Nightmares

Thanks to good writing and excellent casting choices, this is (imho) the best of the "horror serial" movies popularized in the 1980's by films like "Creepshow." Some genuinely creepy moments and quality acting make for an excellent ride, although the first of the four stories is basically a throwaway. The special effects could be better, but this was the early 80's after all. Watch it at night after 1AM for best effect.

8/10

Directed by Joseph Sargent, it's split into 4 unconnected stories: 1) "Terror in Topanga" offers up that old chestnut about a dark night and an escaped killer on the prowl. Featuring Christina Raines and William Sanderson. 2) "The Bishop of Battle" stars Emilio Estevez as a video game expert determined to get to the final level on a new arcade game. Careful what you wish for! Also with Moon Unit Zappa. 3) "The Benediction" is a Duel take-off with Lance Henriksen as a priest who has lost his faith and may have run into the devil in the form of a menacing black truck on the highway. 4) "Night of the Rat" features a suburban family terrorized by, you guessed it, rats. With Richard Masur and Veronica Cartwright.

The effects are chintzy (including some very early computer effects), and a lot of it is one-note. But there's a camp charm to it, and it makes good viewing for those in the mood for some cheesy but not ghastly frights. Featuring some early 80's punk music by the likes of X, Black Flag, and Fear.

"Nightmares" is a horror film divided in four tales: (a) "Terror in Topanga" - An insane killer escapes and stabs a highway patrol officer. The news advises the residents to stay at home. However, the stressed and addicted Lisa (Cristina Raines) waits her husband Phil (Joe Lambie) goes to the bedroom of their little daughter to flee to a store to buy cigarettes and milk. On the way back home, she is forced to stop the car to put some gas and something happens to her.

(b) "The Bishop of Battle" - The famous videogame player J. J. Cooney (Emilio Estevez) is addicted on the game "The Bishop of Battle" and expects to reach the unattainable Level 13. One night, she flees from home and breaks in a shopping arcade to play the game. When he reaches the Level 13, he has a surprise.

(c) "The Benediction" - The priest of a small-town Frank MacLeod (Lance Henriksen) loses his faith and leaves his parish. When he is leaving, his friend Father Luis Del Amo (Tony Plana) comes to say goodbye and he takes his recipient of holy water since he will cross the desert. Out of the blue, a black pick-up truck hunts him down on the lonely road.

(d) "Night of the Rat" - Steven Houston (Richard Masur), his wife Claire (Veronica Cartwright) and their daughter Brooke (Bridgette Andersen) live in a comfortable house and they are saving money. When Claire overhears rats behind the wall, she wants to call the terminator Mel Keefer (Albert Hague) but Steven says that he can handle with the problem. Until the night they learn what is happening in their house.

"Nightmares" is an anthology of four horror tales divided in chapters. It seems that it is a rejected pilot of a television series. The first chapter is certainly the best one, with a tense story and a great twist. The second chapter is typical for the 80's with the intense use of videogames. The third chapter is also good, with great performance of Lance Henriksen. The fourth and last chapter is the silliest tale with an absurd plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Pesadelos Diabólicos" ("Devilish Nightmares")

For those not afraid of cheapo 80's television horror comes Nightmares. Essentially this was the remainder of the filmed episodes of Universals anthology series "The Darkroom", you know, the short lived one that was on ABC in the early eighties, had James Coburn as the host. Oh well, I tried. Anywho, the 4 story movie was very "un-scary" to most, but entertaining enough to sit through if you enjoy speculative fiction type stories. Of course the staple memory from this movie is the segment with E.Esteves called "The Bishop of Battle". After TRON failed to bag box office reciepts in the upper millions, I guess Universal thought they could do better with a video game nightmare story replete with computer graphics. Must have worked for this film as mentioning this segment, jars memories even in this day. Trivia bit: Eighties icon Moon Unit Zappa makes a guest appearance in the film, see if you can spot her.

Not the best anthology movie made, but it was somewhat good. I liked "Creepshow" and "Cat's Eye" better, but this one is on par with "Twilight Zone: the Movie". There are other anthology movies that this one is a lot better than. For one it has a good number of stories, though in the end they are a little like episodes of the show "Tales from the Darkside". The first one is based on an urban myth as a woman goes out for cigarettes on a night some crazed mental patient is on the loose. I can't really say much more or I will end up ruining the ending (which you will know if you ever heard the myth like I have). The next story is the best one in my book, mainly because I play a lot of video games. It features a young Emilo Estevez as this really good game player. He is obsessed with this one game called "The Bishop of Battle". He wants to get to this level that no one has ever gotten too, and one night he breaks into the arcade and he makes it to the level and let's just say he is in for a surprise at what the mystery level contains. The third story is about a priest who has lost his faith. He is driving in the desert where he is confronted by a mysterious truck with tinted windows. They do a cat and mouse routine through the desert terrain. Finally, we have the story of a couple who have a small rat problem. This anthology movie is not going to blow you away, but the tales are good enough to be rather entertaining.