Rating summary
| Movie |  | 2.0 |
| Video | | 2.0 |
| Audio |  | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 3.5 |
| Overall | | 2.0 |
Nightmare Man Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 29, 2022
Note: Nightmare Man is as of the writing of this review a Ronin Flix website exclusive, but will go into "wider release" on January
23.
Perhaps if more of what writer and director Rolfe Kanefsky states was his intention with regard to Nightmare Man actually made it to the
screen, the film might have
arguably benefited as a result. Kanefsky has some rather interesting things to say in some supplements included on this disc about how he wanted to
craft a horror film that kind of traversed how the genre changed over the course of several decades, with everything from slasher style "antics" to
supernatural phenomena unfolding as the story progressed. That structural artifice may still have a bit of subliminal allure for some fans, but the
story itself is pretty rote.
Ellen (Blythe Metz) and Bill (Luciano Szafir) have been having trouble conceiving a child, and Ellen orders a tribal "fertility mask" to perhaps aid in the
process. What shows up might be frightening enough to be a kind of anti-Viagra (so to speak), but within just the first few minutes of the film, it
seems like the mask has "come alive" and sexually assaulted Ellen. The story then jumps to one of its few bright daytime scenes, as Bill drives Ellen
to a mental institution, where it's hoped that her "delusions" of having been molested by a mask can be ameliorated if not removed. Of course, the
two end up stranded in an isolated location, and soon enough the "Nightmare Man" (i.e., the mask come alive) is chasing Ellen through the woods.
In the meantime, a house party somewhere deep within these isolated woods is taking place, hosted by Mia (Tiffany Shepis). Parts of what happens
next are probably already predictable in terms of the basic plot outlines provided here, but I will say the film has a fairly interesting turn toward the
end. The structure here, while fairly straightforward, may stumble when the focus kind of unexpectedly turns from Ellen to Mia, and then kinda sorta
back to Ellen again.
Nightmare Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Nightmare Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Ronin Flix with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb offers only a fairly
unhelpful "digital" under Negative Format on its Technical Specs page for the film, and the closing credits roll don't disclose anything either. Whatever
was used to capture this imagery either couldn't handle the surplus of low light conditions, or something went seriously awry during the encode,
because as can probably be seen (using that term figuratively) in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review this is a generally
very
rough, fuzzy and undetailed presentation. Some of the darkest moments offer virtually no really visible fine detail (see screenshot 5 for one example).
Many,
maybe even most, of the dark sequences are littered with noise. adding to deficits in detail levels. In the few brightly lit moments, things pop
adequately if never amazingly well, but detail levels definitely improve.
Nightmare Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Things are considerably better with regard to this disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. A rather nice score by Christopher Farrell resides comfortably
in the side and rear channels, and several of the outdoor sequences offer some good placement of ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is rendered
cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Nightmare Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- Audio Commentary with Director Rolfe Kanefsky, Producer Esther Goodstein and cast member Tiffany Shepis
- There's Something Out There: The Making of Nightmare Man (HD; 25:33) features a number of decent interviews and
production information, and comes with a spoiler warning.
- Creating a Nightmare: The Making of Nightmare Man (SD; 22:04) is a bit cheekier and features behind the scenes footage
and candid moments.
- Extended Scenes (SD; 16:19)
- Tiffany's Behind the Scenes (SD; 17:53) offers more candid moments with the film's star.
- Flubbing a Nightmare Gag Reel (SD; 7:06)
- Stills Gallery (SD; 5:00)
- Promo Reel (HD; 4:32)
- Audio Film Score Track (HD; 1:01:10) is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and plays to a static image.
Nightmare Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Nightmare Man is a prime example of ultra low budget indie filmmaking, and as such it may appeal to fans of that particular "guerrilla"
approach to shooting a movie. There are some interesting ideas here, but some arguably not ready for prime time performances and presentational
aspects may keep this from delivering more chills. Technical merits range from definitely improvable (video) to rather good (audio), and the
supplements are quite appealing, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.
