Dream Scenario is the goofy Nightmare on Elm Street prequel we needed all along

polygon.com:

This review of Dream Scenario comes from the film’s premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The film will be released in November.

From the moment The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was announced, it drew a lot of excitement by promising a meta movie that fully embraced Nicolas Cage’s meme status and over-the-top roles by letting him play himself. Cage isn’t repeating the exact same trick with Dream Scenario, the new movie by Sick of Myself filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, produced by Hereditaryand Midsommardirector Ari Aster and released by A24. His character in Dream Scenario isn’t named “Nicolas Cage.” But the movie feels like an even more meta and poignant exploration of his status as an online meme.

Best described as the funny prequel to Nightmare on Elm Street we didn’t know we needed, Dream Scenario has Cage’s character, Paul Matthews, becoming famous for reasons completely out of his control: He begins appearing in the dreams of people around the world. Suddenly, he’s famous, but that fame comes with unparalleled judgment.

Borgli’s script feels tailor-made for Cage, who told audiences after the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival that he immediately connected with the story of viral fame. Ten years ago, a YouTube montage of Nicolas Cage characters having meltdowns, titled “Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit,” blew up online, with no context provided for any of the performances. Cage felt he had no control over their reception. For young audiences in particular, Cage’s acclaimed performances and Best Actor Academy Award are less important than his meme status, and the parade of smaller, stranger movies where he plays volatile weirdos and over-the-top characters to the