Nightmares (1983)

Memorable, crazy movie

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Four stories are told in a regular, unlinked anthology series as chapters in the film.The Good Stor(ies): The Benediction-Suffering a crisis of faith, a priest decides to leave his church and take a trip across the desert. While traveling, he repeatedly comes across a large black truck that tries to run him off the road. When he comes to believe that the truck might be linked to his change of believe, he tries to stay alive against the demonic truck. While it's true that this one has zero suspense and a given unsurprising-surprise ending, this is still a lot of fun. Seeing a bunch of vehicular slaughter is never a bad thing, and the chasing adds some dimensions of suspense to the proceedings. The truck isn't that creepy but has a nice aura of menace, and the shot of it tunneling underground and bursting through is a spectacular surprise. While hard to really understand, it's quite enjoyable.Night of the Rat-After a succession of creepy noises haunt the household, a couple believe they have rats in the house, and after killing one, he says that the problem is solved. As the noises continue, only more destructive, they are forced to believe that this isn't a normal rat. Easily the best one of the stories, this one is pretty creepy. As the noises grow more and more obnoxious, the idea of what's behind it all is really creepy. The destruction it causes allows for plenty of nice chills, and there's even an encounter underneath the house that is really quite spooky. There's even the obligatory conflict in the darkened house that provides some great moments in there as well, and overall, this is a pretty creepy segment. The rat is never believable, but it's on-screen so shortly it doesn't really matter.The Bad Stor(ies): Terror in Topanga-After a serial killer escapes from custody, a woman decides to go out for some cigarettes. After meeting several people she thinks is the killer, she stops off at a gas station. Aware the killer is there, she fights to stay alive against the maniac. This here is just mainly plagued by how short it is. It's barely twenty minutes long and the final confrontation is quite short. Everything else is fine, it just really needed to stretch out and breathe. It is the goriest entry, with a couple of murders spread in that result in a brutal stabbing in the hand, a knife thrust repeatedly into the chest, and a gory gunshot wound, and the initial encounter is pretty creepy when the killer emerges suddenly with a loud shriek. This just needed more time.Bishop of Battle-Desperately wanting to beat a video game, a teen spends all of his time playing the game. When it gets the better of him, he sneaks back and tries it again, only for the game to sport a new twist he wasn't expecting. Easily the weakest one of the stories, this one suffers mainly from two main flaws. The main one is that this is simply isn't scary. There's nothing in here that generates any suspense or chills at all, and with it being based so steeply in a certain sub- culture, unless you're well-versed in that culture it will simply blow over and not offer any scares. The other flaw is that the segment is so predictable and easy-to-predict that anything that might generate suspense gets washed away when knowing how it will end. It does have a decent firefight in a video game room, but it's not enough to save it.Rated R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

Four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban legends...So, the story is that these were originally four sections from a television anthology show called "Dark Room" that had to be cut because of being "too intense", and then apparently more footage was added and these were collected into an anthology. In the audio commentary on the Scream Factory disc, this is denied, but we find that these were rather for a pilot for a new show. It's different, but important.The first segment Christopher Crowe wrote was "Bishop of Battle" (the most memorable of the four), and from there it seems that the decision was made by Universal to go the movie rather than TV route. Tis was likely a mistake, as it makes for a rather bland film overall but could have been an interesting series. As is, if the film did not have Emilio Estevez and Lance Henriksen (but unfortunately not together), this film would have faded into obscurity long ago...There just is not much to like in this... you could put any three "Tales From the Crypt" episodes together -- any three, even the worst -- and call it an anthology, and it would be better than this.

This omnibus affair offers four scary tales altogether. First and most tense story, "Terror in Topanga" - Chainsmoking housewife Lisa (well played by the lovely Christina Raines) finds herself being stalked by a vicious escaped psychopath when she goes out late at night for a pack of cigarettes. This vignette culminates in a positively harrowing conclusion, plus boasts neat cameos by familiar character actors Anthony James as a store clerk and William Sanderson as a gas station attendant. Second and coolest yarn, "Bishop of Battle" - Cocky whiz kid arcade rat J.J. Cooney (a likable portrayal by Emilio Estevez) reaches the thirteenth level of the tough video game the Bishop of Battle (voiced with sinister aplomb by James Tolkan) and finds himself in considerable jeopardy when the game becomes dangerously real. Several gnarly punk songs by Fear on the soundtrack and the funky special effects make this one a total blast to watch. Third and most exciting segment, "The Benediction" - The always excellent Lance Henrikson gives a typically fine and intense performance as MacLeod, a Catholic priest who loses his faith and subsequently has a frightening encounter with an evil satanic black pick-up on a lonely stretch of desert road. This absorbing "Duel" variant makes effectively eerie use of its desolate isolated setting and is highlighted by the startling sequence in which the pick-up bursts forth from the ground. Fourth and most freaky anecdote, "Night of the Rat" - A suburban family are terrorized by a huge demonic rodent that invades their home. Richard Masur and Veronica Cartwright excel as the unhappy bickering married couple, child actress Bridgette Anderson is remarkable as their sweet little girl Brooke, and Albert Hague contributes an engaging turn as folksy exterminator Mel Keefer. This story builds plenty of tension and offers a truly creepy and unsettling atmosphere that's slightly marred by some unfortunately shoddy (not so) special effects towards the end. Director Joseph Sargent maintains a brisk pace throughout and stages the shock scenes with commendable efficiency. Craig Safan supplies an appropriately spooky'n'shuddery score. The slick cinematography by Mario DiLeo and Gerald Perry Finnerman gives the picture a smooth glossy look. A fun fright feature.

Four tales with no wraparound story titled TERROR IN TOPANGA, BISHOP OF BATTLE, THE BENEDICTION, & NIGHT OF THE RAT inside a movie structure consecutively.The first is about a housewife who, despite her husband's warnings to stay in because of an escaped loony who murdered a police officer with a knife, goes out for a pack of cigarettes. Guess who she perhaps bumps into when she unfortunately runs out of gas? This one has a nice build-up, but goes absolutely nowhere which is a shame because it has lots of potential..it simply lacked inspiration by the writer.The second tale is about an obsessive arcade nerd who just can't rest until he reaches the prestigious Level 13 of a very difficult game called "The Bishop of Battle". When he does, he's thrusted into a new kind of game where the stakes are his very life. To be honest, this one was a bit hokey..the result when he reaches 13 I mean.My favorite of the anthology has a Priest(Lance Henriksen, with conviction), who has lost his faith because of the frequent human suffering he sees on a regular basis, being terrorized by a psychopathic trucker, whose face is never revealed thanks to darkened tinting on the windows. We do get an indication who the driver might be..an upside down crucifix is hanging from the rear-view mirror. And, the weapon the Priest uses against the trucker also is telling in perhaps who this evil driver is. Tense, well developed little episode with little spiritual elements which aren't too heavy-handed which is a plus.An unhappily married couple(Richard Masur and Veronica Cartwright)have a MAJOR rat problem. Their house cat finds that out first hand. It has been leaving a path of destruction throughout their house yet the husband wishes to fix the rat problem on his own without paying someone else. The wife, having had enough of her kitchen being demolished, calls a specialist(Albert Kague)and after studying comes to the conclusion that this big rat might be a Devil Rodent, the type from ancient German myth. He says they are indestructible. I know one thing, as presented here, when it lets out a roar it must measure on the Richter scale. The final scene where the couple come face to face with it might be a little too cheesy to fully scare, but I feel the episode overall works quite well.None of the stories can claim complete originality, but the last two, I believe, are thrilling & creepy enough to rise this anthology as a whole slightly above mediocrity.