Nightmares

MARCH 2, 2007

GENRE: ANTHOLOGY, CRAP
SOURCE: CABLE (UNIVERSAL HD)

Nightmares is an early 80's anthology film where the only interconnecting theme is that all four stories are stupid. An anthology film with no wraparound is pointless, but forgivable if the stories themselves are worth your while. Not the case here.

All of the stories are meant to teach you a lesson (the woman in the first film went out late at night to get a pack of smokes, so DON’T SMOKE; the arcade one: DON’T LET VIDEO GAMES CONSUME YOU, etc.), but they are terribly presented and delivered with the subtlety of a tornado. Someone in the film even says “Sometimes you use a sledgehammer when a word or two would do.” I wish the writer took his own advice. Paul Haggis must love the film.

I understand the film was originally a TV movie that the network decided was ‘too intense’ for TV, so some extra stuff was filmed and it was sent to theaters. I’m not sure what exactly would have scared anyone, let alone an entire network. No one in the movie even dies after the first story (and one kill is so unconnected I suspect it was precisely what was added into the film for theaters). Afterward, the total body count is made from a rat (not the giant one) and some of the Atari-lite ‘monsters’ that Emilio shoots in the real world after they break out of the game. Hell, the giant rat (with a hilarious green outline. Nice matte choking!) doesn’t even mean the people harm. INTENSE!

Oh and a car disappears into a blue void. Ooooh.

It’s of some note in that it may be the only film in which Lance Henriksen does not die, but otherwise this movie should go away. You know, because so many people talk about it.

What say you?

3 comments:

  1. I caught this movie one night on the Chiller network, and the only thing that gave me chills was how I waisted 2 hours on this crap! Evryone knew that the effin psycho was in the backseat of the hot ladie's car! You could see that coming from a mile away!

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  2. I remember seeing Nightmares when it was first on tv. I thought it was pretty good then, and I think so now. The story with Lance Henricksen ranks up there. Pretty cool, Satan in a hopped up Chevy short bed, then driving right out of the ground.

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  3. I have to disagree on the Emilio segment - a segment that really stuck with me when I saw back on home video - but the rest is garbage, as you said.

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