses on a floor and we hear items crash to the floor and break; he seems unconscious and we later see him holding a bag of ice on his head. A man becomes upset and yells at young men and young women standing around his car when he sees the word “loser” painted on its side. A light fixture falls from a ceiling and hits a man in the head (we see a bloody gash on his forehead). A woman dreams about a man killing her with a garrote around her neck. During a dream sequence, something falls from the sky near where a teenage girl is seated and shatters a glass top table while a man rakes leaves and does not seem fazed; a shoe then falls into a swimming pool, behind the man and then a person falls hard into the water (the water appears darkened and it could be blood) and the teen floats up while calling for her father, who still does not react. A man in a dream steps over a dead dog on the floor (we see blood under the dog’s head). A dream sequence shows a man approaching his wife, who is surrounded by a circle of flames (we do not see any injuries); he reaches toward her and takes her by the hand (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details).
► A teenage girl tells her father that a boy in school described a dream where the man tied him up, cut off his toes and ate them. A man tells another man that students are withdrawing from his class because of dreams they are having about him that include torture and rape. A woman is told that she will be removed from a project at work because of negative publicity surrounding her husband. A man confronts a woman about giving him credit in her book for his research and she is reluctant; he later pleads with her to reconsider. A man is told that he keeps appearing in people’s dreams. A husband and his wife argue in several scenes. People discuss movie studios being interested in a man’s “life rights.” A man yells and curses in frustration. A man records a video apologizing for the harm he has inflicted on people; his wife tells him that it was self-serving and insincere and they argue. People discuss inserting advertisements in people’s dreams.
► A wife tells her husband to leave and we see him sleeping in the basement of a friend’s house. A woman stares at a man when he enters a restaurant and is distracted by feeling as if she knows him. People in a bar wear costumes (like for Halloween) and a couple of the people appear to be wearing stage blood makeup.
► A man swishes water and spits into a sink while brushing his teeth (we see foamy saliva). A woman coughs violently during a meal and a man hits her on the back thinking that she is choking. A woman conducts a desensitization session where many young people are seated in a gymnasium, a man enters the room and moves toward them slowly; they each seem uncomfortable and eventually leave the room.

Dream Scenario LANGUAGE 7

 – About 22 F-words, 3 sexual references, 4 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (booger eater, vindictive, stuttering fool, inadequate, loser, average, awkward, brats, brutal, crazy, nuts, mentally unstable, dumb, boring, dude, insane, weird, bizarre, catnip for lunatics), exclamations (oh shoot, let’s be adults, you’re freaking me out, lost their minds, oh my gosh, stop, wow, shut-up), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. my God, oh my God, Jesus, for Christ’s sake). | profanity glossary |

Dream Scenario SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink wine with a meal, a man and a young woman have drinks in a bar, and four people drink wine with a meal.

Dream Scenario DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Dreams, fame, celebrity, evolution, evolutionary biology, PR tactics, advertising, synchronicity, mental illness, manic depression, trauma, false memories, Mandela effect, gender roles, vilification, cancel culture, emotional triggers, nightmares, metaphysics, midlife crises, consequences, neuroticism, exile, pedagogy, anti-establishment, culture wars, Freddy Kruger, pragmatism, psychology, going viral.

Dream Scenario MESSAGE

 – Dreams can be very difficult to decipher. Fame and celebrity can cause unimaginable consequences.