Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 19, 2019

John Moxey's "Nightmare in Badham County" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive video interview with the director and new audio commentary by critic/author Amanda Reyes and author/podcaster Justin Kerswell. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I don’t know what is more bizarre -- the fact that someone wanted and did a lot of hard work to sell Nightmare in Badham County as a legit eye-opener, or the fact that ABC picked up the film and then attempted to sanitize it for mass consumption. I am leaning toward the second option because the sanitization that was performed at ABC was undoubtedly approved by numerous parties, which tells me that there was some sort of consensus that if the film was cleaned up a bit its ‘message’ would make perfect sense. Now this scenario is not only bizarre, it is hilarious as well. Think about what was done. Imagine an Italian producer selling Sergio Garrone’s stupid film SS Experiment Camp as a legit war drama that was inspired by true events. You can see the problem here, can’t you? And yet this is precisely what the bigwigs at ABC did with Nightmare in Badham County, which is another stupid exploitation film, before they put it on national TV. They trimmed most of the sleaze and then added this statement before its opening credits: “The following picture was inspired by actual conditions in certain parts of the country. This story is a fictionalization of those conditions.” Yeah, right.

The Deep South. While exploring the countryside, UCLA students Cathy (Deborah Raffin) and Diane (Lynne Moody) bump into Sheriff Danen (Chuck Conners), and after they reject his not so subtle advances, he makes sure that they get in trouble with the law. A corrupt judge (Ralph Bellamy) then promptly sends the two girls to a women’s prison where they begin serving their sentences.

As time passes by, Cathy and Diane discover that the entire area has its own rules and regulations, and that those who question their legitimacy quickly end up dead. The girls also realize that the people that run the prison are connected and frequently use the inmates to satisfy their twisted carnal desires, effectively transforming the facility into a semi-legit sex slave camp. Eventually, Cathy finds a way to reach her father in California and he arrives fuming and determined to get her out as fast as possible. However, the old man also gets a quick lesson in Sothern hospitality.

Director John Moxey knew that he was tasked to do a chameleon, so this is precisely what he delivered. I don’t see a problem there because he did Nightmare in Badham County strictly for the money. The problem is that his film is loaded with awful stereotypes and sleaze that instantly destroy its credibility as an eye-opener, which is exactly what the bigwigs at ABC thought they had after it was delivered to them. They just needed a ‘softer’ version of it, which is why someone recut it for them. Then later on, for the theatrical release of the film overseas, additional content was added for optimal effect. It is pretty obvious that the entire process through which this film materialized is very, very strange. (In the exclusive interview that director Moxey recorded for this release before he passed away, he describes the process as a ‘test’. Well, even the uncut version of his film sure looks like one).

This recent release offers two versions of the film. The first is the ‘softer’ version that ABC used for the TV broadcast. The second is an uncut version that premiered in international cinemas, which retains all of the supposedly controversial sleazy material. If you decide to see the film, go for the longer version because it is truer to the film’s identity. In other words, you are going to see the exploitation film that Moxey shot before it was reshaped into an odd political film.

Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There are two versions of the film on this release: a 'softer' TV version which is presented in 1.33:1/1080p, and longer explicit version which is presented in 1.85:1/1080p.

I viewed the longer version of the film, which is the softer and slightly rougher looking one. The shorter version has better density levels, depth, and and even overall stability. Color reproduction is pleasing on both versions, but balance is marginally superior on the shorter version. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. However, expect better grain exposure and definition from the shorter version, and a slightly softer overall appearance from the longer version. Some small specks and scratches remain, plus a few spots that reveal very minor fading, but overall the film has nice healthy organic appearance. (Note: This is s 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).

Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided.

The lossless track is stable and nicely balanced. Dynamic intensity is modest, but this is a limitation of the original soundtrack. The dialog is clear and easy to follow. Also, there are no dropouts, background hiss, or annoying distortions in the upper register.

Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Director John Moxey - in this new video interview, director John Moxey recalls how he started doing TV work and discusses the conception of Nightmare in Badham County, the type of themes and visuals that were supposed to define it, its editing, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - this new commentary was recorded by critic/author Amanda Reyes and author/podcaster Justin Kerswell. It can be heard on the shorter TV version.

• Trailers - trailers for the following releases from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. White Lightning
  2. The Wilby Conspiracy
  3. Mr. Majestyk
  4. Truck Turner
  5. Certain Fury

Nightmare in Badham County Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The only exploitation films that I enjoy seeing and revisiting are the ones that promote large-scale visual excess and good photography. For example, Tinto Brass' most scandalous films, Salon Kitty and Caligula, were done under the supervision of Ken Adam (Barry Lyndon) and Danilo Donati (Amarcord), respectively, and I consider them genre masterpieces. The exploitation films that I cannot stand are the lousy shockers which are almost always done by bad directors with zero appreciation of style. John Moxey's Nightmare in Badham County is a bad chameleon that does not work as an exploitation film and most definitely does not deliver the goods as a political eye-opener. In an exclusive interview that is included on this release, Moxey describes it as a 'test'. It certainly looks like one, and as far as I am concerned it failed.