Nightmares (aka Stage Fright) (1980) - Ozploitation Classics - August 4, 2021

[DawnShadow]

Each summer one film opens that you've never heard of... and that you'll never forget.

Screams of terror, silenced only by the splintering of glass! In this textbook example of 80s slash trash, an aspiring actress (Jenny Neumann from Hell Night), haunted by the childhood memory of her mother being thrown through a car window, finds herself trapped at the centre of a brutal killing spree as one by one her fellow thespians are butchered by a psychopath with a sliver of glass. Adding non-stop bloodshed to his successful cinematic recipe of softcore sex and ample naked flesh, Ozploitation auteur John D. Lamond (Felicity) takes on the stalk 'n slash genre with a vengeance in this infamous home-grown Halloween clone. Proudly high on body count (including a notoriously graphic full-frontal thrill kill scene) and thankfully low on subtext, Nightmares offers the rare opportunity to see a host of famous Aussie faces (Gary Sweet, Briony Behets, John Michael Howson and others) dispatched in the most gruesome ways imaginable!

Pre-order: https://www.sanity.com.au/products/2...tion-Classic-6
https://www.ezydvd.com.au/blu-ray/Ni...sic/dp/6224378

[PT Ryan]

It's awful, but I'm glad it's getting an HD release anyway.

[fuzzymctiger]

Nice!! Was waiting for this one, can finally retire the DVD

[ScareBearDan]

Just received my copy, and it's interesting that the Umbrella Blu-ray runs 3 minutes longer than the "totally uncut & uncensored" DVD from Severin, plus it has deleted scenes in the bonus features, while the Severin DVD doesn't.

[Caustic]

Bring on Bloodmoon in 4k!

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Originally Posted by ScareBearDan

Just received my copy, and it's interesting that the Umbrella Blu-ray runs 3 minutes longer than the "totally uncut & uncensored" DVD from Severin, plus it has deleted scenes in the bonus features, while the Severin DVD doesn't.

Ether this is probably the longer Australian theatircal cut (what was the source? OCN/IP or a release print?) or Severin's DVD was a PAL 25fps transfer which tends to run faster than 24fps (hence the 3 min difference).

Originally Posted by Caustic

Bring on Bloodmoon in 4k!

Bloodmoon is Village Roadshow in Australia and they're like Lionsgate in that they don't licence anything out. StudioCanal owns international rights however, so I'm sure ether Kino/Shout Factory in the US or Indicator/Network in the UK will put it out with whatever new restoration StudioCanal has.

[GaryCouzens]

I watched this today. Anyone else notice that the HOH subtitles give away the identity of the killer? (There are several subjective scenes from the killer's POV done with a steadicam, and the subtitles say things like "[name] breathing heavily".

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by GaryCouzens

I watched this today. Anyone else notice that the HOH subtitles give away the identity of the killer? (There are several subjective scenes from the killer's POV done with a steadicam, and the subtitles say things like "[name] breathing heavily".

Wow, that's quite the screw-up with the subtitles.

[agentalbert]

Originally Posted by GaryCouzens

I watched this today. Anyone else notice that the HOH subtitles give away the identity of the killer? (There are several subjective scenes from the killer's POV done with a steadicam, and the subtitles say things like "[name] breathing heavily".

That's funny. I wasn't watching with subtitles.

It's a confusing movie. Seems like we're supposed to think the two people young Helen (who is Cathy as a kid for some reason) sees in bed are her mother and the boyfriend. But the woman in bed is stark blonde, and the mother who we see in the car later is brunette. So was it her father and some other woman she saw? Were her parent swingers?

Why is "Brian" who I think is the guy that was fooling around with the mother in the car before the accident still hanging around later and trying to kiss young Cathy/Helen? Was he some babysitter that the dad continued to use even after the mom's death, either oblivious or just not caring that the guy was fooling around with his wife?

[PT Ryan]

Originally Posted by agentalbert

That's funny. I wasn't watching with subtitles.

It's a confusing movie. Seems like we're supposed to think the two people young Helen (who is Cathy as a kid for some reason) sees in bed are her mother and the boyfriend. But the woman in bed is stark blonde, and the mother who we see in the car later is brunette. So was it her father and some other woman she saw? Were her parent swingers?

Why is "Brian" who I think is the guy that was fooling around with the mother in the car before the accident still hanging around later and trying to kiss young Cathy/Helen? Was he some babysitter that the dad continued to use even after the mom's death, either oblivious or just not caring that the guy was fooling around with his wife?

If I’m being exceedingly generous, it’s possible this was inspired by giallo thrillers (some of which did play in Australia back in the day). Dream logic and all that. Nightmares doesn’t have any of the style of those films, unfortunately. All you’re left with is silly plotting. If you’re of a certain age, it is amusing to see John Michael Howson playing a *****y theatre critic, I guess. Growing up with Gary Sweet’s ubiquitous laconic Aussie bloke persona on TV in the nineties, I was surprised how wooden his performance was here.

[agentalbert]

Originally Posted by PT Ryan

If I’m being exceedingly generous, it’s possible this was inspired by giallo thrillers (some of which did play in Australia back in the day). Dream logic and all that. Nightmares doesn’t have any of the style of those films, unfortunately. All you’re left with is silly plotting. If you’re of a certain age, it is amusing to see John Michael Howson playing a *****y theatre critic, I guess. Growing up with Gary Sweet’s ubiquitous laconic Aussie bloke persona on TV in the nineties, I was surprised how wooden his performance was here.

Yes, the black gloved killer who you never see is certainly giallo inspired, though the director was mostly trying to ape Halloween, according to him.

I thought John Michael Howson as the theater critic was sleazily great. He made me laugh several times.