Nightmares (1983)

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

Jeffrey Bloom (writer)
Christopher Crowe (writer)

Release Date:

9 September 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Nightmares... is this year's sleeper.

Plot:

Four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban ledgends.

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Truck | Faith | Urban Legend | Giant Rat

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Cristina Raines	...	Lisa the Wife (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Joe Lambie	...	Phil the Husband (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Anthony James	...	Store Clerk (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Clare Nono	...	Mori the Newswoman (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Raleigh Bond	...	Norman, a Neighbor (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Robert Phelps	...	Newsman (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Dixie Lynn Royce	...	Little Girl (segment "Terror in Topanga")
Lee Ving	...	William Henry Glazier (segment "Terror in Topanga") (as Lee James Jude)
Emilio Estevez	...	J.J. Cooney (segment "Bishop of Battle")
Mariclare Costello	...	Adele Cooney (segment "Bishop of Battle")
Louis Giambalvo	...	Jerry Cooney (segment "Bishop of Battle")
Moon Unit Zappa	...	Pamela (segment "Bishop of Battle") (as Moon Zappa)
Billy Jayne	...	Zock Maxwell (segment "Bishop of Battle") (as Billy Jacoby)
Joshua Grenrock	...	Willie (segment "Bishop of Battle")
Gary Cervantes	...	Mazenza (segment "Bishop of Battle")

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Lee Ving, lead singer of punk band Fear, appears in the segment, "Terror in Topanga." One of the songs that Emilio Estevez listens to in the segment "Bishop of Battle" is "I Love Livin' in the City" by Fear.

Goofs:

Continuity: In Chapter Three - The Benediction, a 1970 Chevelle Malibu 4-door sedan is used in several scenes (rear bumper with square taillights), and the car which is totalled before the segment ends is a 1972 model (rear bumper with 4 round taillights). The 1970 Chevelle used in the film has a front grille from a 1972 model, headlights from a 1971/72 (1970 Chevelles had 4 headlights up front), and turn signal lenses from a 1971.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Bishop: Greetings, Earthling. I am the Bishop of Battle, master of all I survey. I have 13 progressively harder levels. Try me if you dare.

Movie Connections:

Features Frankenstein (1931)

Soundtrack:

Louie Louie

Might have been "too intense" for TV, but not for this viewer.

Disappointing horror anthology which was originally supposed to be shown on television but got sent to theaters instead.

The writing (parts one to three were written by Christopher Crowe, part four by Jeffrey Bloom) is largely uninspired.

Director Joseph Sargent, a capable veteran of both film and TV (a recent credit for him is the TV movie 'Something the Lord Made'), fails to give this movie the kind of style or flash that it could have benefited from. Then again, he also made "Jaws: The Revenge" four years later. Oh well, I guess some directors are going to have their good films and their bad films...

Part one is about a young wife (Cristina Raines) who simply HAS to go out for some cigarettes. The final twist is obviously derived from a popular urban legend. I felt pretty blasé watching this.

Part two is about a nutty kid (Emilio Estevez) who's stubbornly determined to excel at a video arcade game. Tolerable, with amusing if not surprising ending, with effects that nearly bankrupted the whole production.

Part three is about a sullen priest (Lance Henriksen) who has lost his faith. In a twist that rips off the movie "Duel", he gets terrorized by a demon truck while driving through the desert. Hard to care about this story, although there is a show-stopping effects scene involving the truck. Henriksen isn't utilized very well. There is one hilarious stunt sequence where you can tell that the person jumping out of the way is NOT Henriksen.

Part four, the mild best of this bunch, is about a suburban family, with an infuriatingly stubborn idiot of a husband/father (Richard Masur) that is terrorized by a giant rat in their home. There is some actual suspense, though the finale could have been better. You'll be able to tell what kind of effect was used.

All in all, "Nightmares" suffers from being too routine. Only part four has any potential at all to be memorable.

4/10