Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 27, 2024

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is one of those films where even jaded types might read the cast and crew listing, and respond with a hearty "WTF?" The film has one of the more "interesting" casts of its era, with an erstwhile Academy Award nominee, a fledgling teen idol, a future tv sitcom performer, a future big screen leading man, another once and future male action star, and a multiple Tony nominee with some amazing musical theater credits. As if that weren't enough, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker was directed by a man who himself was probably more associated with television situation comedies than feature films. With all of that going for it, could Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker be anything other than a gonzo delight? Speaking of musical theater, years ago some snarky critic (is there any other kind?) summed up Frank Wildhorn's musical version of Jekyll & Hyde by saying it was "all about the hair", i.e., the different coifs that helped to identify the two alter egos of the titular character(s). Something quite similar might be said about Susan Tyrrell's performance as Cheryl Roberts, who has a perhaps "unnatural" attachment to her ostensible nephew Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol). Cheryl's mental and emotional unraveling is at the center of this story, and it includes a rather shocking haircut at one point that Cheryl gives to herself, perhaps comically added to give the audience a pretty major clue as to just how whacked out Cheryl is.

The film opens with perhaps a bit of misdirection, though misdirection that at least points out how deranged Cheryl is. The upshot is that two young people who seem to be leaving a little boy in her care then perish in a horrifying car accident that quite probably was the "handiwork" of Cheryl. Segue forward a decade or so and that little boy is high school basketball star Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol), seemingly content to live with his eccentric Aunt Cheryl. Suffice it to say the Cheryl's interest in Billy may extend beyond the merely maternal (or whatever the aunt version of that might be), and the first part of the film establishes a veritable Freudian minefield of subtext between these two characters.

When Billy seems to finally be cutting the apron strings, so to speak, courtesy of a basketball scholarship, Cheryl reacts kind of ambiguously, first patently negatively, but then at least somewhat more positively, but that then goes haywire when the obviously increasingly unhinged Cheryl kills a guy after her advances to him are not returned, which then embroils Billy in a murder investigation, since Cheryl's claims of an attempted rape aren't exactly believed by Billy, let alone the local police in the person of Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson). It's in this investigatory angle that the film actually becomes rather decidedly provocative, as Carlson discovers the victim was gay and, in traditional bumbling cop mode, comes to the completely wrong conclusion that somehow Billy is involved in a veritable ménage à trois that includes Billy's basketball coach Tom Landers (Steve Eastin).

A number of sidebar characters are also featured in this almost farcical arena, including Billy's nemesis Eddie (Bill Paxton, still billed as William), Billy's girlfriend Julia (Julia Duffy), the absolutely necessary nosy neighbor (Marcia Lewis), and one policeman who has at least an inkling of what's actually going on (Britt Leach). If Tyrrell just goes completely Grand Guignol (and then some), Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is actually fairly trenchant in its examination of straight Carlson's reaction to supposedly uncovering a hotbed (no pun intended) of gay activity. That "social conscience" is more or less completely jettisoned in a nutty finale that needs an explanatory text coda to assure everyone that at least a couple of characters have a happy ending.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release states this was "scanned in 4K from the original camera negative". For such a little remembered cult item, this is a really fantastic looking transfer for the most part, though the opening several minutes are probably the roughest in terms of grain thickness, due to an extended optically printed credits sequence. Grain can be quite thick throughout this presentation, but still resolves well, and further potential compression stumbling blocks like a bit of steam in Aunt Chery's kitchen don't provide any real challenges. The palette is very nicely suffused almost all of the time, though there are some occasional ebbs and flows in the warmth of the presentation. Detail levels are excellent in the best lit scenes, where everything from fabric textures to some of the splatter effects are offered with precision. There is some damage that has made it through the restoration gauntlet.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that delivers everything well enough, but which can show a just slightly boxy sound, especially with regard to some of the dialogue. A somewhat anachronistic score (for a perceived horror film) by folk artist Bruce Langhorne is presented with clarity. For such a hyperbolic enterprise, dynamic range is still somewhat limited. Optional English subtitles are available.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Star Jimmy McNichol


• Audio Commentary with Co-Writer / Producer Steve Breimer and Co-Writer Alan Jan Gluekcman, moderated by Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson


• Audio Commentary with Co-Producer and Unit Production Manager Eugene Mazzola


• Extreme Prejudice (HD; 9:49) is an interview with Bo Svenson.


• Point and Shoot (HD; 15:04) is an interview with Director of Photography Robbie Greenberg.


• Family Dynamics (HD; 16:51) is an interview with Editor Ted Nicolaou.


• Cast and Crew Interviews

  Actor Jimmy McNichol (HD; 8:29)

  
  

  Actress Susan Tyrrell (HD; 10:55)

  
  

  Actor Steve Eastin (HD; 9:38)

  
  

  Make Up Effects Artist Allan A. Apone (HD; 4:56)

  
  

  Producer Steve Breimer (HD; 12:22)

• Trailer (HD; 1:29) features the Night Warning title.


• TV Spot (HD; 00:33)

Note: Severin sent their 4K release for purposes of this review, but if this standalone 1080 release follows suit, it will at least have a reversible sleeve. It doesn't appear this version has a slipcover.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fact that this bizarrely gonzo effort was directed by William Asher, probably best known for having shepherded the long running Bewitched starring his then wife Elizabeth Montgomery, will probably be just another "meta" bonus point for some prospective viewers. It's kind of hard to tell if Tyrrell is indulging in some performance art in her interview, but if not, this was evidently not a happy experience for her, something that might also be alluded to in some of the commentary material. One way or the other, though, you're probably never going to forget Aunt Cheryl once you've met her. As your resident Oregonian, I kind of have to love the fact that Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker evidently had its world premiere in the relatively small college town of Corvallis (where both of my sons indeed attended Oregon State University). It evidently did well enough there to warrant a wider release, but this little data point really should be included with other Oregon-centric film trivia, including the fact that films as disparate as The General, Paint Your Wagon and Drugstore Cowboy, among countless others, were filmed here. Joking aside, this is an absolutely lunatic film with one of the most, um, eclectic casts imaginable, not to mention a director who himself is worthy of a Trivial Pursuit category. Technical merits are surprisingly strong in the video department for such a cult item, and audio is also fine, if not quite at the same level. Severin has once again assembled some appealing supplements. Recommended.