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Nightmare

Play trailer Poster for Nightmare R 1981 1h 37m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A drug-treated schizophrenic (Baird Stafford) plagued by horrible nightmares escapes from the hospital and goes on a killing spree.

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Nightmare

Critics Reviews

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Janet Maslin New York Times 08/30/2004
"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. Go to Full Review Keri O'Shea Warped Perspective 03/12/2024
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. Go to Full Review Daniel Goodwin Starburst 02/09/2024
4/5
[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. Go to Full Review Alan Jones Starburst 07/29/2022
This is a piece of junk whichever way you look at it. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 06/03/2006
C-
This was the early '80s, man, when horror directors had no limits, no morals, no shame. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 08/14/2005
2/5
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Audience Reviews

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Alexander K 04/10/2024 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. See more Mr P 06/17/2023 So much nasty slasher goodness. Must see See more @Greyzer 04/27/2022 This is totally the spirit of the good slashers. It has plenty of horror, a demented madman and no reason. See more 03/06/2018 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. See more 03/25/2015 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. See more 11/03/2014 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, See more Read all reviews
Nightmare

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Cast & Crew

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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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Nightmare

Nightmare (1981) Nightmare (1981) View more photos

Movie Info

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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