Nightmares (1983)

Synopsis

Four chapters telling the tales of a killer on the loose, video games, a black pickup truck and giant rat. These are your worst Nightmares.

Thoughts

"Ladies and gentlemen, this has been a public service announcement"...is what have should have followed after the credits rolled. Think about it. Every chapter felt like it was an after school special delivering a message, but with a "spooky" premise. Please. You're going to have to do better than that to make someone think video games will kidnap you if you skip school. I'm sure in the 80's this film was actually quite terrifying. That's sarcasm, everyone.

When I watched Nightmares with my dad growing up, it was pretty cool. Yeah, kids think things are cool, not some college level word other writers decided to pick out of the thesaurus to sound somewhat more intelligent. All jokes aside, Chapter Two: The Bishop of Battle was my favorite. What little boy, who enjoys video games, doesn't want to see the Bishop come to life? You've got Emilio Estevez, the Mighty Duck man, playing this teenager obsessed with video games and classic punk bands like Fear. 

Sure, the other chapters had their moments, but for me, just never stuck out. Chapter One: Terror in Topanga always felt like a giant PSA against smoking. Something along the lines of "addiction to nicotine can kill you". Chapter Three: Benediction felt like a lame tribute to The Car while saying "don't turn your back on your faith". The final chapter, Night of the Rat, was just...I pretty much turned the movie off after seeing it once. I think my biggest pet peeve about this chapter was when the mother screams "what is going on here?". You're asking the two other people in the house, who also have no idea what the hell is going on what is going on? The award for most annoying mother in film history goes to her. Hands down. She just keeps screaming. Yeah, there's a ton of screaming in other horror films, but not as annoying as this lady. 

For nostalgia, if you have already seen the movie, take a trip down memory lane. Share it with your children if you grew up with it. If you haven't seen it though, you're not really missing out. For an anthology horror, you're going to want to stick with something more horror related and less after school special, like Creepshow. Not Creepshow 3 though. That's as much of an abomination as The Godfather Part III. The first two Creepshow films will do just fine. 

IMDB: 5.7/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 5.1/10

WeFLM: 4/10 

Come for the nostalgia. Stay for the Bishop. 

-kp