Nightmare

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Nightmare

R

Released Apr 4, 1981

1h 37m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

33%

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6 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A drug-treated schizophrenic (Baird Stafford) plagued by horrible nightmares escapes from the hospital and goes on a killing spree.

Janet Maslin

New York Times

"Nightmare'' is the perfunctory work of Romano Scavolini, a writer-director whose best idea here is to repeat the same gory flashback footage over and over again.

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Keri O'Shea

Warped Perspective

It’s an undoubtedly OTT, gory and profoundly mean-spirited vision; unlike many of its peers, swept onto the video nasties lists for still mystifying reasons, Nightmare is, at least, a genuinely nasty video.

Mar 12, 2024

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Daniel Goodwin

Starburst

[Nightmare] is an unheeded cult b-movie gem that has stood the test of time and should strike a chord enough to resonate with even the most desensitised horror fans.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 9, 2024

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

This is a piece of junk whichever way you look at it.

Jul 29, 2022

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

This was the early '80s, man, when horror directors had no limits, no morals, no shame.

Rated: C-

Jun 3, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 14, 2005

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Alexander K

If you are into sleazy slashers like Maniac and New York Ripper, this one might just do it for you! Lovely that it's available on UHD.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

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Mr P

So much nasty slasher goodness. Must see

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/17/23

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Audience Member

This is totally the spirit of the good slashers. It has plenty of horror, a demented madman and no reason.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

This dude is in a mental hospital being treated for homicidal rages brought on by graphic and horrific nightmares. For some reason he gets a day pass (??), and after wandering around Times Square for a while, he takes off for Florida, killing several people along the way. He stalks a particular family in Florida who have some issues of their own leading to a bloody climax. The first half hour of this film is so damn good that it pains me to say that the last hour is really not that good at all. Baird Stafford is, among other things, ab amazing screamer, and his unhinged performance is one of the highlights of the film. The strange, gory nightmares and the amazing footage of Times Square sets up a super promising film that descends into a ton of dull and static nonsense in the 2nd half. Still, if you are looking for violence and sleaze, this film will not disappoint ... not at all. It all builds to a climax full of revelations that manage to be both extremely predictable and completely nonsensical at the same time. There's a feat.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Most video nasty movies aren't very good so if you're on a marathon you'll be happy when you get to Nightmare. A good, sleazy horror movie that borrows from all the right horror of the 70's. Not the best, but impressive for a nasty.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

This is truly exceptional for this kind of genre, great acting, a well written script and taut direction. The effects are superb bringing the nightmare to life and not overdoing it. I'm not one for these movies but i would have to say this one had me gripped,

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Romano Scavolini

Director

Baird Stafford

George Tatum

Sharon Smith

Susan Temper

C.J. Cooke

C.J. Temper

Mike Cribben

Bob Rosen

Kathleen Ferguson

Barbara

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Synopsis

A drug-treated schizophrenic (Baird Stafford) plagued by horrible nightmares escapes from the hospital and goes on a killing spree.

Director: Romano Scavolini
Producer: John L. Watkins
Production Co: Goldmine Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 12, 2017
Runtime: 1h 37m

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