Nightmares is a strange bird of a horror anthology. First of all, it was made in the wrong decade. Not many of these came out when Nightmares did. Then, it decided not to have a horror host or framing story. You barely even get a title card. It was released by Universal; many anthologies came from smaller studios like Amicus. But then, it suffers from some of the curses the horror anthologies always have. Extreme shifts in quality from story to story and some of the segments feel like they were rushed. Others…go on forever and you are way ahead of them.
This one has a double whammy: the movie was put together off the cutting room floor. Remember when I reviewed the short lived horror anthology TV Series Darkroom? Well, when it went down in flame, they had some scripts that were deemed “too intense” for television. (Frankly, I think this movie would be rated PG these days.)
The first segment, Terror in Topenga, is an urban legend come to life. Greatly enhanced by a subplot regarding the evils of cigarette smoking and an appearance by William Sanderson, of Newhart’s Larry of Larry, Daryl and Daryl. You have everything here: a vice that needs fixing, an escaped mental patient complete with hyper radio newscasts, and a gas station at night. It is an efficient little piece and probably my favorite of the batch.
The second segment is the Bishop of Battle starring a very young Emilio Estevez. Emilio was probably figuring out his character for Repo Man which would be released the very next year, and he plays his part to perfection. Fun fact: James Tolkan (the principal in Back to the Future) does the voice of video game Bishop of Battle. You will see the end coming from a mile away, but the nostalgic look at a mid-80’s mall and its arcade makes it even more fun. Worth seeking out this segment.
Two winners in a row, but then we get The Benediction. Despite having the always wonderful Lance Henriksen in the lead of the segment, this is the stinker of the bunch. They try to build a backstory, but it is not much fun, and the plot is a warmed over version of Duel that just is so lame in comparison to the Stephen Spielberg classic. It’s not bad, per se, but a step down from the first two segments.
Batting clean up is Night of the Rat with Alien’s Veronika Cartwright and The Thing’s Richard Masur in the dual lead. Pretty pedestrian man vs. rat battle for the house story shows one control freak that sometimes you need to just let go. It is also a disappointment despite strong lead performances.
I’d recommend to give this one a try with one of your friends that likes their horror a little lighter and not too worried if they are ahead of the plot twists by a good lap or two.
