Nightmare (1981 film)
| Nightmare | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Romano Scavolini |
| Produced by | John L. Watkins |
| Written by | Romano Scavolini |
| Starring |
Baird Stafford Sharon Smith C.J. Cooke Mik Cribben |
| Music by | Jack Eric Williams |
| Cinematography | Gianni Fiore[1] |
| Editing by | Robert T. Megginson[1] |
| Distributed by | Goldmine Productions/21st Century Film Corporation[1] |
| Release dates | 1981[1] |
| Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
| Country | USA[1] |
| Language | English |
Nightmare (also released as Nightmares in a Damaged Brain)[2] is a 1981 slasher film directed by Romano Scavolini.[1] Nightmare gained instant notoriety among horror fans when it was banned in the UK as a video nasty and its distributor was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing to edit out a sequence lasting one second from the film.[3]
Synopsis
George Tatum (Baird Stafford) journeys back down to his home in Florida. Along the way, he has recurring nightmares of a violent incident from his childhood, which forces him to kill again.
George's ex-wife, Susan Temper (Sharon Smith), young son C.J. (C.J. Cooke), and the family babysitter begin to receive "hang-up" calls, which none of them realize is George making sure his family is home. The closer George gets to his destination, the more gruesome his murders become and the memories of his first childhood-murder intensify.
Wearing an old-man mask to conceal his identity, George makes his way into his old house with an icepick, kills the babysitter, and goes after his son and two daughters (Kim Patterson & Tammy Patterson), who have taken refuge in their mother's bedroom on the second floor. Young C.J. manages to shoot the masked-maniac through a hole hacked into the door, causing George to fall back down the staircase. As he lies dying, George has a full recall of his childhood, where upon catching his father (William Kirksey) cheating on his mother (Christina Keefe) with a mistress, he brutally murders both of them with an axe.
As George is carried off in a stretcher, his wife comes home, identifies her husband, and goes into a screaming fit. Young C.J. is taken for questioning by the police, and winks into the camera as the final image of the film.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Baird Stafford | George |
| Sharon Smith | Susan |
| C.J Cooke | C.J |
Critical reception
Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a negative review.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Brennan, Sanrdra. "Nightmare:Overview - Allmovie". Allmovie. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ↑ "Allmovie". Allmovie. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
- ↑ "Nightmare (1981)". eofftv.com. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ↑ Janet Maslin (23 October 1981). "Bad Dream". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2012.