In simple terms, Dreamland is a confused mess of a movie. Some people will tell you it is actually brilliant and outside-the-box storytelling, especially if you're familiar with quantum theory, but even then you have to watch it a second time to really appreciate it. I'm not one of those people, and there's no way I'm sitting through this plodding storyline a second time.

I understand the premise just fine; I just found the whole viewing experience quite tedious and unenjoyable.

The plot summary featured on a certain well-known movie streaming site described a film about two impetuous young people setting off to infiltrate Area 51. That is a grossly inaccurate description of the plot. Our two main characters, Dylan (Shane Elliott) and Megan (Jackie Kreisler) are in reality two dysfunctional adults who stumble into Rachel, Nevada, and the outskirts of Area 51 (having no knowledge of the secret military site, by the way) on their way to Megan's family's house for Thanksgiving. Dylan suffers periodic seizures, and Megan can't function without her meds (apparently anti-psychotics). Eventually, the two stop to eat at the "Little A'Le'Inn," hear some strange stories from the bartender, and then head back out across the desert.

That's where really weird and increasingly frightening (to Megan -- certainly not to the audience) things start happening, which leads to a lot of screaming and running around in the desert. What's real? Who cares?

Alongside the weak and convoluted storyline, Dreamland also suffers from some technical deficiencies. The dialogue audio is frequently too low; I wouldn't know more than two-thirds of what was said if I hadn't been able to turn on closed captioning. The scenes out in the desert are too dark, as well, so you get a double whammy of frustration just trying to follow the story. That's not a formula for cinematic success.

You're not dreaming -- the movie really is that bad.