IMDb RATING
5.7/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Anthology of four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban legends.Anthology of four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban legends.Anthology of four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban legends.
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Clare Torao
- Mori the Newswoman (segment "Terror in Topanga")
- (as Clare Nono)
Lee Ving
- William Henry Glazier (segment "Terror in Topanga")
- (as Lee James Jude)
Moon Unit Zappa
- Pamela (segment "The Bishop of Battle")
- (as Moon Zappa)
Billy Jayne
- Zock Maxwell (segment "The Bishop of Battle")
- (as Billy Jacoby)
Gary Carlos Cervantes
- Mazenza (segment "The Bishop of Battle")
- (as Gary Cervantes)
André Díaz
- Pedro (segment "The Bishop of Battle")
- (as Andre Diaz)
- Director
- Writers
- Christopher Crowe(segment Terror in Topanga)
- Jeffrey Bloom(segment Night of the Rat)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe computer game sequences in this part of the film were generated on an ACS1200 and cost so much that it nearly bankrupted the production.
- GoofsIn Chapter Three - The Benediction, a 1970 Chevelle Malibu 4-door sedan is used in several scenes (rear bumper with square taillights), and the car which is totalled before the segment ends is a 1972 model (rear bumper with 4 round taillights). The 1970 Chevelle used in the film has a front grille from a 1972 model, headlights from a 1971/72 (1970 Chevelles had 4 headlights up front), and turn signal lenses from a 1971.
- Quotes
[repeated line]
Bishop: Greetings, Earthling. I am the Bishop of Battle, master of all I survey. I have 13 progressively harder levels. Try me if you dare.
- ConnectionsFeatures Frankenstein (1931)
Featured review
A Great Opening Segment, The Rest Are Kind Of Boring
Nightmares (1983)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
'Terror in Topanga' has a crazy killer escaping prison but housewife Lisa (Cristina Raines) needs cigarettes so she decides to go out. Of course, you know what happens. In 'The Bishop of Battle' a teenager (Emilio Estevez) obsessed with getting to the thirteenth level of a video games gets more than he bargained for. 'The Benediction' has a Priest (Lance Henriksen) walking away from his faith and on a journey through the desert he runs into a mysterious black truck. 'Night of the Rat' has parents (Richard Masur, Veronica Cartwright) trying to protect their daughter and home from a giant rat.
As with any anthology film, NIGHTMARES is a mixed bag but overall it's worth watching if you're a fan of this type of film. With that said, there's no question that the best film is the first one. It's based off a fairly popular urban legend and I must admit that I found it to be quite creepy at times. Director Joseph Sargent really does a great job on this number and we've got a terrific performance from Raines that helps sell it. The entire sequence is the shortest of the lot but it really hammers home the tension and the twist is quite effective as well.
The following three stories aren't nearly as good and all of them are rather disappointing in their own way. I'd argue that the third one was the next best as Henriksen at least delivers a nice performance but the religious overtones never really work and what we're left with is a cheap copy of DUEL. The second story with the teenager playing video games probably belonged in a different movie. It's not creepy enough to fit with the rest of the film and I'd argue it would have been better in something else. It's just too bright and the special effects just don't ring a horror film.
The fourth and final story is without question the weakest and it's too bad because both Masur and Cartwright give very good performances. This type of story had already been done in several other films including stuff like THE FOOD OF THE GODS. The story runs way too long and I'd argue that the ending is more silly than anything else. In fact, I'd argue that stories two through four all ran way too long and none of them could compare to the first so that made them even more of a letdown.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
'Terror in Topanga' has a crazy killer escaping prison but housewife Lisa (Cristina Raines) needs cigarettes so she decides to go out. Of course, you know what happens. In 'The Bishop of Battle' a teenager (Emilio Estevez) obsessed with getting to the thirteenth level of a video games gets more than he bargained for. 'The Benediction' has a Priest (Lance Henriksen) walking away from his faith and on a journey through the desert he runs into a mysterious black truck. 'Night of the Rat' has parents (Richard Masur, Veronica Cartwright) trying to protect their daughter and home from a giant rat.
As with any anthology film, NIGHTMARES is a mixed bag but overall it's worth watching if you're a fan of this type of film. With that said, there's no question that the best film is the first one. It's based off a fairly popular urban legend and I must admit that I found it to be quite creepy at times. Director Joseph Sargent really does a great job on this number and we've got a terrific performance from Raines that helps sell it. The entire sequence is the shortest of the lot but it really hammers home the tension and the twist is quite effective as well.
The following three stories aren't nearly as good and all of them are rather disappointing in their own way. I'd argue that the third one was the next best as Henriksen at least delivers a nice performance but the religious overtones never really work and what we're left with is a cheap copy of DUEL. The second story with the teenager playing video games probably belonged in a different movie. It's not creepy enough to fit with the rest of the film and I'd argue it would have been better in something else. It's just too bright and the special effects just don't ring a horror film.
The fourth and final story is without question the weakest and it's too bad because both Masur and Cartwright give very good performances. This type of story had already been done in several other films including stuff like THE FOOD OF THE GODS. The story runs way too long and I'd argue that the ending is more silly than anything else. In fact, I'd argue that stories two through four all ran way too long and none of them could compare to the first so that made them even more of a letdown.
helpful•32
- Michael_Elliott
- Oct 8, 2017
- How long is Nightmares?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Night of the Rat
- Filming locations
- The Rock Store - 30354 Mulholland Highway, Cornell, California, USA(segment: "Terror In Topanga", gas station)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $6,670,680
- Gross worldwide
- $6,670,680
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