Dreamcatcher is a book by Stephen King published in 2001, and I read and enjoyed it around the time it came out. I recently saw the 2003 movie and was pleased to see how closely it followed the book (at least the parts I remembered from that long-ago time.) It is the story of four men vacationing in a cabin in the woods. These men have a particular bond. In addition to being friends from childhood, they share a psychic connection they obtained after meeting a mentally challenged boy named Duddits. They helped him escape from bullies, then befriended him, and he gave them their abilities as a gift. Once in the woods, they rescue a man who has been lost and appears very ill. Later, they find him in the bathroom split open by a lamprey-like creature now hiding in the toilet.

This book/movie is part horror, part science fiction, involving alien contact and government cover-up. It held my attention all the way through. Even having read the book, I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. The cast is excellent, including Morgan Freeman as the commander of an anti-alien group who is morally challenged.

Since I liked it so much, I was surprised to learn that the movie got fair to poor reviews when it came out. I’m one of the worst critics of Stephen King movies, being disappointed when they do not accurately reflect the essence of the book. (I’m one of those who hated the movie The Shining because too much was changed from the book.) That said, I really enjoyed Dreamcatcher and would recommend the movie to any Stephen King fan and others who like horror/scifi.