Nightmares '83

I'm such a fan of the horror anthology. I like the idea of a movie with several horror stories featuring a number of familiar faces with plots containing macabre elements and themes. Nightmares, to be honest, never was that big a favorite of mine, even when I was a kid and pretty liked anything horror. But, like anthology horror films prior to Nightmares, some recognizable faces turn up, such as Emilio Estevez, still mining the angry teenager with a poisonous attitude, and another strong, sincere performance from Lance Henriksen, in an atypical role as a struggling-with-his-faith priest. Still, I remember Nightmares was a VHS rental darling in its day...

Terror in Topanga is the slasher tale of the anthology, a nut out stabbing folks (including a cop, savagely knifed at the beginning after sending a motorist on her way, warning her to fix the tail light) and a suburban wife needing smokes so desperately she's willing to risk going out into the night at 11:00 in order to satiate her nicotine fit. William Henry Glasier (The One and Only William Sanderson; or so we are led to believe...) is an escaped mental patient (yeah, I know, I know...) wanted in connection with LA murders, but she needs her sweet, sweet nicotine so you can imagine, with all the media and radio coverage of the notorious murders and the loony-on-the-loose, there's potential in her meeting a possible danger in the foothills of Topanga. This one is obvious, underwhelming, and rather forgettable. If this were absent from the anthology it wouldn't suffer at all. Sanderson's character is a play on "don't judge a book by its cover" and goes to show you that he can teeter both ways, convincing either as sinister or kindly. You knew that this tale was certain to place her in harm's way, and that after her terrifying experience she'd probably kick the habit. Blah.

The Bishop of Battle is the tale that was very popular it seems with a lot of the kids I knew that watched Nightmares in the 80s, and you can read reviews and comments on it with the sentiments highly favorable towards it, but this one isn't necessarily one that resonates with me, although the arcade age brings back fond memories spent in them as a lad, even if I wasn't worth a plug nickle. The plot's fairly simple for this tale: a teenager who loves to turn up the punk music in his Walkman while tackling the highly difficult arcade game known in nickname as The Bishop (The Bishop of Battle), with 13 levels (get it, 13?), each level progressively harder. Emilio Estevez in his early career (around the same time as his cult classic, Repo Man) is the obsessed teen, wholly committed to beating this game, but what will his reward be for defeating it if he does? Estevez is considered a gaming legend by his Valley peers, and there's a doubt by many regarding whether or not this level even exists. He cancels out everyone in exchange for The Bishop and pays a heavy price... This perhaps comments on the unhealthy addiction to games and how it can change your behavior towards others, ultimately overtaking every aspect of your life if allowed.

So far both tales feature addictions that endanger those with them. While the craving for smokes motivates the woman in the first tale to risk altercation with a killer, Estevez' need to beat a game leads to a fate possibly worse than death.

The Benediction concerns a Catholic priest (Lance Henriksen, in a strong performance early in his career, before The Terminator & Aliens) losing his faith as he sees so many examples of evil, yet so few examples of good. Haunted by the death of a child (his parents are dedicated members of his parish), Henriksen decides to leave The Church, heading out on his own, in a car with no air conditioning, the desert his road to wherever. What he didn't imagine encountering was a black truck (a crucifix hanging upside down from a chain on a review mirror) with black tinted windows constantly trying to run him off the road, hit him head-on, and wreck his car. The Benediction uses the oft-told themes of "good vs. evil" and a man of God regaining the faith he had lost after a spiritual crisis. These themes are not everyone's cup of tea, though. The end result, the use of holy water to combat the evil black truck when death seems imminent, is predictable, but I have to admit this tale was compelling in that it uses vehicular action to symbolize these themes. Nothing extraordinary, though; some might compare this tale to Spielberg's Duel in ways.

Night of the Rat suffers from stupid behavior syndrome, not uncommon in horror movies of all types. Richard Masur is stuck with an incorrigible, rather impossibly stubborn, and remarkably ignorant businessman workaholic who insists to his concerned, troubled wife (played by Veronica Cartwright; Alien/Invasion of the Body Snatchers) that he will take care of their growing rat problem (he even comes home and the exterminator points out the giant hole in the wall, trying to tell him of the kind of situation the family has with the rodent problem, only to be rushed from the house and on his way). You know it will not bode well for the family when all signs point to a problem needing to be handled by a professional yet the man of the house persists that he can fix it himself. Left to their own devices, Cartwright and Masur go at it about taking care of the problem internally, without the need for outside assistance. This is the kind of tale that features a man so full of ego, pride, and self-importance than any offer of help is rejected with a harsh, cold tone, so when he does get what's coming to him, all you can feel is sympathy for the wife and daughter who become the true victims. We eventually get to see the giant rat and it is wanting something from the family, the daughter held hostage until this demand is met. Essentially a man vs. rat tale, except the reason for the rodent's presence in the home is more maternal and less just to be a pest. Masur is so unlikable, I think it hurts the tale but because of his Alpha Male personality, the results were proving a point: a control freak believing he can rid his house of rats is brought down to size.


To be honest, watching Nightmares again after a few years absence, it really doesn't improve upon subsequent viewings, mainly because none of the tales really set the world on fire. Normally in an anthology, there comes out at least one solid tale that lifts the entire movie past potential mediocrity. The Bishop of Battle and maybe The Benediction are mentioned in a positive light by those who grew up with Nightmares, but even these two tales are decent but not particularly spectacular. Run of the mill anthology at best. Some recognizable faces help keep this film alive I think; and the anthology is a popular staple in horror...I know I love the omnibus, especially when Amicus did it in past.