Nightmare (1981)
Nightmare (1981) [30th Anniversary Uncut Edition] [2011]
2xDVD9 (VIDEO_TS) | NTSC 4:3/16:9 (720x480) | HQ Cover | 3x98 mins | 8,14 Gb + 7,85 Gb
Audio: English Dolby AC3, 2 ch | Subs: None
Genre: Horror, Thriller | USA
2xDVD9 (VIDEO_TS) | NTSC 4:3/16:9 (720x480) | HQ Cover | 3x98 mins | 8,14 Gb + 7,85 Gb
Audio: English Dolby AC3, 2 ch | Subs: None
Genre: Horror, Thriller | USA
George Tatum, a patient in a mental asylum, regularly suffers horrific nightmares linked to a traumatic incident during his childhood. In an effort to modify George’s behaviour and control his psychotic episodes his doctors have used an experimental treatment program.
Outwardly George responds well enough to the treatment to be released back into society, but inwardly George is still tormented by violent flashbacks. A visit to a sleazy sex show is the catalyst for another of George’s episodes, driving him over the edge for good.
Fleeing New York, George passes through South Carolina, where he follows a stranger home from a bar and viciously murders her, kick-starting a brutal killing spree. The increasingly unhinged George moves on to Florida where he becomes obsessed with one particular family who seem to hold some deep significance for him. With the asylum’s doctors and the authorities desperately trying to hunt him down can George be apprehended before the body count rises further?
IMDB
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I won't bother explaining the plot, courtesy of the IMDb plot profile and other users you should be able to get a rough idea about it yourself.
So lets get down to the nitty gritty. Nightmare(s) (in a damaged brain) is kind of like the horror film you watch through the eyes of a child. Remember when you were a kid and horrors weren't so much entertaining as they were (mildly) traumatising? That would give you sleepless nights for quite some time? Well nightmare is one of those films that can have that effect on you AS AN ADULT.
Imagine the original 'texas chain saw massacre' but a lot more psychological and involving children, and A lot more gore, and you get the rough idea of what this film is all about.
Nightmare (1981)
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Now I'm a big fan of horror, I can sit through (almost) anything but I've seen this film one and a half times (the uncut version) and have had it for quite some time. And thats NOT because the film is bad, its cause its so frigging' creepy. First time was a curiosity as I'd heard so much about it and was desperate to see why it had been banned, the second (half) time was because I hadn't seen it in a while and fancied giving it a second go. I couldn't do it! It really is one of those type of horrors thats hard to sit through, its tone is so sinister and you feel almost perverted and sick and evil for just watching it, even though there are no real animal killings or anything like cannibal holocaust/ferox and it's only a movie and nothing more.
Nightmare (1981)
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Anyways, if you like genuine, creepy, under the skin horror then this one is for you. If, however, your not a fan of the whole 'grind-house' scene, don't like films with low production values and risible acting and prefer your horror to be modern, over produced and polished, then avoid this one.
In either case its very underrated as being 'one of the scariest horror films of all time'.IMDB Reviewer
Nightmare (1981)
Writer and Director Romano Scavolini is the mastermind behind this controversial 1981 slasher flick. His inspiration for the story came from an article in the New York Times, which described how the CIA had been administering experimental drugs to schizophrenics. Scavolini used this disturbing idea as the basis for a horror story, and NIGHTMARE was the end result. What makes this film so disturbing is the fact that there has been plenty of real life George Tatums. He is not the boogeyman, or a masked mauler who strikes without any real reason or motive. George Tatum is a psychopath, and one of the most convincing in horror history.
Nightmare (1981)
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Baird Stafford does a fantastic job in the lead role of George Tatum. He spends most of the movie sweating like a pig in his underwear. He might have been a little too convincing as a psycho, as he only went on to star in one other movie seven years later. The highlight of this flick for me is an incredible sequence where George Tatum suddenly appears behind a unsuspecting victim that is talking on the phone. Baird has just the slightest hint of a smile on his face, and you know the worst is about to come. He slits the woman’s throat and Scavolini treats the audience to a loving close up of her gushing wound. Blood spurts from her throat as she gurgles and struggles to breathe. Then George sits on top of her and begins slowly plunging the knife into her body. What makes this scene really stand out is the way that George appears to be fucking her with the knife. Sweat pours from his hair as he reaches his climax, and the scene is punctuated with a nasty shot of George licking the blood off his hands.
Nightmare (1981)
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The rest of the cast is horrible, although it’s hard for me to decide if I dislike the actors or the characters that they are playing. The character of Susan Temper is one of the most thoroughly unlikable and unsympathetic I’ve ever seen. She’s a stressed out single mom who spends the majority of the film sleeping, fucking her bearded boyfriend Bob on his boat, and yelling at her children. There’s a scene where she completely abandons her children and thoughtlessly leaves them locked outside of their house while she frolics with her lover. Of course, with children as wretched as hers it’s somewhat easy to understand why she acts like she does. Her daughters are two chubby little pigs that never stop screeching and squeeling. And then there’s the one and only C.J.
Nightmare (1981)
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C.J. Temper is a purely evil little bastard with a Dorothy Hamill haircut. He’s a rotten little schemer that loves to pull elaborate, mean spirited pranks on his family, friends, and babysitter. He smirks as the police are called in to investigate his dirty deeds. He later pours ketchup all over his body and pretends that someone stabbed him, which causes his frantic mother to almost kill herself racing home. Just when you think you can’t hate this little fucker any more, he then has the appalling nerve to mock the brutal death of his best friend. It’s almost impossible not to despise him and root for his violent demise. C.J. manages to be a formidable foe though, and proves to be an expert shot as he arms himself with a handgun and precisely blasts through a small hole in a door with the trained skill of a professional marksman.
Nightmare (1981)
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No discussion of NIGHTMARE would be complete without mentioning the Tom Savini controversy that surrounds the film. Romano Scavolini claims that Tom Savini was the special effects supervisor for the entire film. Tom Savini claims that he never worked on the film because he was too busy working on Creepshow at the time. Despite Savini’s dismissal, there are several photos of him on the set that prove he worked on at least one scene in the move – the centerpiece decapitation by hatchet. This incredible scene is the bloody highlight of the film. It is shown in pieces throughout the film, and then shown in its entirety at the climax. Fans of Friday The 13th will find this decapitation to be a very close recreation of the classic Betsy Palmer head slice. Watch the blood flow, watch the twitching hands in front of the body. It’s trademark Tom Savini. There’s really no denying that he created that effect. How much, if any of the rest of the film he worked on is debatable. The rest of the effects in the film are all effectively gruesome, but they are perhaps not quite up to snuff with Savini’s usual work.
Nightmare (1981)
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Tom Savini was furious when his name was splashed all over the posters for NIGHTMARE, and he successfully sued the production to have his name removed from the ads. His name still appears in the credits of the film though. Savini claims that the producers offered to pay him for his name value only, not for his work. He found this distasteful and dishonest and refused. Romano Scavolini on the other hand is adamant that Savini was the special effects supervisor on the film, and claims that Savini refused to have his name on the film because he wanted the credit to go to his friend and assistant Ed French instead. Regardless of who you choose to believe, the photos prove that Savini worked on the film in some capacity. It remains one of the great slasher controversies to this day.
Nightmare (1981)
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NIGHTMARE was also a source of much controversy in the UK. The film was banned by BBFC as a Video Nasty, and the head of UK video distributor Oppidan served six months in jail for selling an uncut version of the film! This is the only time in history that someone went to jail for distributing a horror film. Angry critics and bad reviews savaged the film in every country it was released in. The New York Daily News wrote three separate articles attacking the film. Despite, or more likely because of this controversy, the film quickly became a box office success. Variety reported that the film earned over 4 million in 28 cities throughout America and Canada. Not bad for a low budget slasher flick.
Nightmare (1981)
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I consider NIGHTMARE to be one of the very best 80’s slasher flicks. It works in a big way because of how brutal and realistic it feels. There are a lot of other slasher flicks that are faster paced and have better acting and higher production value, but very few can compare in terms of sleaze, splatter, and an overall sense of shock and disgust. If you want to go inside the mind of a schizophrenic killer, this is a must see flick. This is also essential viewing for all fans of slasher flicks. At the moment, there hasn’t been a proper dvd release in the States. The good folks at Code Red are currently working on a special edition dvd release, and the sooner this happens the better. I am a huge fan of this flick and it deserves a much larger audience.Brain Hammer, horroryearbook
Nightmare (1981)
Extras:
Disc 1:
- Bonus 2008 Hi-Def master 1.78:1 (16:9) created from the two best 35mm prints
- Audio Commentary with make-up artist Cleve Hall and star Baird Stafford
- Full frame coler corrected telecine (2005) approved by Romano Scavolini
- "Making of a Nightmare" interview with Baird Stafford, Cleve Hall and ex-distributor Tom Ward
- "New York Nightmare" interview with New York special effect make-up Edward French
Disc 2:
- Brand new 2011 telecine 1.78:1 (16x9) from a recently discovered slightly better 35mm print
- Uncensored 95min Italian interview from Romano Scavolini in Italian language
- 2 different NIGHTMARE trailers
- CODE RED trailers
Nightmare (1981)
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No More Mirrors.