Nightmare Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Nightmare Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 20, 2022

Freddie Francis won an Oscar for Sons and Lovers (1960), the ninth big-screen feature that he photographed. This coincided with a period in which Francis was shooting some prestigious films that included Room at the Top (1959) and The Innocents (1961). Francis was one of the top cinematographers in Britain and his Academy Award helped give him the cache and clout to become a feature film director. Nightmare (1964) was Francis's fourth credited movie as director and the second of four "mini Hitchcocks" he directed during this era: it was preceded by Paranoiac (1963) and followed by Hysteria (1965) and The Psychopath (1966).

Nightmare opens very ominously in an insane asylum with young lady Janet (Jennie Linden) wandering aimless down a hallway. She keeps hearing her name called and opens the door to a cell block. It's her neurotic mother (Isla Cameron), who devilishly smiles and hollers while Janet screams back at her. Janet is screaming again as she awakens from this nightmare. Janet is attending a finishing school where she's looked after by her teacher, Mrs. Lewis (Brenda Bruce). The latter thinks a change of scene might by the best thing for Janet. So she, Janet, and their chauffeur, John (George A. Cooper), take a drive to her childhood home. Oddly, the ward where her mum resides is located nearby. Janet is glad to see her old benevolent housekeeper, Mrs. Gibbs (Irene Richmond), when she arrives but is disappointed that the family lawyer, Henry Baxter (David Knight), is away. Janet will also be tended by a live-in nurse, Grace Maddox (Moira Redmond). In a flashback to six years earlier, Mrs. Gibbs recounts to Mrs. Lewis how Janet ascended the stairs and opened the door to her parents' bedroom where she witnessed her mum stab her father in the chest with a knife. The nightmare of that murder and other unpleasant occurrences seemingly continue for Janet. She hears and sees someone try to open her locked bedroom door. When she sidles around the corridors in the middle of the night, she often sees a woman in white (Clytie Jessop). Initially, she thinks it's her mum but this woman has a scar on her left cheek. The doctor has seen Janet and gathers she may need psychiatric care. Janet hopes to have a cheerful birthday with Henry home but he surprises her with the introduction of his wife who's the woman in white Janet has been seeing! Something awful will happen...

Nightmare is often compared to two of its primal influences: Clouzet's Diabolique (1955) and Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). While those comparisons are germane, the film it most reminds me of in terms of lighting, atmosphere, and characterization is Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963). Janet is in a plight similar to the one Eleanor Lance (Julie Harris) faces in Hill House. Both female protagonists know there's someone else in the house and they're trying to uncover the identity of that presence. The second half of Nightmare isn't as chilling or suspenseful as the first half since it focuses on the motives of the characters who are trying to drive Janet mad. But it benefits from a splendid performance by Moira Redmond (A Shot in the Dark).

Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory has brought Nightmare to North American Blu-ray with this "Collector's Edition" that comes with a slipcover. The film appears in its original "HammerScope" ratio of 2.35:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. Nightmare was first released on Blu-ray in the US over five years ago as part of Universal's Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection. That same year Final Cut Entertainment put it out in the UK. Last year, Powerhouse Films released Hammer Volume Six: Night Shadows, a four-disc set of four movies from the studio, which includes Nightmare. Scream advertises this transfer as emanating from a new 2K scan from the interpositive. It appears that the Universal sports more film artifacts on its transfer than on the Powerhouse and Scream. Black levels on the Scream are very deep and breathtaking to see with the stellar grayscale (see Screenshot #15). Periodically, there are very thin vertical tramlines that creep into the frame. You'll notice them for the scenes accompanying frame grabs 19 and 20. Thankfully, they're not large and obtrusive to take away from the beauty of the compositions but they do crop up in small pockets from time to time. Scream has encoded the feature at an average video bitrate of 34000 kbps.

Scream has provided twelve chapters for the 82-minute feature.

Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1564 kbps, 24-bit). The monaural mix is free of audible background hiss, scratches, pops, or crackles. Spoken words are delivered cleanly. For screams and sound f/x, the bass comes through well. Composer Don Banks wrote a classic score that superbly complements the on-screen action.

Scream delivers optional English SDH for the main feature.

Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream Factory has retained two featurettes and a making-of doc from UK-based Final Cut Entertainment's 2016 Blu-ray. Nightmare's disc on the Powerhouse box set contains an audio commentary with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby, the British Entertainment History Project (BEHP) interview with Freddie Francis by Alan Jones and Syd Wilson (which plays as an alternate audio track), a half-hour featurette on Don Banks's score, a ten-minute featurette on Moira Redmond, an eight-minute introduction by Kim Newman, and two image galleries. Powerhouse additionally has the three Final Cut programs and a theatrical trailer. Scream recorded a new audio commentary, two extended video interviews with film historians, and a featurette that pulls together new interviews with an actress who had a bit part and some living crew members.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historian Bruce Hallenbeck - this feature-length commentary by Hallenbeck isn't one of his better ones, which puts it at slightly above average. He apparently didn't have many archival research materials and resources to work with as it pertains to Nightmare. It's isn't much screen-specific. He spends substantial time (especially during the first half) going through the filmographies and careers of the cast/crew principals. Hallenbeck evidently wasn't able to locate vintage critical reviews so he cites a lot of online critiques of Nightmare. His coverage of Freddie Francis's autobiography as it relates to Nightmare is solid, though. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Sleepless Nights: Reflecting on a Nightmare Movie – An Interview with Author/Film Historian Kim Newman (16:47, 1080p) - the eminent Kim Newman discusses the career trajectories of Jimmy Sangster and Freddie Francis, the kind of movies Hammer was producing during the period Nightmare was made, and Nightmare's cinematic contemporaries and antecedents. He also spends some time talking about several actors and their contributions to the picture. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Slice and Fright – An Interview with Author/Film Historian Jonathan Rigby (25:29, 1080p) - Rigby points out that Nightmare was filmed during a very harsh winter in Berkshire. He also delves into the input "Colonel" James Carreras had on the script and publicity campaign. Rigby additionally discusses Jimmy Sangster, the chiaroscuro lighting, and Isla Cameron's performance in the film and contribution to the British folk scene. Rigby also critiques several scenes. He makes some nice comparisons between Nightmare, Les diaboliques (1955), and The Innocents (1961). In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Reliving the Nightmare (16:12, 1080p) - this recent featurette produced by Shout includes interviews with actress Julie Samuel (who plays the maid), continuity person Pauline (Wise) Harlow, and focus puller Geoff Glover. The latter describes what it was like to work under Freddie Francis and another focus puller who handled the anamorphic lenses. (This individual was probably Ronnie Fox Rogers.) Samuel says that she was initially considered for the lead before it went to Jennie Linden. So, she was then offered a supporting role. Harlow compares and contrasts continuity between a film such as Nightmare with how it's carried out for action and war films. The interviewees also describe the filming conditions. In English, not subtitled.

• Nightmare…in the Making (27:14, 1080p) - this nearly half-hour program is hosted and narrated by author Wayne Kinsey. Portia Booroff interviews actress Jennie Linden about making Nightmare and her time at Hammer., Writer/producer Jimmy Sangster is also interviewed along with art director Don Mingaye as well as second assistant director Hugh Harlow and Pauline (Wise) Harlow (the latter of whom are husband and wife). Kinsey looks back at the very early Hammer films, a segment accompanied by posters and photographs. The interviewees (especially Linden) describe working in Bray Film Studios compared to Pinewood and other film production houses. In English, not subtitled.

• Jennie Linden Memories (14:16, 1080p) - The actress Jennie Linden speaks to Portia Booroff on the Isle of Wight. Linden remembers her family taking her to a Punch and Judy show, which inspired her to become a performer. She also talks about her time in drama school, the influence her husband had on her as an actor's agent, how having kids impacted her movie career, her son's involvement in theatre, some of the later movies she appeared in, and her favorite film and TV shows she starred in. In English, not subtitled.

• Madhouse: Inside Hammer's NIGHTMARE (14:12, 1080p) - this featurette contains interviews with the film historians who have regularly appeared on the Studio Canal's Blu-ray releases of Hammer titles: Kevin Lyons, Jonathan Rigby, Alan Barnes, and John J. Johnson. They talk about the roles Jimmy Sangster and James Carreras played in Nightmare's production, an assessment of Jennie Linden's performance, comparisons to Psycho, the collaboration of John Wilcox and Freddie Francis, and remarks on various actors. They analyze some scenes. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (0:55, upconverted to 1080p) - this interlaced trailer for Nightmare is taken from an archival VHS tape. It's cropped picture has been horizontally stretched to 16x9-friendly 1.78:1. I could hear the tracking buzz on the sound track.

• Still Gallery (2:53, 1080p) - a slide show of thirty-nine images which depict Nightmare's marketing campaign. The first twenty-five comprise black-and-white on-set photographs and publicity snapshots. The remaining fourteen consist of color posters and lobby cards.

Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nightmare is one of Hammer's classiest psychological thrillers and it's full of twists and turns. Scenarist Jimmy Sangster very effectively blurs the line between reality and the dream world. Scream Factory delivers a very fine transfer from a recent 2K restoration that's likely identical to the one Powerhouse prepared for its limited edition Indicator Series box set. (As of this date, Powerhouse hasn't released Nightmare individually in the UK.) Scream recently produced four exclusive extras but I would probably lean towards Powerhouse's disc for quality and comprehensiveness. Although I haven't seen Powerhouse's supplements, their commentary track with Rigby and Lyons is probably superior to Hallenbeck's, which isn't one of his better tracks. Rigby and Lyons can both be seen in a recycled featurette and the former can also be heard in a new nearly half-hour interview. Scream's extras are still solid, though. A STRONG RECOMMENDATION for this Scream CE.