Frightmare (1983)

Director:

Norman Thaddeus Vane

Writer:

Norman Thaddeus Vane (writer)

Release Date:

September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

There is no escape, not even death...

Plot:

Drama students decide to pay tribute to their favorite horror star by stealing his body from his crypt for a farewell party...

Plot Keywords:

Crematorium | Supernatural Power | Medium | Murder | Grave Robbing

Cast

Ferdy Mayne	...	Conrad Radzoff (as Ferdinand Mayne)
Luca Bercovici	...	Saint
Nita Talbot	...	Mrs. Rohmer
Leon Askin	...	Wolfgang
Jennifer Starrett	...	Meg
Barbara Pilavin	...	Etta Radzoff
Alan Stock	...	Oscar
Twyla Littleton	...	Actress in Commercial
Joe Witherell	...	Crewman
Janet Lee Orcutt	...	Script Girl
Carlene Olson	...	Eve
Scott Thomson	...	Bobo
Donna McDaniel	...	Donna
Jeffrey Combs	...	Stu
Peter Kastner	...	Commercial Director

Also Known As:

Body Snatchers (UK) (video title)
Horror Star (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 min | France:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Screenwriters

Trivia:

While Ferdy Mayne played the villain in the movie, those who worked on the film described him off camera as a dignified, friendly man.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During a scene towards the end of the movie where Conrad is walking up a staircase towards Stu, a hose can be seen spraying fog on the stairs.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead Teenager Movie (2006) (V)

Only a tiny bit underrated...

Although I do agree that Frightmare is underrated, it isn't something to put too much work into finding.

The storyline is a semi-interesting twist on the life after death theme: A legendary horror actor [Conrad] dies mysteriously in his bedroom. At the funeral his 'last film' is shown: a short with him stating that there is life after death and that he's watching all of the people that are watching the film. A little later, a group of horror/drama kiddies decide to steal Conrad's corpse and bring him to the house where some of his movies were filmed. The kids slowly start to disappear, one by one...

The first few death scenes are the only downright amazing thing about this movie. It was nice to see some regular, down to earth 'mental murder' after watching two gore filled movies beforehand. But even that can't save it -- the murders start to get bloody in a very cheesy way, and them themselves become as boring as the movie itself.

I'd suggest renting this only if you have the money to blow and you aren't expecting a masterpiece. There's better horror films, but every once in a while you need to see something average to remind you of that.