Nightmares (1983)

Nice effects though.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I first saw this film back in the good old days of VHS. It wasn't easy to find on DVD, but I got it in the end, hence this review.A feature of British horror movies in the 60s and 70s were the compendiums brought out by producers like Amicus, where a frame story formed the background for three or four short films. Nightmares looks like something similar, but without the framework. The four short stories were actually intended for television, but were deemed too intense for that medium, so were sewn together as a film.So what do we have? In the first story, a nicotine-addicted woman braves a dark night with a serial killer on the loose to get some cigarettes. In the second, a video game addict meets his match. The third sees a priest who has lost his faith confronted by a dark enemy, while the fourth has a suburban family attracting the attention of a giant rodent.For me, the first two stories were the ones that worked the best. Maybe the conclusion of the first (Terror in Topanga) is predictable, but it works. The second (The Bishop of Battle) has probably the most memorable quote – "I am the Bishop of Battle, master of all I survey" – and its conclusion satisfies in context. However, the third one (The Benediction) is absorbing enough for a while, but seems to lose interest in its story and the ending is rather abrupt. The fourth one (Night of the Rat) suffers a severe case of cute kid syndrome and just can't resist the temptation to sink into mawkish sentimentality that spoils so many films for me.Given the time it was made and what looks like a modest budget, production values, including special effects, are satisfactory and performances aren't bad. The music isn't up to much though.This was a favorite of mine as a teenager and remains so now. It won't be long before I watch it again.Rating: 7/10.

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.

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.