Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Nightmare Weekend Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 27, 2015

1986’s “Nightmare Weekend” doesn’t even try to make sense. It’s a French production directed by Henri Sala (one of his final efforts) that tries to cash-in on mid-‘80s horror trends, assembling a mixture of slasher and sci-fi cinema, ornamented with mild aerobics, multiple visits to a video game arcade, and squishy make-up achievements. However, somewhere during the production’s journey, an actual story was dismissed, resulting in a feature that merely chases whims, especially ones involving nudity and bloodshed. There’s a green-haired puppet and a supercomputer involved in the mayhem as well. Hilariously bizarre but oddly mindful of exploitation basics, “Nightmare Weekend” is riveting mess for B-movie fanatics, especially those who appreciate the value of an endeavor that’s holding on for dear life.

Professor Edward (Wellington Meffert) has built Apache, a supercomputer capable of producing a small medicinal, sentient sphere that alters animal personality, relieving subjects of anxiety and assorted anger issues. Colleague Julie (Debbie Laster) wants to advance to human trials, enticing three young women (including Andrea Thompson) to Edward’s remote Floridian mansion to experience total relaxation as they’re prepared for injection. Also lurking in the house is Edward’s daughter, Jessica (Debra Hunter), a feisty teenager who spends time with George, Apache’s puppet administrator, but also hungers for a sexual experience, aiming lustful intentions at Ken (Dale Midkiff), an enforcer secretly working with Julie. As the weekend commences, party time begins, with amorous activities amongst strangers taking top priority as Julie prepares the spheres for use, attempting to claim a medical breakthrough fortune for herself.

Again, keep in mind that a supporting character in “Nightmare Weekend” is a hand puppet that acts as both Jessica’s protector and the face of Apache. That detail alone is the best possible way to describe the straight-faced absurdity of the production. Genre intent is clearly understood, as the screenplay makes early moves to bring nubile young women to a remote location, preparing them for the slaughter, playing into the formula of the decade. Unfortunately, Sala isn’t trained as a fright filmmaker, with his career leaning more toward soft-core sex movies, which explains that, whenever possible, the cast is encourage to lose their clothing and engage in extended groping sessions. It’s a merging of agony and titillation that doesn’t work, but “Nightmare Weekend” is determined to share the goods, giving it a certain indefatigable spirit that’s endearing. Sala doesn’t care about telling a story; he has no general way with spatial relationships either. But give the man an opportunity to photograph naked breasts, and he’s suddenly alert.

“Nightmare Weekend” is, of course, unintentionally hilarious, mostly because it doesn’t have any true direction. The story is basic but bungled, finding even the most rudimentary characterization blurred by a combination of indifference and inability. Sala just throws everything at the screen and hopes for the best, introducing viewers to Ken’s haunted past of brotherly loss and motorcycle racing (basically, the bikes just speed around in a tight circle), Jessica’s horndog adventuring and computer mischief (she uses Apache to take command of Julie’s car -- don’t ask how), and Julie’s deadly scheming, hounding Edward to continue work on his miracle cure for her own gain. As for the metallic spheres, they carry “Phantasm”-style qualities, but little is shared about their mechanics, with their will to kill a bit too mysterious, along with their capabilities of flight. Still, the special effects, while crude, are neat, creating moments for the make-up to take over and provide gruesome details.

The action isn’t completely contained to the mansion. “Nightmare Weekend” periodically ventures over to Billy’s Bar, an arcade/pool hall where certain characters come to reflect on their lives, while others like to have sex on the pinball machines. There’s also an alcoholic chauffer who sips from a flask housed between sandwich bread slices, somehow forgetting that he’s already at a bar. These asides are strange, especially when a celebration of property ownership is introduced, but the venue only adds to the delicious lunacy of the picture, also providing a nostalgic kick for viewers in the mood to see a classic video game line-up inside a dumpy establishment.

Nightmare Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

After recently enduring a few botched releases from Troma Entertainment, it's a little strange to see one of their catalog titles brought to BD with care. The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation from Vinegar Syndrome is filmic, with heavy grain and refreshed color, finding primaries bold and secure, emerging from period costuming and Floridian locations. Hues are also energized for bloodletting sequences, giving gore zone visits some heft. Skintones are natural. Softness is inherent with limited cinematography, but detail is acceptable, capturing available frame information. Delineation is acceptable for this style of low-budget cinematography, offering thicker blacks but no profound solidification. Source is in decent shape, with some mild flicker and a few vertical scratches detected. Despite their iffy track record with acquisitions and in-house productions, every Troma title should look this good on Blu-ray.

Nightmare Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix manages to capture the spirit of horror "Nightmare Weekend" is looking for, carrying a distinctly period-specific mix of synth scoring and sweetened sound effects. Dialogue exchanges are dubbed, allowing for intelligibility but no defined range of drama. Music is secure and supportive, adding some fullness to the mix with passable instrumentation. Atmospherics are thick, trading natural appeal to emphasize genre mood. A degree of hiss is detected, but it never encroaches on the listening experience.

Nightmare Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Thank God It's Monday" (22:54, HD) is an interview with make-up effects artist Dean Gates, who's actually very enthusiastic when chatting up "Nightmare Weekend." Taking the job as a young man trying to build credits in the industry, Gates gave his all to the production, navigating the demands of the French crew in Ocala, Florida. Gates discusses the inspiration for his work, his time on the set (which resulted in a cameo as a gas station attendant), and an interesting run-in with a co-star who was in a seductive mood. Gates is informative and amiable, adding some needed perspective to the bizarre picture.

• "Killer Weekend" (12:50, HD) is a conversation with co-writer/co-producer Marc Gottlieb, who, thankfully, is also bewildered by "Nightmare Weekend," sharing the fact that the crew wasn't terribly interested in following an already baffling screenplay. Gottlieb also shares anecdotes about the crew and location work, and his disillusionment with the film business. While he projects a playful attitude about the movie, it's clear that Gottlieb is still harboring a bit of shame about his participation.

• Alternate R-Rated Edits (7:47, HD) is a collection of scenes prepared to keep explicit antics to a bare minimum.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:26, HD) is included.

Nightmare Weekend Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Finally done with bedroom antics and character quirks (Jessica tries hitchhiking as a way to meet men), "Nightmare Weekend" finally focuses completely on horror, with stumbling "neuropaths" out to snack on the living after the spheres are fully unleashed. It's not much, but the carnage is something, adding needed punctuation to a wandering feature. Don't get me wrong, "Nightmare Weekend" isn't a professional success, and I'm not recommending it to anyone sensitive to buffoonish, confused moviemaking. The picture is strictly for camp hounds comfortable embracing productions that try to conduct business with their shoelaces tied together. This is an exceedingly silly film, but rarely boring, managing to make a mess out of basic genre ingredients, but doing so in a comfortably insane manner.