Starring: Gwen Davis, Robert Donovan, James Ferris, Blythe Metz, Richard
Moll, Hanna Putnam, Tiffany Shepis, Aaron Sherry, Jack Sway, Luciano Szafir
Directed by: Rolfe Kanefsky
Story: Ellen Morris believes that there is someone or something trying to get
her. Her husband and psychotherapists believe she's a paranoid schizophrenic.
On the way to the institution, the Morris' car breaks down. When her husband
goes to get gas, Ellen stays and gets attacked by her mysterious assailant.
Review:
For sixteen years Rolfe Kanefsky has been in business, bringing us over twenty
films and now has his own production company called VALKHN FILMS. For
those of us who have been living and breathing horror for the last few decades,
we distinctly remember having a definite case of déjà vu when Wes Craven’s
SCREAM was released in 1996. For the average movie go-er, the flick might
have seemed completely new and different. But for the die hard horror fans, we
knew we were seeing a more than obvious knock-off of Kanefsky’s THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE which was released five years earlier. With that being
said, Rolfe has continued to never disappoint, and his latest film NIGHTMARE
MAN is no exception. Our film begins with our main character Ellen (played by
Blythe Metz, Jacqueline Hyde), who receives a hand carved mask in the mail that
she assumes to be the god of fertility. However, when she opens up the box
she is disgusted by its horrifying demonic face, and insists her husband Bill
(played Luciano Szafir) gets rid of it at once.
Later that evening when the lights unexpectedly go out, Ellen is tormented by a
man wearing the mask (or is it a man at all?). After being brutally attacked,
Ellen has since been plagued by the images of what she calls the Nightmare
Man. Her husband convinced by the psychotherapists she is a paranoid
schizophrenic, he decides to take Ellen to an institution. During the car ride
there, Ellen pops pills and does her best to convince her husband she isn’t
crazy. The car breaks done in the middle of the woods and husband Bill leaves
her to go get gas. No sooner then later, Ellen is confronted by her nightmarish
attacker as they embark on a life and death chase through the woods where we
then meet two young couples vacationing in a secluded cabin. Ellen runs to the
cabin for safety, as the two couples try and figure out what the hell has
happened to this strange woman. Is she crazy? Or is there really someone else
out there?
There is so much more to the story, and I’m really not about to spoil it. I
enjoyed the entire film from start to finish. The concept behind the mask was
vague, but only enough that it allows the audience to make up their own mind
about its dark history, whatever it may be. There is enough camp to make it
entertaining, but not so much that it keeps you from taking the film seriously.
Tiffany Shepis plays Mia, the heroin of Nightmare Man. This could simply be the
performance of her career. I say this taking into consideration that Shepis has
been in nearly forty films in ten years and I’ve probably seen all of them. I was
impressed. The acting was very good overall in fact. Every character added their
own unique element. My only beef was that Blythe Metz seemed to overact a
bit. She was fantastic is Kanefsky’s JAQUELINE HYDE, but I think she may have
needed to tone it down a bit here. We also have a cameo by Richard Moll,
whom we all know played Bull in the TV series Night Court. I can’t say I was
pleasantly surprised with this movie, only because I would expect nothing less
from Kanefsky. This was a fun, bloody, and entertaining flick. Double triple
thumbs up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 8/10
Moll, Hanna Putnam, Tiffany Shepis, Aaron Sherry, Jack Sway, Luciano Szafir
Directed by: Rolfe Kanefsky
Story: Ellen Morris believes that there is someone or something trying to get
her. Her husband and psychotherapists believe she's a paranoid schizophrenic.
On the way to the institution, the Morris' car breaks down. When her husband
goes to get gas, Ellen stays and gets attacked by her mysterious assailant.
Review:
For sixteen years Rolfe Kanefsky has been in business, bringing us over twenty
films and now has his own production company called VALKHN FILMS. For
those of us who have been living and breathing horror for the last few decades,
we distinctly remember having a definite case of déjà vu when Wes Craven’s
SCREAM was released in 1996. For the average movie go-er, the flick might
have seemed completely new and different. But for the die hard horror fans, we
knew we were seeing a more than obvious knock-off of Kanefsky’s THERE’S
NOTHING OUT THERE which was released five years earlier. With that being
said, Rolfe has continued to never disappoint, and his latest film NIGHTMARE
MAN is no exception. Our film begins with our main character Ellen (played by
Blythe Metz, Jacqueline Hyde), who receives a hand carved mask in the mail that
she assumes to be the god of fertility. However, when she opens up the box
she is disgusted by its horrifying demonic face, and insists her husband Bill
(played Luciano Szafir) gets rid of it at once.
Later that evening when the lights unexpectedly go out, Ellen is tormented by a
man wearing the mask (or is it a man at all?). After being brutally attacked,
Ellen has since been plagued by the images of what she calls the Nightmare
Man. Her husband convinced by the psychotherapists she is a paranoid
schizophrenic, he decides to take Ellen to an institution. During the car ride
there, Ellen pops pills and does her best to convince her husband she isn’t
crazy. The car breaks done in the middle of the woods and husband Bill leaves
her to go get gas. No sooner then later, Ellen is confronted by her nightmarish
attacker as they embark on a life and death chase through the woods where we
then meet two young couples vacationing in a secluded cabin. Ellen runs to the
cabin for safety, as the two couples try and figure out what the hell has
happened to this strange woman. Is she crazy? Or is there really someone else
out there?
There is so much more to the story, and I’m really not about to spoil it. I
enjoyed the entire film from start to finish. The concept behind the mask was
vague, but only enough that it allows the audience to make up their own mind
about its dark history, whatever it may be. There is enough camp to make it
entertaining, but not so much that it keeps you from taking the film seriously.
Tiffany Shepis plays Mia, the heroin of Nightmare Man. This could simply be the
performance of her career. I say this taking into consideration that Shepis has
been in nearly forty films in ten years and I’ve probably seen all of them. I was
impressed. The acting was very good overall in fact. Every character added their
own unique element. My only beef was that Blythe Metz seemed to overact a
bit. She was fantastic is Kanefsky’s JAQUELINE HYDE, but I think she may have
needed to tone it down a bit here. We also have a cameo by Richard Moll,
whom we all know played Bull in the TV series Night Court. I can’t say I was
pleasantly surprised with this movie, only because I would expect nothing less
from Kanefsky. This was a fun, bloody, and entertaining flick. Double triple
thumbs up.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 8/10
Genres: Horror
Rated:
Country: USA
Year: 2006
Runtime: 88 minutes
Studio: Valkhn Films
IMDB Page
Rated:
Country: USA
Year: 2006
Runtime: 88 minutes
Studio: Valkhn Films
IMDB Page
Online since: February 20th, 2006
Review done by: Michelle Fatale
