Okay Dreamscape (1984) - I have thoughts...

Alright guys, so we finally watched Dreamscape last night. I kinda knew the basic premise going in - psychic entering dreams, cool! - but wow, it was a lot weirder than I expected. And I mean that in a good way, mostly. The effects definitely show their age, but some of the dream sequences were genuinely disturbing, especially the snake man! Seriously, that thing gave me the creeps. I was NOT expecting that level of body horror. Poor Buddy… I actually felt bad for the kid. I give Dennis Quaid props, he holds the whole thing together. Alex Gardner is a total scumbag at the start, but you slowly start to root for him. And the president's dreams! Talk about a heavy trip. I'm not sure about the whole 'stopping the assassination' plotline, it felt a bit tacked on? Like, the dream stuff was so much more interesting than the political thriller aspect. I think I was more invested in seeing what other messed-up dreams people were having. What did you all think of Max von Sydow as Dr. Novotny? He's always so good in everything. I kinda wish they'd explored his side of things a bit more. And yeah, I know it's a minor thing, but Catherine Hicks's hair was amazing. I'm low key jealous. Overall, it was a fun watch, definitely worth checking out for the sheer bonkers-ness of it all. Not sure if I'd watch it again super soon, but I'm glad we finally got around to it. Any theories on the ending? Did Alex actually escape or was he still in a dream?