Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

Nice performances of main characters and second half of the movie are highlight of the movie, while the first part feels like some underground erotica movie. Still, that doesn't mean it's bad, since Susan Tyrrell looks like a fulfillment of every mature woman 's lover wet dream. It's nothing glorious, it's just a good thriller/slasher to watch and I as a horror movie fanatic wasn't disappointed. I give it 7/10 and a recommendation to people who like a decent slasher, but are not looking for perfection or God forbid, to be scared by it. Enjoy your stay with auntie! :D ;)

This is a truly bad film though it had a hypnotic effect on me... I just couldn't stop watching. This is an awesome film in its alarming subject matter. As a youngster, Billy Lynch is left with his Aunty Cheryl as his parents take a trip into the city. There's an accident and Billy's parents are killed so for the next fourteen years his Aunt takes care of him and brings him up. Then one day his Aunt kills a handyman who she claims tried to rape her. Billy affirms her story, though Detective Joe Carlson doesn't believe them. It's in the course of his investigation that things begin to unravel for Billy and Aunt Cheryl.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the story which keeps the viewer entertained and interested. Though it's the earnestness of the acting from Bo Svenson's portrayal of the over-the-top testosteroned bullish boor of a man in Detective Carlson that makes this humorous and enthralling. I have known people who are homophobic, to the point of brutishness, but this character could be the archetype.

Then there's the wonderful Susan Tyrell who's maniacal and lunatic portrayal of Aunty Cheryl is skin-crawlingly bizarre and creepy.

As the film progressed and grew more florid I was surprised to see Julia Duffy and, one of my favourite actors, Bill Paxton appear. Julia Duffy does a good job as Billy's love interest Julia and is one of the main characters that aren't too unnatural. One of the strongest and realistic characters in the movie is that of the homosexual Coach Tom Landers. When viewed in respect to the homophobic actions of Carlson I thought we'd get to see more of Landers. It is actually a shame that we don't

This film is bad enough, weird enough, crazy enough, and strangely entertaining enough to be a cult film. If you have time to spare and like a film to fascinate and delight then this is one worth a watch. I loved it...

If ever a horror movie could be accused of throwing in everything but the proverbial "kitchen sink", "Night Warning" is that movie. With homosexual bashing, a nod to "Psycho", and a furious mother - son fixation, this film doesn't quit till all the cliché's are covered. The opening has a rather impressive car crash, that sets a somewhat intricate story in motion. Susan Tyrrell is in full deranged mode, and Bo Svenson is despicable as the investigating lieutenant. His entire investigation is built on "air castles' with homosexual overtones. Eventually the wheels of sanity come off, and Tyrrell gives a memorable performance that by itself carries the film into above average territory. - MERK

I'd heard about Night Warning, I was fortunate enough to see it at a weird-film society showing, and I finally found it sitting in a bin in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There's one problem with the film, and we might as well deal with it up front. Director William Asher tries hard, but he's got a TV sensibility trying to cope with one of the nastiest scripts ever written and two of the wickedest performances ever turned in by SAG members. In the hands of a master, this thing'd still be playing at midnight showings all over the Western Hemisphere.

That aside, Susan Tyrrell's performance alone is worth the price of admission. Bo Svenson's performance alone is worth the price of admission. Julia Duffy's charming, unwrapped little mams together are worth the price of admission. Even Jimmy McNichol doesn't embarrass himself - no, he doesn't, watch it again, he's supposed to be a goofy, horny teenager in suburban/rural Arizona, not a sensitive coffee-house habitue, for godsake.

Let's go back to Susan Tyrrell. She puts on a clinic for actresses who want to know what "over the top" consitutes. When she flips out - lordie. All I'll say is that at approximately 1:15 into the movie, when she reacts to Julia Duffy breaking out a window, she makes a move with her head that's the single scariest thing I've ever seen an actor do on film, ever, anywhere, period. (And I've seen Jim Carrey trying to be sincere, thank you.)

And Bo Svenson is evil on skates. The script doesn't give him that much to work with, but he rolls right over that little obstacle. WHY does he rant, "I want those deviants off the streets!" Who knows, who cares? There's a story out on the Net that he was a royal pain on the set, and I could easily believe that this was a case of him getting to say things he's always wanted to say in public, and get paid for it.

Find this gem at any price. Know it. Live it.

The first word that comes to mind when describing "Night Warning" is "sophisticated"—a word I'm using loosely, though this low budget '80s shocker is definitely a cut above most. Susan Tyrrell stars as an overbearing aunt to a teenager, Billy (Jimmy McNichol), whose parents died when he was a child. As Billy nears adulthood, Billy's aunt becomes increasingly neurotic; enough to the point that she stabs a repairman to death in their house when he refuses her sexual advances. Enter a bigoted police detective who believes Billy was responsible for the murder by way of a gay love triangle between the repairman and his basketball coach, and what ensues is nothing short of mayhem.

Unusual in thematic content and character makeup, "Night Warning" (also known as "Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker") is an apt horror-thriller that is probably ten times better than one would expect. Directed by William Asher, a veteran most known for his direction of TV classics such as "I Love Lucy" and "Bewitched," the film has a superior edge over most of its peers in both content and execution.

Solid direction and atmosphere are abundant, while the performances really bring the script to life. Susan Tyrrell is fantastic as the overbearing, sexually-repressed aunt, and Jimmy McNicol plays the "normal teenager" impressively. Bo Svenson is appropriately repugnant as the homophobic and misguided police detective.

Aside from the classy direction, the script is also incredibly interesting in thematics; it's essentially a modern twist on Oedipus Rex, and the execution is fantastic. It's also extremely unusual (and pioneering) for its incorporation of a sympathetic, non-archetypical gay character maligned by circumstances and social bigotry. For 1982, it's definitely far from the standard— daring, in fact— and this alone makes the film a curious and unusual piece of eighties celluloid. That, and, who can't love Susan Tyrrell going on a stark-raving-mad murder spree?

Overall, "Night Warning" is a classy and well-executed horror film-cum-twisted family drama. Asher's direction is great, the special effects are on par, and the performances are glorious, both the understated and the outrageous. Of the slew of horror films from this era, "Night Warning" is an honest depiction of familial trauma, unwavering violence, and social oppression. It juggles its thematics with flair and moodiness, all while maintaining the impressions of a horror picture. Watch for: an early performance from Bill Paxton, and one of the greatest car crash sequences I've ever seen. 9/10.