“Nightmare Cinema is a wildly imaginative, delicious, disgusting horror film!” 

– Ryan T. Cusick, iHorror.com

 

I absolutely have a love for horror anthologies. From Creepshow, Tales From The Darkside, Trilogy of Terror, John Carpenter’s Body Bags – the list continues to go on and on. I often wonder what attracts me to this type of cinema? Is it perfect storytelling? Ideal directing? Some esthetic left behind in my childhood that I relive when exposed to anthology type films? Well, I must say the new film involving some of our Master’s of Horror delivered on a high note and was not a disappointment. Nightmare Cinema brings the old ‘Masters of Horror’ format back home to fans in a five-part very well curated anthology film packed with everything we have come to love over the years of horror cinema.

The Core

Everyone seems to say that choosing your favorite horror film is like choosing your favorite child, and I truly believe this to be true – Nightmare Cinema was no different. Woodbe filmgoers will be presented with five tales: (1) The Thing In The Woods, (2) Mirari, (3) Mashit, (4) The Way To Egress, and (5) Dead. The creators put a hardcore emphasis on making each entry different in every way possible, at no time did I feel I was watching a “cookie cutter” of the last, this was quite refreshing. Out of the five, the segment that I couldn’t escape and thought about for days after my viewing was the fifth and final tale – “Dead”, Directed By Mick Garris. Something about the paranormal just fascinates me and Garris hit all the right notes with this one, literally on the edge of my seat holding on for dear life. Dead, has a high potential for expansion, a feature perhaps.

Upon viewing the film I asked myself who is going to act as our host for the film? Most anthologies have a host, guide, or better yet a storyteller that introduces us from one segment to the next, whether it be the creepy old Crypt Keeper or the Creep from Creepshow, we gotta have someone, right? Never fear, Micky Rourke to the rescue. Rourke portrays an evil Projectionist who has set up shop in the old Hollywood Rialto theatre. This Projectionist gathers five strangers who bare witness to screenings of their worst nightmares, fears, and darkest secrets. With Rourke at the helm, it very much adds a scary touch to everything and it all comes full circle at the very end.

Conclusion / Final Thoughts

Nightmare Cinema brings together some of horror’s top storytellers in winning efforts to create a buffet of tales that are sure to deliver an assortment of spine-tingling shrieks, scares, and goosebumps. The segments are sprinkled with fantastic performances only reiterating how important writing and story-telling truly are as each segment delivered something unique and truthfully terrifying. Not one episode was a dud – Nightmare Cinema is the icing on the cake and I truly hope this is only just the beginning.

This horror film will disturb you long after the credits dissipate from the screen, be sure to check it out. Now available in Theaters & On Demand.

Nightmare Cinema Official Synopsis:

“In this twisted horror anthology, five strangers are drawn to an abandoned theater and forced to watch their deepest and darkest fears play out before them. Lurking in the shadows is the Projectionist, who preys upon their souls with his collection of disturbing films. As each reel spins its sinister tale, the characters find frightening parallels to their own lives.”

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Sarah Elizabeth Withers, Faly Rakotohavana, Maurice Benard, Elizabeth Reaser, Zarah Mahler, Mark Grossman, Eric Nelsen, Richard Chamberlain, Adam Godley, and Annabeth Gish.

Writers: Mick Garris, Alejandro Brugues, Richard Christian Matheson, Sandra Becerril, David Slade, and Lawrence C. Connolly.

Directors: Mick Garris, Alejandro Brugués, Joe Dante, Ryûhei Kitamura and David Slade.