Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 18, 2019

Umberto Lenzi's "Nightmare Beach" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; video interview with composer Claudio Simonetti; and audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The madman

Umberto Lenzi made Nightmare Beach under the alias Harry Kirkpatrick, and the cynic in me is willing to argue that he did so because he could not do it right. Here’s why: This film is a twofer -- one part of it is meant to appeal to folks that enjoy the traditional American spring break charmers, while the other part delivers the type of thrills and chills that ‘slasher’ fans enjoy. It is not a bad concept for a genre film, but Lenzi was the right director only for the second part. It is very easy to tell that it was so because in the second part he is a creator that brings in unique energy and atmosphere, while in the first part he is an imitator that borrows from other places. Oddly, right from the get-go, it feels like the imitator was the one that called all the shots and eventually put his stamp on the film. When Lenzi found out what had happened, it was probably too late to go back and fix the mess, so he just snubbed the imitator with the alias.

Spring break in Florida. The popular leader of a bad gang of bikers is arrested for murder, tried in court, and promptly sent to the electric chair. Everyone in the area breathes a sigh of relief, but the filled with anger bikers regroup and then begin terrorizing the local businesses and the many visitors who have arrived to enjoy the beautiful weather. During the confrontations a madman dressed in black begins electrocuting random partygoers and when someone discovers that the grave of the executed biker is empty, rumors begin to swirl around that he has returned.

But failed quarterback Skip (Nicolas De Toth), who has just lost his best friend, ignores the rumors and begins looking for the elusive madman. Along the way he also befriends the beautiful bartender Gail (Sarah Buxton), whose sister was killed by the vicious biker, and together they craft a plan to solve the mystery.

If the film was made exactly as the script dictated, then it is very fair to say that there wasn’t a lot of effort put into it. The mystery relies on a couple of basic misdirections that are so easy to dismiss that the suspense that is supposed to enhance the buildup never materializes. As a result, the only way in which the film can impress is by making the actual killing sequences look genuinely atmospheric and vile. The good news -- at least for folks that enjoy these types of thrills and chills -- is that Lenzi and his special effects guys make the madman’s appearances and killings look legit. The bad news is that everything else in the film looks like filler material.

Some of the silliest footage comes from a wild hotel, where hordes of drunk students and adventurous adults are supposedly having the time of their life. For example, some ‘businessman’ from out of town agrees to help a broke student continue her degree work with a fat check, but only after he spends the night in her room. Later on, a cowboy also becomes concerned about the girl’s education and stops by her room to hear more about her studies. A delusional minister (Lance LeGault) delivers a few totally random ‘truths’ about all the evil that spring break madness brings as well.

Old pros John Saxon and Michael Parks wander around doing their best to look concerned about the madman, but their talents are completely wasted. Needless to say, their characters are instantly forgettable.

Claudio Simonetti’s (Suspiria) soundtrack gives the film a touch of class, but it is not enough to hide its many flaws.

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nightmare Beach arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K remaster that makes the film look very, very fresh. The best news, however, is that there are no traces of any problematic digital work, so in addition to looking fresh the film has a very solid organic appearance as well. Colors are stable and nicely saturated, though occasionally light black crush sneaks in. Also, I think that the overall balance could have been slightly better because some of the primaries are a tad warmer than they should be, but there is plenty that still looks very good. Image stability is excellent. The encoding is good, but there is some room for encoding optimizations. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided.

I viewed the film with the original English track. It is very healthy and with an excellent range of dynamic nuances. The dialog is very clean, crisp, and easy to follow as well. Claudio Simonetti's score also makes its presence felt during a few of the most dramatic sequences. There are no audio dropouts, distortions, or other digital anomalies to report.

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a remastered trailer for Nightmare Beach. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Nightmare Rock - composer Claudio Simonetti discusses his work in the film industry and the scoring of Nightmare Beach. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (16 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critic Samm Deighan.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Baby Blood.
  2. Rawhead Rex
  3. Night Angel
  4. Link

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

Nightmare Beach Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I can't say that I disliked Nightmare Beach because some of the spring break silliness in it is rather hilarious, but it is very predictable. There are countless other genre films that are worth seeing before it because they are better scripted and executed. If you disagree and like the film a lot, you will be happy to hear that Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very healthy recent 4K remaster. RENT IT.