Nightmare

Nightmare (1981)

The Dream You Can't Escape ALIVE!

A drug-treated schizophrenic plagued by horrible nightmares is released from the hospital and goes on a killing spree.

Date of release
1981-10-23
TMDB
5.6 / 10 (124)
Runtime
1h 39m
Genres
Horror
Director
Romano Scavolini

Casting

Interesting facts

Nightmare is a 1981 American psychological slasher film written and directed by Romano Scavolini, and starring Baird Stafford and Sharon Smith. Its plot follows a deranged man who, after undergoing an experimental medical procedure, is released from a New York City psychiatric hospital and embarks on a road trip to Florida with the intent of murdering his ex-wife and child.

Production

Scavolini was inspired to write the screenplay for the film after reading articles in Time and Newsweek concerning psychiatric patients who had been administered powerful drugs that altered their behavior. He wrote the screenplay while visiting friends in Cocoa Beach, Florida, over a period of 15 days. Scavolini recalled: "[I was] trying to tell a story and not just hit the stomach of the viewers.

The film was also influenced by Scavolini's earlier work in hardcore pornography, which could explain the amount of extraneous nudity and the bare context behind the bloodletting that the film contains.

Nightmare marked the first and only film produced by the independent Goldmine Productions. Principal photography took place in Cocoa Beach, Florida, with additional photography in New York City. According to producer and actor William Milling, the primary shoot in Florida occurred over a twelve-day period, where the cast and crew worked for at least 12 hours per day. Milling stated that the film's production budget was approximately $250,000.

One review published on the film's opening day opined that "the bloodshed has been rendered with loving attention to detail." Tom Savini receives a credit for providing special effects on the film, though during its release he would vehemently deny involvement.

Cleve Hall, a then-inexperienced local artist, managed the crew of the film's special effects at the Florida locations. Hall's recollection of Savini's connection to the picture was that the filmmakers had initially wanted Savini to oversee all of the special effects; Savini, however, recommended his friend Ed French for the project, but French opted not to sign on.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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