美梦成真

　　1953年同名电影的重拍版。
　　小男孩David在暴风雨夜看到一架不明飞行物降落在他家附近的沙丘，隔天他的父亲爬上去探视，回来之后整个人就变得冷漠且充满敌意，接下来他的母亲也是如此。后来，他发现外星人绑架镇民并在颈椎植入控制头脑的东西，可是没人相信他的话。再后来，David发现父母开始吃生肉，学校的老师开始活吞青蛙……

　　在一个破旧的乡下豪宅，住着Merrye家族的最后一代,由于近亲结合,Merrye 一家有着一种退化性疾病，导致他们从心理上年龄只有10岁或者更低，承受着身体与精神的双重诅咒。家庭司机精心的为他们掩盖真像。但是当贪婪的律师和远方亲戚发现这一切后...

　　羅世傑為完成畢業論文, 找尋資料, 借宿劉忠河同學家, 某日士傑與劉婉憶入山考古, 忽忽天色已暗, 留宿山野, 夜晚婉憶尿急不慎跌落山洞, 驚現一具骷髏頭及令牌, 次日經考古教授確認係明朝古物, 並帶回保存. 一天婉憶打掃時不慎被骷髏頭刺傷, 血流滴進骷髏內而產生靈氣, 夜晚士傑回房潛研時却發現骷髏內現出鬼魂小娟是陽間的小娟隨即附身剛進房的婉憶身軀和士傑談天. 賈一道發現士傑被鬼魂纏身, 忠河與劉父作法護士傑, 這時陰陽魔要脅小娟聽命左右, 小娟不從被拘禁回骷髏頭內, 只好殺士傑以求解圍, 惜為符咒擊傷通時被魔女推救說明原委, 路上和呂道長二人鬥法, 魔女不敵魔王前來搭救, 陰魔王雖使出魔法迫戰, 而天已亮, 陰陽魔等人消失無踪. 呂道士得知陰陽魔法力無邊, 決定設壇誘捕, 以濟公活佛玄門迎戰敗下陣來, 只得犧牲小娟魂體結令令牌及骷髏碩一舉大敗陰陽魔, 眾人趕來祭拜小娟墳前, 邪總不勝正.

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.