Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Night Terror Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 19, 2022

E.W. Swackhamer's "Night Terror" a.k.a. "Night Drive" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critics Amanda Reyes and Daniel Budnik as well as vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

E.W. Swackhamer’s Night Terror is a perfect late-night film. Actually, I have to immediately correct myself because Night Terror is in fact a perfect very late-night film. Indeed, you want to see it after 2.00 AM, when your body and mind are so tired that you just want to sit back on your favorite couch, turn off the lights, and gradually transition into that very particular pre-sleep mode. However, this whole ritual works only with some very specific genre films and older TV shows. For example, Cherry 2000 and Retroactive can just as easily accomplish what Night Terror would do for you. And if you wish to reach the pre-sleep mode with a smile, you can see Blame It on Rio or Hardbodies. What about some TV shows that could get the job done as well? You can check out Swackhamer’s McCloud, which has a ton of action and a great old-fashioned sense of humor. An even better suggestion is Michael Mann’s Vega$, which has absolutely everything that I like about old TV shows -- an outstanding leading man (Robert Urich), an absolutely superb supporting cast, great action, and a seemingly endless supply of vintage visuals from old Las Vegas. I don’t know why, but desert visuals instantly put me in the right mood for what I consider very late-night entertainment. Desert visuals from West Texas and Arizona always work great for me, but Las Vegas and the surrounding areas are the ultimate magic factory for the type of old TV shows that I just can’t resist.

Now, here are a few examples of really good films and TV shows that won’t do the trick I described above. They are not big classic films and TV shows that would force your mind to work hard, but they won’t let you drift away. The Driver is one such film. It is one of my all-time favorites and each year I revisit it a couple of times, but never very late at night. Why? Because it is such a cool film that when I sit down to view it, I want to hear and absorb absolutely everything, and if I do, I can’t transition to the pre-sleep mode. It is just the way it is with me, and I am convinced that there are a lot of other viewers like me out there. Another similar but very different and unsuitable for very late-night viewing film is Bound. It happens to be an old favorite of mine as well. Bound is a very sexy and rather astonishingly funny film that always makes me laugh so hard that there is simply no way I could relax and get sleepy with it. It is the cinematic equivalent of a very thick and very rich double espresso served in an elegant cup that you can only buy in Rome. Have you ever tried to fall asleep after having a proper cup of double espresso? My final example is the Italian TV sensation Gomorrah. If you begin viewing Gomorrah at night and you have to go to work in the morning, you might as well send a sick notice to your boss before you hit the play button on your remote control. I am sorry, but there is no way you will be going to bed on time and waking up on time to go to work.

The reason I wanted to make it very clear that Night Terror is a perfect very-late night film is this: it is actually an imperfect film that can work only if seen during a particular time with the right set of expectations. Valerie Harper is Carol Turner, a housewife in Arizona, who abruptly changes her travel plans after she discovers that her son has been admitted to a hospital in Denver with a serious infection. Because a blizzard has closed the airport in Denver, Carol decides to drive to the hospital, but along the way becomes a target for a mute maniac (Richard Romanus) after she sees him killing a traffic cop. This is the entire, quite simple story of the film, so all of the excitement is produced by Carol’s struggle to stay away from the maniac and reach a place where she will be safe.

Even though it was made for TV, Night Terror is an oddly unhinged film that goes as far as it could have during the 1970s. No, it is not a graphic film, but its intensity is definitely atypical for a TV project and this is essentially what makes it attractive.

Now, this intensity is also what makes Night Terror impossible to take seriously and ultimately describe as a good film. Harper’s performance is what fuels it and fully aware that it is so she ramps up the hysteria of her character to eleven. However, because Night Terror does not expect the viewer to accept the hysteria as authentic, it easily becomes one of those it-is-so-bad-it-is-actually-good genre films that are perfect to see in the wee hours of the night.

Night Terror Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Night Terror arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Scorpion Releasing.

The release is sourced from a very nice organic master that must have been prepared fairly recently. If I had to guess, I would say that it was finalized in 2K because the quality of the visuals is pretty much identical to what you would see on Kino Lorber's recent release of Night Gallery: Season One. Delineation, clarity, and depth gravitate are typically very good and occasionally even excellent. The master is very nicely graded, too. The primaries are solid and healthy, while the supporting nuances are very nicely balanced. A few highlights could have been managed better, but the overall balance of the daylight and nighttime visuals is still wonderful. Image stability is excellent. I noticed a few white specks, but there are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. All in all, this release offers a very solid organic presentation of Night Terror. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Night Terror Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is handles the original sound design of the film very well. However, you need to know that this sound design has all the typical limitations of a '70s TV project. Clarity, sharpness, and stability are fine, but the dynamic potency of the audio is quite limited. The music does not produce any memorable contrasts either. But this is how Night Terror was shot, so you can't compare it to the latest blockbusters you experience on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray.

Night Terror Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Amanda Reyes and Daniel Budnik.

• Trailers - trailers for the following titles from Scorpion Releasing's Blu-ray catalog:
  
  1. Trackdown
  2. Rollerball
  3. The Psychic
  4. Slow Dancing in the Big City
  5. Last Rites

Night Terror Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While you are waiting for The Hitcher to transition to Blu-ray, you might want to treat yourself with Night Terror. I think that the latter is perfect for very late-night viewing because it has that it-is-so-bad-it-is-actually-good vibe running through it and some lovely desert visuals. I had not seen it before but enjoyed it quite a lot and wonder whether it might have been a secret inspiration for Robert Harmon after he accidentally caught it on TV. Scorpion Releasing's Blu-ray release is sourced from a lovely organic master, but if you reside outside of North America and plan to add it to your library, please keep in mind that it is Region-A "locked". RECOMMENDED.