Nightmare Cinema

Summary

In 2017, director Mick Garris, who created the show Masters of Horror, once again pursued his idea of gathering numerous directors from across the world to film horror segments. The result of his efforts turned into the anthology film Nightmare Cinema. Like most anthology films, the results are mixed with a couple great segments, some average segments, and a segment that didn’t appeal to me at all. Mick Garris directed the connecting sequences of the film starring Mickey Rourke as “the Projectionist.” The connective sequences take place in a theater in an abandoned part of town that lures in spectators that are then shown films starring themselves.

The first segment is called The Thing in the Woods. It was directed by Alejandro Brugués. This first segment is a blast. It takes place at a cabin in the woods and it is a sendup of horror and sci-fi tropes. It’s crazy, violent, and very funny. This was my favorite segment in the film. Sarah Withers stars.

The second segment is called Mirari.  It was directed by Joe Dante. This story revolves around a young woman seeking minor plastic surgery before her wedding. This reminded me of the great Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder.” It was my second favorite segment in the film. Richard Chamberlain appears as Dr. Mirari. This segment was written by Richard Christian Matheson who worked with Joe on the Netflix series of shorts called Splatter.

The third segment is called Mashit. It was directed by Ryūhei Kitamura. The story revolves around Catholic schoolgirls that become possessed by a sex crazed demon. I thought this one was okay. I didn’t love it or hate it. Maurice Bernard stars as Father Benedict.

The fourth segment is called This Way to Egress.  It was directed by David Slade. In this piece, which was filmed in black and white, a woman deals with the apocalyptic visions she sees while at a doctor’s office with her children. I was not a fan of this segment. I felt that it slowed down the film and it just didn’t do anything for me.

The fifth segment is called Dead.  It was directed by Mick Garris. A young piano prodigy and his family are attacked by a man who wants to steal their car. When the young man is revived from the nearly fatal encounter, he can see dead people. This segment didn’t light my world on fire, but it had its moments.

Nightmare Cinema starts out incredibly strong with the first two pieces, and finishes out decently. I like anthology pictures and I would say that this one is pretty decent overall.  It is uneven, but that is really common in anthology pictures. In our interview with Joe Dante, he mentioned that the filmmakers did not coordinate very much with one another which explains why most of the segments involved hospitals in some aspect. The film is not overly scary and the tone shifts pretty wildly between the pieces. I would say that Nightmare Cinema is worth checking out for the first couple segments which are a lot of fun, but it may be worth renting before committing to a purchase.

Video

Nightmare Cinema projects onto Blu-ray with a good looking looking 1080p presentation featuring a MPEG-4 AVC encode in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This film was shot digitally and the transfer looks sharp. Fine detail is solid. The cinematography varies by segment, but all of the segments look crisp and clean. Fans will be pleased.

Audio

Nightmare Cinema features an engaging DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. The first segment has the most energetic use of the surrounds, but the other segments find good ways to accentuate the moods of their pictures with immersive surround sound. 

 Supplements:

• None

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements- 0/5

Overall – 3.5/5

Nightmare Cinema is a pretty decent anthology film that features a great segment by director Alejandro Brugués and a really enjoyable segment by Joe Dante. The film is a bit uneven, but that is to be expected from almost any anthology film. While this is not in the same league as Creepshow, it was still a fun way to pass a couple hours. The Blu-ray features good technical specs, but it sadly does not contain any special features.