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Nightmare Weekend

  • 1986
  • R
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
3.6/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Nightmare Weekend (1986)
HorrorSci-Fi

A female scientist performs experiments on three college girls that turn them into drooling, murderous mutants.A female scientist performs experiments on three college girls that turn them into drooling, murderous mutants.A female scientist performs experiments on three college girls that turn them into drooling, murderous mutants.

  • Director
    • Henri Sala
  • Writers
    • George Faget-Benard
    • Robert Seidman
  • Stars
    • Robert John Burke
    • Kim Dossin
    • Dean Gates
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    3.6/10
    1.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Henri Sala
    • Writers
      • George Faget-Benard
      • Robert Seidman
    • Stars
      • Robert John Burke
      • Kim Dossin
      • Dean Gates
    • 33User reviews
    • 33Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

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    Photos161

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    Top cast27

    Edit
    Robert John Burke
    Robert John Burke
    • Dave
    • (as Robert Burke)
    Kim Dossin
    • Mary-Rose
    Dean Gates
    Dean Gates
    • Gas Pump Attendant #1
    Marc Gottlieb
    • Gas Pump Attendant #2
    Debra Hunter
    Debra Hunter
    • Jessica Brake
    Nick James
    • Gary
    Joan Krosche
    • Linda's Mother
    Debbie Laster
    Debbie Laster
    • Julie Clingstone
    Lori Lewis
    • Annie
    Preston Maybank
    • Bob
    Karen Mayo-Chandler
    Karen Mayo-Chandler
    • Sue
    • (as Karen Mayo)
    Wellington Meffert
    • Edward Brake
    Dale Midkiff
    Dale Midkiff
    • Ken
    Bruce Morton
    • Tony
    Scott Proctor
    • Ralph
    John Sandford
    • Harry
    Kimberley Stahl
    • Pamela
    Andrea Thompson
    Andrea Thompson
    • Linda
    • Director
      • Henri Sala
    • Writers
      • George Faget-Benard
      • Robert Seidman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews33

    3.61.4K
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    Featured reviews

    3Vomitron_G

    Evil possessed silver pinballs...!!!

    WTF?!?! I mean, seriously, what the fµ@k?! Who on earth concocted this script and went out and made this film? They must have had more than a couple of screws loose. So, we have a mansion in which a professor is working on some magical super-computer that can produce evil silver pinballs which can cause behavioral modifications on test subjects - a rottweiler in this case - but when amped up to a level of I-don't-know-what they can turn humans into demented & deformed, possessed beings as well as just plain kill them (like have them explode, for instance). That's about the best I can do in an attempt to describe the premise of this wretched film. So, the professor's evil mistress comes up with a plan to do some more testing - naturally, on humans this time - and invites three good-looking bimbos to the mansion. Some horny dudes are along for the ride as well, eventually. So, evil mistress goes nuts with the machine, producing one magical pinball after another to possess the bimbos & dudes. There's tons of nudity & sex and some gore thrown in for good measurement. There's an inexplicable sequence - many, in fact - where the daughter of the professor is playing a racing game on her computer that magically possesses a real car in the real world. There's even a possessed tooth brush. And this thing stars Dale Midkiff in an early role. And with all this, you haven't seen the half of it yet. Inept & illogical on all levels, I tell you. Everyone involved with this production must have thought the same thing, like pretty much "What the hell, let's just make this insane rubbish as we go along". Pinballs, man, possessed pinballs! Just when you thought you've seen it all...
    EyeAskance

    Holy cow...what the hell was all that supposed to be?

    Illogical, sloppy presentation will surely have bad movie fans doing a tap-dance of giddy approval. The story at hand concerns a scientist and his super-bitch of a scheming colleague experimenting with computer-generated silver balls that turn subjects into either mild-mannered passive types or mutant killer morons(depending on the level of dosage). Not surprisingly, these tests get out of hand during the progress of some nefarious wheelings-and-dealings, and a group of unsuspecting female visitors to the scientist's country estate find themselves in mortal danger.

    Low-ball production looks to have been funded with rolled pennies, and evidence hinting at professional guidance in any aspect of its forging is entirely lacking. Frequently hilarious and generally entertaining for all the wrong reasons, NIGHTMARE WEEKEND is recommended to fans of ultraweird flicks from the wrong side of the tracks.

    4/10
    4Coventry

    Nightmares are not supposed to be this funny?

    Right! Okay. Well, ... um... To be honest, I have no idea where to begin with this one.

    Maybe I'll start with some positive notes! "Nightmare Weekend" contains several adorably gooey, cheap-looking, and trashy gore effects that put a smile on my face. It also features lots of pointless soft-core sex and gratuitous nudity provided by naturally beautiful 80s girls, of which one of them later even became a CNN news anchor! That's right, the film stars Andrea Thompson and she has a steaming sex sequence that I bet she doesn't like to be reminded of nowadays. Her bio says she debuted in a small role in "Wall Street". Ha, not!

    The rest of "Nightmare Weekend" is utterly insane and unfathomable nonsense! Trying to summarize the crazy plot makes me want to scratch my head, but I'll try anyways. On the countryside lives a genius scientist who developed a method to alter the aggressive behavior of animals. For example, by forcing it to swallow a silver pinball (don't ask...) a vicious Doberman turns into a cute and gentle puppy! Okay, so Dr. Brake is a brilliant scientist, but then again, he also hooked up a super-computer to an irritatingly babbling green woolen socket-puppet named George, and his teenage daughter uses it to play Turbo! The good Dr. Has an evil female assistant, and she wants to test the effect of the behavioral pinballs on humans, so she lures three beautiful but empty-headed girls to the mansion. The girls sneak horny blokes from the nearby bar into the house, and thus the evil assistant has even more guinea pigs. Meanwhile, in the dullest and most redundant sub plot in the history of cinema, the scientist's daughter falls deeply in love with the evil assistant's toy boy, and she seeks romantic advice from the green-haired puppet.

    It's mind-boggling when you read it on paper, and I assure you it's even more mind-boggling when you see it on the screen. You have not experienced 80s amateur-madness until you see a sock-puppet yell "Danger! Danger!" or watch how a timid young housemaid turns into a sphere-possessed killing machine. And what is up with that end shot? I'm telling you "Nightmare Weekend" is either totally awful or, like a friend of mine righteously stated, so brilliant that ordinary mortal souls like us simply fail to comprehend it.
    1Maciste_Brother

    Truly mind boggling

    There are no words to explain how bad NIGHTMARE WEEKEND is. It simply defies description. Something about a computer that can change personal objects into silver balls that enter the victims' mouth, which kills them or turns them into zombies. The whole thing is so wonky that it's stunning. There's also a girl with personal computer in her room and the computer talks via a hand puppet!!!!!!!! I'm not making this stuff up. The computer also controls things like cars, even though there's nothing linking the computer with the vehicle.

    The "film" is total trash. Surreal bad trash. Spectacularly, one-of-a-kind bad trash. There's a lot of sex scenes thrown here and there, which aren't very hot or erotic. There's even one scene where a woman seemingly makes love or wants to French kiss a tarantula, which had me rolling on the floor.

    Definitely one of the worst movies ever made. Up there with the equally wretched direct-to-home video BOARDINGHOUSE, or BOOGEYMAN II (both NIGHTMARE WEEKEND and BOOGEYMAN II have scenes with a killer toothbrush!). At least it's fun to watch it and try to make sense of whatever is going on.
    MillBay

    An "F" for frightfully bad

    This could be a candidate for one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There it was for sale in the previously viewed section of my local video store. "Hey, I can own this for only $3.99!" For the same price I can buy my favourite brand of dental floss, and likely derive more pleasure from flossing my teeth than watching this mess. This movie was not scary at all, and not one of those "so bad it's good" type either. It was cheap, dull, and I apologize to the others who watched it with me. I am sorry for taking away a few hours of your life that you will never get back.

    STAY AWAY FROM THIS DREADFUL GARBAGE!!!

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    Related interests

    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      "George", Jessica's all-powerful computer, is portrayed by a Coleco Adam computer. The "Road Race" program is the ColecoVision home version of the SEGA arcade classic "Turbo".
    • Goofs
      At the end of the movie, when the maid is carrying the knife at the airport, her silhouette makes it appear that she is carrying a large machete. However, she is actually carrying a butcher knife.
    • Alternate versions
      American video release includes new footage.
    • Connections
      Featured in Killer Weekend: An Interview with Marc Gottlieb (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Nightmare Fantasy
      Sung by Miriam Stockley

      Music and Lyrics by Martin Kershaw

      Published by D.G.S. Filmworks Ltd.

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    FAQ14

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 12, 1986 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • France
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Programmiert zum Töten
    • Filming locations
      • Ocala, Florida, USA
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 25m(85 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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