The Nightmare Man (TV 1981)

A lonely Scottish island is stalked by a brutal killer who may be from another world...

Director:

Douglas Camfield

Writers:

Robert Holmes, David Wiltshire (novel)

Stars:

James Warwick, Celia Imrie, Maurice Roëves

Cast

Cast overview:
James Warwick	...	Michael Gaffikin
Celia Imrie	...	Fiona Patterson
Maurice Roëves	...	Insp. Inskip
Tom Watson	...	Dr. Goudry
Jonathan Newth	...	Col. Howard
James Cosmo	...	Sgt. Carch
Fraser Wilson	...	PC Williamson
Tony Sibbald	...	Dr. Symonds
Elaine Wells	...	Mrs. Mackay
Jon Croft	...	McGrath
Ronald Forfar	...	Campbell
Jeff Stewart	...	Drummond
Robert Vowles	...	Lt. Carey
Pat Gorman	...	The Killer

Storyline

A heavy fog cuts the small isolated Scottish island off from the mainland, and dentist Michael Gaffikin has just discovered a dismembered corpse on the golf links. Michael and his artist girlfriend, Fiona Patterson, assist the local law enforcements in searching for the murderer. However, as the body count rises and the surrounding circumstances turn increasingly bizarre and gruesome, everyone begins to wonder if the killer is a human or an unimaginable creature...

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Plot Keywords:

island | scotland | murder | serial killer | alien | 

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

1 May 1981 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Padstow, Cornwall, England, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 118 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although it was set in the Scottish Hebrides, complete with at least one Gaelic speaker, in fact all of the outdoor scenes were filmed in another Celtic country: Cornwall (aka "Kernow").

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Quotes

Insp. Inskip: Look, all of the evidence we have got to date, points to something which is half human, half animal.

User Reviews

Big let-down

Oh dear. Some of the best talent in British TV made this serial, and so I can only assume that they were working under incredible time pressure, and had to settle for first takes of many scenes.

There ARE some frightening scenes in this Highland mystery (mostly when the "monster" attacks and we see it from his point of view), but I'm afraid that I found most of the story unintentionally funny ! Such as the moment when the hero discovers a dismembered corpse on a golf course: Oh look, there's a hand ... oh, and there's another hand over there ... hmm this is a bit puzzling ...

For many years fans of British cult TV shows campaigned to have this serial released on VHS or DVD, but the BBC always said no. Now I think I understand why !