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{{Short description|1983 film directed by Joseph Sargent}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = Nightmares | name = Nightmares
| image = Nightmares1983.jpg | image = Nightmares1983.jpg
| image_size = 190
| caption = Theatrical poster designed by Design Projects, Inc. | caption = Theatrical poster designed by Design Projects, Inc.
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = Christopher Crowe | producer = Christopher Crowe
| writer = ]<br>Christopher Crowe | writer = ]<br />]
| narrator = | narrator =
| starring = ]<br/> ]<br>]<br>]<br>] | starring = ]<br /> ]<br />]<br />]<br />]
| music = ] | music = ]
| cinematography = Mario DeLeo<br>Gerald Perry Kinnerman | cinematography = Mario DeLeo<br />Gerald Perry Kinnerman
| editing = Michael Brown<br>Rod Stephens | editing = Michael Brown<br />Rod Stephens
| color_process = ]
| studio = Universal Pictures
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| released = {{Film date|1983|09|09|U.S.}} | released = {{Film date|1983|09|09|U.S.}}
Line 17: Line 20:
| country = United States | country = United States
| language = English | language = English
| budget = $9 million | budget = $6 million<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58028-NIGHTMARES|title=AFI&#124;Catalog}}</ref>
| gross = $6,670,680<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nightmares.htm</ref> | gross = $6,670,680<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=nightmares.htm|title=Nightmares}}</ref>
}} }}


'''''Nightmares''''' is a 1983 American ] ] directed by ],<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333">] (2013). ''Horror Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Slashers, Vampires, Zombies, Aliens, and More''. ]. {{ISBN|9781557839503}}. pp. 332-333.</ref><ref name="ADC-Nightmares">Carlson, Zack. . '']''. Retrieved October 8, 2016.</ref> and starring ], ], ], ], and ]. The film is made up of four ] based on ]; the first concerns a woman who encounters a ] of her car; the second concerns a ]ed teenager who is consumed by his game;<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> the third focuses on a fallen priest who is stalked by a pickup truck from hell; and the last follows a suburban family battling a ] in their home. '''''Nightmares''''' is a 1983 American horror ] directed by ]<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333">] (2013). ''Horror Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Slashers, Vampires, Zombies, Aliens, and More''. ]. {{ISBN|9781557839503}}. pp. 332–333.</ref><ref name="ADC-Nightmares">Carlson, Zack. . '']''. Retrieved October 8, 2016.</ref> and starring ], ], ], ], and ]. The film is made up of four ]s based on ]s; the first concerns a woman who encounters a ] of her car; the second concerns a ] teenager who is consumed by his game;<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> the third focuses on a fallen priest who is stalked by a pickup truck from hell; and the last follows a suburban family battling a giant rat in their home.

''Nightmares'' was originally filmed as a two-hour pilot of a proposed television series to be broadcast by the ] network during the ].


==Plot== ==Plot==
{{Long plot|section|date=March 2024}}


===Terror in Topanga=== ===Terror in Topanga===
During a traffic stop at night, a cop is stabbed to death by someone leaping from the bushes. A killer is terrorizing a local ] area and the TV and radio are reporting that the cop is his fifth victim. During a routine traffic stop, a highway patrolman is viciously stabbed multiple times by an unseen assailant; though he survives and is taken to the hospital. The perpetrator is identified by various TV and radio reporters as William Henry Glazier, a serial killer who escaped a mental institution and is currently terrorizing the ] area.


After Lisa (Raines) puts her children to bed, she discovers that she is out of cigarettes. Her husband (Joe Lambie) forbids her to go to the store, but she sneaks out anyway and heads down the canyon. Meanwhile, Lisa, a housewife and chain smoker, puts her children to bed as a bulletin warning about Glazier appears on her television. Lisa discovers that she is out of cigarettes, prompting her to rush to the store to buy some more. Her husband Phillip forbids her from leaving the house at such a late hour with a killer on the loose, and advises her to kick her habit instead. Despite this, she writes Phillip a note, then sneaks to her car and drives to the store.


Lisa gets the cigarettes and begins home only to realize that she is almost out of gas. All the gas stations appear to be closed. Finally, she stops at an out of the way station and out comes an attendant (]), who just happens to perfectly match the killer's description on the radio. She gets increasingly alarmed as the attendant, who seems to be studying her car and its occupant, suddenly lunges at the car with the gas nozzle. He drags her out of the car, draws a pistol and fires – to protect her from the real murderer (]), who was hiding in her back seat. During her drive, Lisa listens to a radio bulletin warning residents about Glazier, before she is startled by a ]. Lisa reaches the store and buys groceries and cigarettes. She warns the cashier about Glazier, but he claims to be prepared by unveiling a pistol. On the drive home, Lisa discovers that she is nearly out of gas, and with all the local gas stations already closed for the night, she stops at an out-of-the-way station. The attendant who approaches her happens to perfectly match Glazier's physical appearance. Lisa also grows increasingly alarmed as the attendant seems to be studying her car and herself intently. Suddenly, the attendant lunges at the car with a gas nozzle, breaking the window. He drags Lisa out of the car, then draws a pistol and shoots the actual Glazier, who was revealed to be hiding in Lisa's back seat the entire time. The attendant calms Lisa and offers to call the police.

The police drive the frightened Lisa back home. Phillip asks if Lisa got her cigarettes, and Lisa responds by showing the pack and throwing it away in a trash can, indicating that the experience apparently scared her into quitting.


===The Bishop of Battle=== ===The Bishop of Battle===
J.J. Cooney is an immensely talented video game player who, accompanied by his friend Zock Maxwell, heads into an inner-city arcade to challenge a gang of ] players to a few rounds of '']'', offering the winner a dollar per game with a five game minimum. After a few games, one of the gang members recognizes J.J., and tells the others that they are getting hustled, prompting J.J. and Zock to escape.
Young Jerry "J.J." Cooney (Estevez) is a ] wizard and ] ] with help from his bespectacled friend Zock (]).


After an argument about Jerry's obsession with video games, they split up for the day, and Jerry goes into his local ] to try again to beat ''The Bishop of Battle'', a maddeningly difficult video game that features thirteen ]; no one he knows has made it to the thirteenth, and many believe it is just a myth. He repeatedly tries and fails to make it to the thirteenth level until the owner forces him to leave at closing time.<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> J.J. and Zock then head to the ] at their local shopping mall, where J.J. is hoping to use the money he got from hustling to try to beat ''The Bishop of Battle'', a notoriously difficult video game where players fight off enemies and escape from a 3-D maze that features thirteen different ]. Zock mentions how no one they know has ever made it to the thirteenth level, to the point that he and many others believe it is just a myth. J.J., however, is thoroughly convinced that the thirteenth level is real, as he heard about a player in ] who reached it twice. After an argument about J.J.'s obsession with video games, particularly ''The Bishop of Battle'', J.J. gives Zock his cut of the profits as Zock leaves. J.J. spends the next several hours repeatedly trying and failing to make it to the thirteenth level, but he only manages to make it to level 12. Determined not to give up, even after closing time, J.J. tries to play one more game, only for the owner of the arcade to throw him out.


Jerry's parents, concerned about his performance in school, ground him until his grades improve. That night, he sneaks out and breaks into the arcade to finally finish the game. However, when he reaches the thirteenth level, the ] collapses and the enemies fly out, and he defends himself with the suddenly-functioning gun from the game's controls (Estevez went through a two-week gun training session with the ] to realistically perform his gun maneuvers for these scenes). Jerry flees to the parking lot, but the Bishop of Battle appears, drawing closer and closer to a terrified Jerry. At J.J.'s apartment, his parents also voice their concern with his obsession with gaming, primarily about how it is affecting his performance in school, leading his father to ground him until his grades improve. That night, J.J. sneaks out when his parents are asleep and breaks into the arcade to attempt to finish the game. J.J.'s parents are awoken by a call from Zock, who had a nightmare about J.J. and is worried whether or not he made it home, leading them to discover J.J. is gone. Back at the arcade, J.J finally manages to complete level 12. Suddenly, the ]'s screen begins flickering and the cabinet begins shaking violently until it collapses. The Bishop of Battle's voice rings out, commending J.J. for his skills and welcoming him to level 13, before the cabinet releases a wave of energy. Once the wave passes, the game's 3-D enemies fly out of the cabinet's wreckage and into the real world. The enemies fire lasers at J.J. that manage to do serious damage to the surrounding arcade machines, but J.J. manages to defend himself with the gun from the game's controls, which now fires real laser blasts. He flees to the parking lot, but drops the gun in the process. The Bishop of Battle eventually appears, drawing closer and closer to a terrified J.J.


The next morning, his friends and family find a reconstructed Bishop of Battle machine amid the ruins of the arcade. Jerry's image appears on the screen for a few seconds before it turns into another of the game's ]s.<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> The next morning, Zock and J.J.'s parents head to the arcade. They discover the damage the arcade sustained during the previous night, as well as the ''Bishop of Battle'' cabinet, which has been mysteriously reconstructed. Zock hears J.J.'s voice emanating from the cabinet, reciting the Bishop of Battle's lines. Zock and J.J.'s parents then discover J.J. on the screen, watching as he turns into the ] of the game's player character.


===The Benediction=== ===The Benediction===
Catholic priest Frank MacLeod is tending a field near the small parish where he serves. A doe tentatively approaches him, but it is quickly bitten and killed by a ]. MacLeod attempts to kill the snake, but instead manages to throw it away, watching as it disappears into thin air before discovering that it managed to bite his hand. This is revealed to be a nightmare as he wakes up in bed, screaming and clutching his hand.
Lance Henriksen plays a ] serving at a small parish and is facing a crisis of faith brought on by the violent death of a young boy. He explains to his bishop (Gammell) that he has lost his belief in the concepts of good and evil. He leaves the rectory with some ] that he considers merely tap water, and takes off across the desert in his car.


Later that day, Frank officiates the funeral of a young boy, but is unable to provide the mourners with words of comfort. Visiting his bishop, Frank explains how he witnessed the boy's death first-hand, and how the experience has given him a crisis of faith. Ignoring the advice of a fellow priest, Frank resigns and leaves the rectory with some ], intending to search for a new purpose in life.
He encounters a black ] Fleetside{{cn|date=October 2018}} that appears as if from nowhere. At first it drives threateningly then disappears, but with subsequent appearances it forces him off the road and strikes his car. The truck's driver is an unseen ] through the truck's tinted windows, but an ] can be seen hanging from the rear-view mirror. Satan's truck finally destroys the ex-priest's car in a collision that does no damage to the truck. With nowhere left to run, the former priest hurls the holy water at the truck, which is vaporized. The episode ends as the police arrive on the scene and an ambulance crew takes the injured priest back to the church.

He soon encounters a black ] Fleetside with tinted windows on the road shortly after he leaves, and signals for it to pass, but it goes at the same time he does, nearly causing an accident. A while later, Frank experiences a flashback to the death of the young boy mentioned earlier; the child had been pointlessly and critically injured during a robbery of the local store, and while the parents wanted him to administer ], Frank wanted to call an ambulance in an attempt to save the child's life. The same truck from earlier appears out of nowhere behind Frank and rams into his car, detaching his rear bumper and forcing him off the road. Frank then has a flashback to his talk with the Bishop, where he reveals that he has been plagued with visions of ], his lost faith convincing him that there is no God who would allow such suffering.

As Frank attempts to fix the bumper, the truck appears again, nearly running him over. Frank attempts to escape, but the truck catches up with him. Frank desperately asks the unseen driver what it wants before once again being forced off the road. Frank gets back on the road again, keeping an eye out for the truck. He soon hears an ominous rumbling sound and discovers a large bulge appearing in the ground. The truck explodes out of the ground and once again turns to Frank, prompting him to drive away. It is then revealed that the truck is driven by ] himself, who remains unseen. The Devil destroys Frank's car in a collision that does no damage to his truck. Injured from the crash and left with nowhere to run, Frank climbs out of his ruined car as Satan's truck goes in for the kill. In desperation, Frank tosses the container of holy water he had been carrying at the truck, vaporizing it, before he falls unconscious. Emergency responders arrive at the scene, but they do not find evidence that the truck was ever there. Frank has one final flashback of a talk with his bishop, who mentions that only a very select few have been given signs that higher powers exist. He requests that the paramedics take him to the hospital located in his parish, having regained his faith from the experience.


===Night of the Rat=== ===Night of the Rat===
On a stormy night, housewife Claire Houston hears something scurrying in the attic of her house. While she believes it is rats, her husband Steven believes it is just the wind. He advises her to go to sleep. The next morning, Steven discovers that Claire has been browsing the phone book to look for an ], as she believes that there is an infestation. Having plans for a swimming pool to be put in, Steven does not want to spend any extra money and simply suggests that Claire set up a few ]s. After Steven leaves for work, Claire hears noises coming from the cabinets in her kitchen. When she goes to investigate, she watches as drinking glasses and cans of food are knocked off the shelves.
In her home, housewife Claire (Cartwright) has been dealing with a recent rat problem as she can hear the rats in the walls and attic, but her husband Steven (Masur) ignores it.


Later that night, Steven sets up additional mousetraps in the attic. A rat is soon caught in one of the traps, and Steven throws the dead rat in the garbage. Meanwhile, the family's cat Rosie investigates the house's crawlspace, where she is mauled to death by an unseen creature. The next day, Claire's daughter Brooke discovers that Rosie is missing and becomes worried. At the same time, the kitchen sink is revealed to be clogged with a large amount of grey fur. Claire enters the crawlspace to look for Rosie, but finds the cat's corpse and begins hearing ominous noises. She glimpses the silhouette of a large creature with glowing red eyes peering out at her in the darkness, prompting her to escape. Later that day, Brooke discovers that her room and her toys have been torn to shreds. Entering the room, Claire discovers that the only toy left untouched is a stuffed rat, just as the lights begin flickering on and off.
Even though Steven assures Claire that he will take care of the problem with a couple of rat traps in the attic, the disturbances progressively get worse, as objects start falling off shelves and the family cat is eaten. Soon enough, Claire calls an exterminator (]) who discovers that the creature has gnawed huge holes behind various cabinets and has also chewed on the power cables. Steven comes home, criticizes his wife, and tells the exterminator to leave.


Eventually, Claire calls an exterminator, Mel Keefer, who discovers that the creature, which he has identified as a rat, has managed to gnaw through the pipes and get to the power cables inside, causing the flickering lights. Keefer also discovers a large, saliva-covered hole behind a cabinet in the kitchen, just as Steven comes home. Unhappy that Claire has hired Keefer, Steven asks him to leave.
Claire keeps consulting the exterminator and inevitably she and her family are forced into a showdown with a giant rat.

That night, Brooke sleeps in the guest room as she wishes for Rosie to come back. Claire then receives a phone call from Mel, who has made a breakthrough: he has looked in an old book he owns for information about a creature known as "The Devil Rodent". According to legend, the Devil Rodent is a large, malevolent rat with large amounts of strength and intellect that used to terrorize individuals in 17th century Europe. As Mel also mentions that the Devil Rodent cannot be destroyed, Steven grabs the phone and tells Keefer not to call again. Suddenly, the family hear the piano downstairs playing jumbled notes, discovering that the keys have been gnawed on as Brooke comes downstairs. Steven manages to save her after a china cabinet nearly falls on her. Discovering more saliva-covered holes in the wall and hearing the radio suddenly turn on and off, Steven loads a shotgun and goes in search of the creature as Claire and Brooke hide upstairs. The power turns on and off repeatedly as Steven searches the kitchen. Brooke hears the creature in the ceiling, prompting Steven to go up to the attic.

The door to the guest room suddenly slams shut as Brooke begins screaming. Kicking the door open, Steven and Claire come face to face with the Devil Rodent itself. The giant rat proceeds to demonstrate ] abilities, moving furniture, opening and closing doors and windows, and damaging the room repeatedly with a loud wail. The Devil Rodent manages to telepathically communicate with Brooke, who tells her parents that the creature is a mother looking for her baby. Steven rushes into the kitchen, roots through the garbage can, and pulls out the dead rat he originally threw away. He places it in a shoebox and puts the box near the window. As the Devil Rodent moves towards the box and reclaims her baby, Steven points his gun at her, but is unable to shoot. The giant rat unleashes one last roar and disappears out the window. The frightened family reunite, shedding tears of relief as Brooke ponders where the Devil Rodent is going next.


==Cast== ==Cast==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Terror in Topanga''' '''Terror in Topanga'''
* ] as Lisa * ] as Lisa
* ] as Store Clerk * ] as The Store Clerk
* ] as Gas station attendant * ] as The Gas Station Attendant
* ] as William Henry Glazier * ] as William Henry Glazier
* Clare Torao as Mori, The Newswoman (credited as Clare Nono)


'''The Bishop of Battle''' '''The Bishop of Battle'''
Line 68: Line 83:
* ] as Pamela * ] as Pamela
* ] as Zock Maxwell * ] as Zock Maxwell
* ] as the voice of the Bishop of Battle * ] as Voice of the Bishop of Battle
{{col-2}}


'''The Benediction''' '''The Benediction'''
Line 83: Line 97:
* ] as Brooke Houston * ] as Brooke Houston
* ] as Mel Keefer * ] as Mel Keefer
{{col-end}}


==Production== ==Production==
''Nightmares'' was initially filmed in late 1982 as a two-hour pilot for a proposed series to be aired by ] during its 1983-84 television season, but Universal Pictures executives decided to put it out as a theatrical film instead.<ref name="NightmaresAFI">{{Cite web|title=Nightmares|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58028-NIGHTMARES?sid=b09d019c-0690-4aa2-86a5-d85e8dbd0a88&sr=10.693618&cp=1&pos=0|access-date=2023-06-12|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>
It has been a long-held belief that the four segments of the film were initially conceived and shot for ]'s thriller anthology series '']'',<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> but were deemed too intense for television.<ref name="ADC-Nightmares"/> However, on the audio commentary on the 2015 Blu-ray release, executive producer Andrew Mirisch clarifies that the film actually began life as a pilot for an unnamed anthology series for ] before becoming a theatrical feature for ]. It has been a long-held belief that the four segments of the film were initially conceived and shot for ]'s thriller anthology series '']'',<ref name="HorrorFilmsFAQBook_pp332-333"/> but were deemed too intense for television.<ref name="ADC-Nightmares"/> However, on the audio commentary on the 2015 Blu-ray release, executive producer Andrew Mirisch clarifies that the film actually began life as a pilot for an unnamed anthology series for ] before becoming a theatrical feature for ].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}


==Reception== ==Reception==
{{expand section|date=October 2016}} {{expand section|date=October 2016}}
Though the poster and trailer boasted that the film would be a ']' and ' ''one you won't forget'' ',<ref>http://www.impawards.com/1983/nightmares.html</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOncLexWDE</ref> the film was not well received on release, with a 'rotten' 29% rating on review aggregate ].<ref>{{Rotten Tomatoes|nightmares}}</ref> The film was not well received on release. On ] it has an approval rating of 29% based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10.<ref>{{Rotten Tomatoes|nightmares}}</ref>

In her review for the '']'', ] wrote, "Nothing spoils a horror story faster than a stupid victim. And ''Nightmares'', an anthology of four supposedly scary episodes, has plenty of those."<ref name= "Maslin, Janet">{{cite news
| last = Maslin | first = Janet | title = ''Nightmares'' Opens: Collection of 4 Horror Tales | publisher = ] In her review for the '']'', ] wrote, "Nothing spoils a horror story faster than a stupid victim. And ''Nightmares'', an anthology of four supposedly scary episodes, has plenty of those."<ref name= "Maslin, Janet">{{cite news | last = Maslin | first = Janet | title = ''Nightmares'' Opens: Collection of 4 Horror Tales | work = ] | date = September 3, 1983}}</ref>

| date = September 3, 1983}}</ref>
] praised ''The Bishop of Battle'', but stated, "In general, though, the scripting is unimaginative, derivative, and desperately predictable as the film limps through its jokily cautionary tales."<ref>{{Cite web |last=TM |date=2012-09-10 |title=Nightmares |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/nightmares |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Time Out Worldwide |language=en-GB}}</ref>


==Home video== ==Home media==
The film was released on VHS by Universal Pictures in the 1980s. It was later released on ] by ] in 1999 in "Full Frame (1.33:1) Presentation" and has since gone ]; this DVD issue of the film became extremely rare, with secondhand prices netting over one-hundred dollars.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Nightmares-Cristina-Raines/dp/B00000K0DZ|work=Amazon.com|title=Nightmares|accessdate=2015-08-18}}</ref> The film was released on ] by Universal Pictures in the 1980s, and on ] in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nightmares (1983) on CIC Video (United Kingdom Betamax, VHS videotape) |url=https://www.videocollector.co/nightmares/44646 |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=www.videocollector.co}}</ref> It was later released on VHS and DVD by ] in 1999 in "Full Frame (1.33:1) Presentation" and has since gone ].


On July 10, 2015, ] announced on their ] page that ''Nightmares'' was part of their roster of upcoming ] releases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/ScreamFactoryDVD/posts/638866876250327:0|title=SCREAM FACTORY: HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT OF 10 UPCOMING TITLES!|date=2015-07-10|accessdate=2015-08-18|work=Facebook}}</ref> On December 22, 2015, ] released ''Nightmares'' on ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nightmares |url=https://shoutfactory.com/products/nightmares |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Shout! Factory |language=en}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
* ] – A 1993 horror anthology that also was produced for television, and also had major filmmakers attached (] and ]). * ], a 1993 horror anthology that also was produced for television, and also had major filmmakers attached (] and ])
* '']'' – A series of anthology horror films helmed by ] and ]. * '']'', a series of anthology horror films helmed by ] and ]


==References== ==References==
Line 108: Line 123:


==External links== ==External links==
⚫ * {{IMDb title|id=0086014|title=Nightmares}}
⚫ *
*{{IMDb title|id=0086014|title=Nightmares}} * {{TCMDb title|85020}}
⚫ * at ]
⚫ *{{Amg movie|35372|Nightmares}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|nightmares}}
⚫ * at ]
⚫ *


{{Joseph Sargent}} {{Joseph Sargent}}
{{Christopher Crowe}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmares (1983 Film)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmares (1983 Film)}}
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Latest revision as of 03:08, 22 December 2024

1983 film directed by Joseph Sargent

Nightmares
Theatrical poster designed by Design Projects, Inc.
Directed byJoseph Sargent
Written byJeffrey Bloom
Christopher Crowe
Produced byChristopher Crowe
StarringEmilio Estevez
Cristina Raines
Lance Henriksen
Richard Masur
Veronica Cartwright
CinematographyMario DeLeo
Gerald Perry Kinnerman
Edited byMichael Brown
Rod Stephens
Music byCraig Safan
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company		Universal Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 9, 1983 (1983-09-09) (U.S.)
Running time99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million
Box office$6,670,680

Nightmares is a 1983 American horror anthology film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Emilio Estevez, Lance Henriksen, Cristina Raines, Veronica Cartwright, and Richard Masur. The film is made up of four short films based on urban legends; the first concerns a woman who encounters a killer in the backseat of her car; the second concerns a video game-addicted teenager who is consumed by his game; the third focuses on a fallen priest who is stalked by a pickup truck from hell; and the last follows a suburban family battling a giant rat in their home.

Nightmares was originally filmed as a two-hour pilot of a proposed television series to be broadcast by the NBC network during the 1983–1984 TV season.

Plot

This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Terror in Topanga

During a routine traffic stop, a highway patrolman is viciously stabbed multiple times by an unseen assailant; though he survives and is taken to the hospital. The perpetrator is identified by various TV and radio reporters as William Henry Glazier, a serial killer who escaped a mental institution and is currently terrorizing the Topanga area.

Meanwhile, Lisa, a housewife and chain smoker, puts her children to bed as a bulletin warning about Glazier appears on her television. Lisa discovers that she is out of cigarettes, prompting her to rush to the store to buy some more. Her husband Phillip forbids her from leaving the house at such a late hour with a killer on the loose, and advises her to kick her habit instead. Despite this, she writes Phillip a note, then sneaks to her car and drives to the store.

During her drive, Lisa listens to a radio bulletin warning residents about Glazier, before she is startled by a hitchhiker. Lisa reaches the store and buys groceries and cigarettes. She warns the cashier about Glazier, but he claims to be prepared by unveiling a pistol. On the drive home, Lisa discovers that she is nearly out of gas, and with all the local gas stations already closed for the night, she stops at an out-of-the-way station. The attendant who approaches her happens to perfectly match Glazier's physical appearance. Lisa also grows increasingly alarmed as the attendant seems to be studying her car and herself intently. Suddenly, the attendant lunges at the car with a gas nozzle, breaking the window. He drags Lisa out of the car, then draws a pistol and shoots the actual Glazier, who was revealed to be hiding in Lisa's back seat the entire time. The attendant calms Lisa and offers to call the police.

The police drive the frightened Lisa back home. Phillip asks if Lisa got her cigarettes, and Lisa responds by showing the pack and throwing it away in a trash can, indicating that the experience apparently scared her into quitting.

The Bishop of Battle

J.J. Cooney is an immensely talented video game player who, accompanied by his friend Zock Maxwell, heads into an inner-city arcade to challenge a gang of Hispanic players to a few rounds of Pleiades, offering the winner a dollar per game with a five game minimum. After a few games, one of the gang members recognizes J.J., and tells the others that they are getting hustled, prompting J.J. and Zock to escape.

J.J. and Zock then head to the arcade at their local shopping mall, where J.J. is hoping to use the money he got from hustling to try to beat The Bishop of Battle, a notoriously difficult video game where players fight off enemies and escape from a 3-D maze that features thirteen different levels. Zock mentions how no one they know has ever made it to the thirteenth level, to the point that he and many others believe it is just a myth. J.J., however, is thoroughly convinced that the thirteenth level is real, as he heard about a player in New Jersey who reached it twice. After an argument about J.J.'s obsession with video games, particularly The Bishop of Battle, J.J. gives Zock his cut of the profits as Zock leaves. J.J. spends the next several hours repeatedly trying and failing to make it to the thirteenth level, but he only manages to make it to level 12. Determined not to give up, even after closing time, J.J. tries to play one more game, only for the owner of the arcade to throw him out.

At J.J.'s apartment, his parents also voice their concern with his obsession with gaming, primarily about how it is affecting his performance in school, leading his father to ground him until his grades improve. That night, J.J. sneaks out when his parents are asleep and breaks into the arcade to attempt to finish the game. J.J.'s parents are awoken by a call from Zock, who had a nightmare about J.J. and is worried whether or not he made it home, leading them to discover J.J. is gone. Back at the arcade, J.J finally manages to complete level 12. Suddenly, the arcade cabinet's screen begins flickering and the cabinet begins shaking violently until it collapses. The Bishop of Battle's voice rings out, commending J.J. for his skills and welcoming him to level 13, before the cabinet releases a wave of energy. Once the wave passes, the game's 3-D enemies fly out of the cabinet's wreckage and into the real world. The enemies fire lasers at J.J. that manage to do serious damage to the surrounding arcade machines, but J.J. manages to defend himself with the gun from the game's controls, which now fires real laser blasts. He flees to the parking lot, but drops the gun in the process. The Bishop of Battle eventually appears, drawing closer and closer to a terrified J.J.

The next morning, Zock and J.J.'s parents head to the arcade. They discover the damage the arcade sustained during the previous night, as well as the Bishop of Battle cabinet, which has been mysteriously reconstructed. Zock hears J.J.'s voice emanating from the cabinet, reciting the Bishop of Battle's lines. Zock and J.J.'s parents then discover J.J. on the screen, watching as he turns into the sprite of the game's player character.

The Benediction

Catholic priest Frank MacLeod is tending a field near the small parish where he serves. A doe tentatively approaches him, but it is quickly bitten and killed by a rattlesnake. MacLeod attempts to kill the snake, but instead manages to throw it away, watching as it disappears into thin air before discovering that it managed to bite his hand. This is revealed to be a nightmare as he wakes up in bed, screaming and clutching his hand.

Later that day, Frank officiates the funeral of a young boy, but is unable to provide the mourners with words of comfort. Visiting his bishop, Frank explains how he witnessed the boy's death first-hand, and how the experience has given him a crisis of faith. Ignoring the advice of a fellow priest, Frank resigns and leaves the rectory with some holy water, intending to search for a new purpose in life.

He soon encounters a black Chevrolet C-20 Fleetside with tinted windows on the road shortly after he leaves, and signals for it to pass, but it goes at the same time he does, nearly causing an accident. A while later, Frank experiences a flashback to the death of the young boy mentioned earlier; the child had been pointlessly and critically injured during a robbery of the local store, and while the parents wanted him to administer last rites, Frank wanted to call an ambulance in an attempt to save the child's life. The same truck from earlier appears out of nowhere behind Frank and rams into his car, detaching his rear bumper and forcing him off the road. Frank then has a flashback to his talk with the Bishop, where he reveals that he has been plagued with visions of anarchy, his lost faith convincing him that there is no God who would allow such suffering.

As Frank attempts to fix the bumper, the truck appears again, nearly running him over. Frank attempts to escape, but the truck catches up with him. Frank desperately asks the unseen driver what it wants before once again being forced off the road. Frank gets back on the road again, keeping an eye out for the truck. He soon hears an ominous rumbling sound and discovers a large bulge appearing in the ground. The truck explodes out of the ground and once again turns to Frank, prompting him to drive away. It is then revealed that the truck is driven by Satan himself, who remains unseen. The Devil destroys Frank's car in a collision that does no damage to his truck. Injured from the crash and left with nowhere to run, Frank climbs out of his ruined car as Satan's truck goes in for the kill. In desperation, Frank tosses the container of holy water he had been carrying at the truck, vaporizing it, before he falls unconscious. Emergency responders arrive at the scene, but they do not find evidence that the truck was ever there. Frank has one final flashback of a talk with his bishop, who mentions that only a very select few have been given signs that higher powers exist. He requests that the paramedics take him to the hospital located in his parish, having regained his faith from the experience.

Night of the Rat

On a stormy night, housewife Claire Houston hears something scurrying in the attic of her house. While she believes it is rats, her husband Steven believes it is just the wind. He advises her to go to sleep. The next morning, Steven discovers that Claire has been browsing the phone book to look for an exterminator, as she believes that there is an infestation. Having plans for a swimming pool to be put in, Steven does not want to spend any extra money and simply suggests that Claire set up a few mousetraps. After Steven leaves for work, Claire hears noises coming from the cabinets in her kitchen. When she goes to investigate, she watches as drinking glasses and cans of food are knocked off the shelves.

Later that night, Steven sets up additional mousetraps in the attic. A rat is soon caught in one of the traps, and Steven throws the dead rat in the garbage. Meanwhile, the family's cat Rosie investigates the house's crawlspace, where she is mauled to death by an unseen creature. The next day, Claire's daughter Brooke discovers that Rosie is missing and becomes worried. At the same time, the kitchen sink is revealed to be clogged with a large amount of grey fur. Claire enters the crawlspace to look for Rosie, but finds the cat's corpse and begins hearing ominous noises. She glimpses the silhouette of a large creature with glowing red eyes peering out at her in the darkness, prompting her to escape. Later that day, Brooke discovers that her room and her toys have been torn to shreds. Entering the room, Claire discovers that the only toy left untouched is a stuffed rat, just as the lights begin flickering on and off.

Eventually, Claire calls an exterminator, Mel Keefer, who discovers that the creature, which he has identified as a rat, has managed to gnaw through the pipes and get to the power cables inside, causing the flickering lights. Keefer also discovers a large, saliva-covered hole behind a cabinet in the kitchen, just as Steven comes home. Unhappy that Claire has hired Keefer, Steven asks him to leave.

That night, Brooke sleeps in the guest room as she wishes for Rosie to come back. Claire then receives a phone call from Mel, who has made a breakthrough: he has looked in an old book he owns for information about a creature known as "The Devil Rodent". According to legend, the Devil Rodent is a large, malevolent rat with large amounts of strength and intellect that used to terrorize individuals in 17th century Europe. As Mel also mentions that the Devil Rodent cannot be destroyed, Steven grabs the phone and tells Keefer not to call again. Suddenly, the family hear the piano downstairs playing jumbled notes, discovering that the keys have been gnawed on as Brooke comes downstairs. Steven manages to save her after a china cabinet nearly falls on her. Discovering more saliva-covered holes in the wall and hearing the radio suddenly turn on and off, Steven loads a shotgun and goes in search of the creature as Claire and Brooke hide upstairs. The power turns on and off repeatedly as Steven searches the kitchen. Brooke hears the creature in the ceiling, prompting Steven to go up to the attic.

The door to the guest room suddenly slams shut as Brooke begins screaming. Kicking the door open, Steven and Claire come face to face with the Devil Rodent itself. The giant rat proceeds to demonstrate psychokinetic abilities, moving furniture, opening and closing doors and windows, and damaging the room repeatedly with a loud wail. The Devil Rodent manages to telepathically communicate with Brooke, who tells her parents that the creature is a mother looking for her baby. Steven rushes into the kitchen, roots through the garbage can, and pulls out the dead rat he originally threw away. He places it in a shoebox and puts the box near the window. As the Devil Rodent moves towards the box and reclaims her baby, Steven points his gun at her, but is unable to shoot. The giant rat unleashes one last roar and disappears out the window. The frightened family reunite, shedding tears of relief as Brooke ponders where the Devil Rodent is going next.

Cast

Terror in Topanga

The Bishop of Battle

The Benediction

Night of the Rat

Production

Nightmares was initially filmed in late 1982 as a two-hour pilot for a proposed series to be aired by NBC during its 1983-84 television season, but Universal Pictures executives decided to put it out as a theatrical film instead. It has been a long-held belief that the four segments of the film were initially conceived and shot for ABC's thriller anthology series Darkroom, but were deemed too intense for television. However, on the audio commentary on the 2015 Blu-ray release, executive producer Andrew Mirisch clarifies that the film actually began life as a pilot for an unnamed anthology series for NBC before becoming a theatrical feature for Universal Pictures.

Reception

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2016)

The film was not well received on release. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 29% based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10.

In her review for the New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "Nothing spoils a horror story faster than a stupid victim. And Nightmares, an anthology of four supposedly scary episodes, has plenty of those."

Time Out praised The Bishop of Battle, but stated, "In general, though, the scripting is unimaginative, derivative, and desperately predictable as the film limps through its jokily cautionary tales."

Home media

The film was released on VHS by Universal Pictures in the 1980s, and on Betamax in 1983. It was later released on VHS and DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999 in "Full Frame (1.33:1) Presentation" and has since gone out of print.

On December 22, 2015, Scream Factory released Nightmares on Blu-ray.

See also

References

  1. "AFI|Catalog".
  2. "Nightmares".
  3. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (2013). Horror Films FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Slashers, Vampires, Zombies, Aliens, and More. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 9781557839503. pp. 332–333.
  4. ^ Carlson, Zack. "Terror Tuesday: Nightmares". Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  5. "Nightmares". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  6. Nightmares at Rotten Tomatoes
  7. Maslin, Janet (September 3, 1983). "Nightmares Opens: Collection of 4 Horror Tales". New York Times.
  8. TM (September 10, 2012). "Nightmares". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. "Nightmares (1983) on CIC Video (United Kingdom Betamax, VHS videotape)". www.videocollector.co. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. "Nightmares". Shout! Factory. Retrieved March 28, 2024.

External links

Films directed by Joseph Sargent
Works by Christopher Crowe
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