Reise ins Grauen

My review was written in September 1988 after a screening at Liberty theater on Manhattan's 42nd Street.

"Twisted Nightmare" is a perfunctory horror film bringing back to null effect rather corny genre themes. Ongoing theatrical release is unwarranted compared to many direct-to-video titles, though pic has a catchy moniker.

Main mystery stems from pic's origins: print caught had a 1982 copyright (in Roman numerals) on-screen, het ad materials and date of MPAA rating imply the film actually was made in 1987. Pic probably is fresh, but plays like the look-alike films made at the beginning of the decade when horror boomed.

A group of young people are summoned to Camp Paradise, where they camped regularly until two years ago when Mathew, the brother of pretty brunette Laura (Rhonda Gray), died mysteriously in flames. Confused storyline blames the subsequent one-by-one murdes of the cast members on those old standbys: (1) ancient revenge against the white man (plus a black couple for good measure) for desecrating Indian burial ground, the site of the camp, and for massacring local Indians (only survivor was a medicine man, whose grandson is tghe sinsiter farmhand-type resident of the camp), and (2) unbalanced Laura's obviously telegraphed need to avenge her bro's death.

Gory killings are standard for horror flicks, while Paul Hunt's execution of a "Friday the 13th" or "The Outing" type screenplay is relentlessly dull. Cast is attractive but the acting is flat. Big, hairy monster (mainly shown in silhouette) is disappointing.

"Twisted Nightmare" follows a young woman who is invited to her childhood summer camp for a free weekend getaway along with a large group of her old friends. Once there, the campers start to die off rather briskly, and it may have something to do with the camp's situation on sacred Native American land.

This obscure supernatural slasher is an admitted mess of a film--a cobbled-together amalgam of slasher tropes that rips off everything from "Friday the 13th" to "Silent Night, Deadly Night," and attempts to explain itself (sort of) via supernatural mythos that frankly makes no sense.

In retrospect, it's obvious that "Twisted Nightmare" was a troubled production, a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, if you will. And while most of it is trite and badly-acted, there is a considerable amount of fun to be had here, especially (or perhaps only) for fans of '80s slasher films. The film, for all its misgivings, is quite atmospheric, and the set (which you may recognize from "Friday the 13th Part III" lends some nice ambiance. The cinematography is also, though inconsistent, fairly moody, and there are some fantastic silhouette shots of the hulking, growling villain, backlit with cold blue light. The characters (and there is a large number fo them) are more or less disposable, and the actors are inexperienced and most can hardly deliver their lines, but this weirdly adds to the charm.

I think the main problem with "Twisted Nightmare" is that it doesn't have its own mythos properly worked out, and conclusion is as utterly confounding as what precedes it. There is no throughline and little consistency to speak of, but there are some atmospheric moments, a fairly creepy killer, and enough murder scenes to keep diehard genre fans amused. A mess, but an offbeat and fairly amusing one. 6/10.

We don't look for great scripts or direction with a slasher movie, but this movie's screenplay and direction are SO BAD, it's enough to change your opinion and make you seek out an art movie instead. Sure, there's a big body count, but the killings for the most part are either not explicit, or too dark to see. In fact, almost all of the non-slasher scenes are equally as dark! There are also some really big holes in the script that will even have the most forgiving fan of slashers groaning in disbelief. It's no wonder this movie was shelved for five years, then dumped quietly on video.

"Twisted Nightmare" won't pull out any surprises as it's a deranged, if run-of-a-mill camp-based slasher, but it does have some interesting novelties ranging from the fact it was filmed around the same time as "Friday the 13th Part 3" (to only be released a couple years later) and that in was shot in the same area as that film too. Those would remember the barn of doom (and again it seems to hold some sort of attraction).

A group of old friends are mysteriously invited back to Camp Paradise, but no one has been there since the strange death of Matthew (a simple kid who was picked on by them). His death was unexplainable as he was turned into a scorching human torch and the body was never found. So the friends are together again along with Matthew's sister, but not too soon one-by-one the group start getting picked off.

For being a low-end slasher it has its recycled conventions, but it was a competently done (on the technical side) for what it is. A quickie, but well delivered slasher that reminded me of a cheaper version of woodland slashers "The Burning" and "Madman". The killer is pretty much in the same mould as "Madman" --- an unstoppable scruffy brute that's disfigured and who likes to growl. The story is old-hat (despite an interesting back-story about how the campsite is cursed) with a sluggish beginning before getting on with things before leading onto a insanely predictable revelation, the forced dialogues are lame and the acting for most part is bad (leaden or ripe). However it does bestow a healthy body count throws about the nudity quite freely and has its nasty moments. Junky and cheesy, but entertaining. Director Peter Hunt uses the locations rather well, but it seems to work better during the night sequences with the cat and mouse chases between the bulky killer and self-obsessed victims. There are some atmospheric touches with beaming blue lighting and mist, but even then the vision can become quite murky and editing rather jerky (like the first death sequence). The death scenes are hit or miss, some coming off while others not so. Moments do become laughable, like the use of slow-motion. The music is an unhinged, but mangled mixture sounding ominous but then breaking into something sunny and bright.

Paul Hunt's "Twisted Nightmare" was actually made in 1982 and in the same setting of "Friday the 13th Part III".The film was withheld until 1987.It's easy to see why.A group of teenagers go to a lakeside camp named Camp Paradise built on an ancient Indian burial ground.Two years ago mildly retarded and virginal Matthew was burned alive in the barn.His charred body was never found.Two years later the teens are invited back to camp where demonic killer starts slaughtering them."Twisted Nightmare" rips off "Friday the 13th","The Ghost Dance" and "The Burning" and offers plenty of clichés.There is nudity galore and the bodycount is quite high,but all sixteen killings are shown mostly off-screen.The acting is pretty amateurish too.6 out of 10.Now let's go and explore the barn.