Nightmares (1983)

3 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: Nightmares... is this year's sleeper.
Directed by: Joseph Sargent
Written by: Jeffrey Bloom, Christopher Crowe
Actors include: Cristina Raines, Joe Lambie, Emilio Estevez
Genre: Horror
Length: 99 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
While this is a rather weak and unoriginal attempt at an anthology yet two out of the four segments are pretty entertaining. The plot synopsis offers that each tale will have a twist but hilariously the first one doesn't at all...it couldn't have been more direct. A nicotine addict needs smokes, she goes to the store despite multiple warnings that a maniac is on the loose in her area. She doesn't lock her vehicle doors...blah blah blah. The next tale is a rip-off of TRON with Emilio Estevez as a cocky arcade wiz determined to beat the 13th level of some game I've never heard of. When he breaks into the arcade to practice late at night things get crazy. The third tale is also decent, it's about a Priest who questions his faith, then ends up in a Duel style situation with a demonic pick-up truck. Lastly the worst tale involved a giant devil rat tearing up a family's home...the effects are so very bad and the story was so very stupid. Not a very positive note to end on at all. Considering this is a horror movie, it's more of a kiddie anthology, I think only one animal and one person dies throughout the entire film. Still despite all of it's many flaws it did entertain me and I had no difficulty getting to the end, one could certainly do better though.

Availability:  On DVD

Willard (1971)

3.5 / 5
Tagline: Where your nightmares end...WILLARD begins.

Directed by: Daniel Mann

Written by: Gilbert Ralston
Actors include: Bruce Davison, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Borgnine
Genre: Horror, Drama
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:

There is something wonderfully campy about this even though very little happens for a long time. Willard is a poor sad sack, he lives with his Mother and keeps to himself, he's also pushed around at his job by his boss Mr. Martin (played perfectly wickedly by Ernest Borgnine). Thing is, Willard is kind of a lazy jerk who has it coming to him which makes it a little hard to take his side, but eventually when things are pushed quite far I started to sympathize a tad. See Willard is pretty miserable and when Mother dies he's left with anger issues and only rats for friends. He starts putting them in his basement and before long it's filled with the yappy little rodents. Oddly enough he has a lady friend at work (who was hired to help him catch up at work) and they start to be slightly romantic but the basement full of rats is a slight hindrance. He doesn't seem to mind so much and even takes to bringing rats Socrates and Ben to work with him...until Mr. Martin kills Socrates! It's not a very effective "horror" film, but it is a rather compellingly strange drama about a Man who is losing it and his rat friends. At least there is some revenge here and although it's a bit dull at first it really does pick up. Not the classic I'd hoped it would be yet somehow still charming in a weird sort of way.

Availability:  Never on DVD