Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 8, 2017

To be fair to 1987’s “Twisted Nightmare,” slasher cinema rarely makes sense. It’s a genre that often employs irrational characters acting as stupidly as possible, while filmmakers barely hang on with snoozy plots that only service the needs of the almighty Kills. “Twisted Nightmare” initially appears to have a narrative direction worth following, introducing a Native American curse established long ago that’s revived for a fresh round of big screen slaughter. However, something went seriously wrong under the care of director Paul Hunt, who abandons plot, personality, and continuity as his movie struggles to make it to the 90 minute mark. People certainly die, and in horrible ways, but the rest of the endeavor is a bewildering assembly of editorial apathy and awful performances, sure to tax even the most forgiving slasher fan.

It’s party time for a pack of friends at Camp Paradise, who’ve come together for a weekend of hunting, sex, partying, sex, and perhaps, if there’s time, sex. It’s a crew of twentysomethings (maybe) who each possess knowledge of a horrible secret involving a terrible death, and payback time has arrived, with the members of the group picked off by mangled threat, possibly motivated by Native American fury. What’s meant to be a celebration of carnal delights is quickly turned into a bloodbath in the middle of nowhere.

“Twisted Nightmare” is not built for details. It doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, even by slasher standards. It’s a “Friday the 13th” knockoff without narrative or directional leadership, watching a collection of loosely defined characters try to survive the weekend against an ill-defined enemy. Performances are amateurish, with the cast hired to remove clothes not recite dialogue, and editing is a mystery at times, with most of the film not piecing together in any logical manner. Information revealed in one scene is contradicted in the next, and the assortment of continuity errors and cheap wigs suggests “Twisted Nightmare” was a piecemeal production. The only thing the feature gets somewhat right are attack sequences, which offer a good portion of gore as limbs are torn and heads roll, though dark cinematography isn’t kind to gross-out achievements.

Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers significant wear and tear on "Twisted Nightmare," which is riddled with lengthy emulsion scratches, debris, and points of damage. Delineation has difficulty as well, finding difficulty with frame information during dark barn encounters. The viewing experience is best served when fully illuminated, offering a nicely detailed look at campground activity and facial particulars, while gore zone visits also supply textures. Colors are rich, with pleasing greenery and natural skintones, while period costuming provides more amplified hues. Grain is fine and filmic.

Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix wrestles with age issues, including a fluctuation of quality, slipping into muffled activity on occasion. Dialogue exchanges are reasonably clear, never smothering lines. Scoring is more active, and while the track doesn't supply precision, instrumentation is fine, picking up on louder synth leadership. Sound effects are sustained, with blunt violence detailed.

Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features actor/special effects artist Cleve Hall, his daughter Constance, and filmmaker Damon Packard.

• Interview (19:19, HD) is a bizarre sit-down with Hall inside his home, which is covered in movie memorabilia and ghoulish ornamentation. It's difficult to understand what this conversation is meant to be, but interviewer Monique McIntosh kicks it off with a single question, inspiring Hall to carry on with a rambling, endless response that covers all aspects of his career and personal perspective on the film business. Some anecdotes about "Twisted Nightmare" remain, but Hall mostly rants against CGI, film distribution, and indulgent directors. Bizarrely, the featurette's producer seems to be completely bored with Hall, often cutting away to McIntosh, the room, and wandering cats. There's also an effort to keep the bland chat entertaining by adding people accidentally stepping into the room, loud sound effects on vape pens and cat hisses, and a demonic presence periodically arrives on the soundtrack. Why? Who knows.

• Interview (10:29, HD) with actor Brad Bartrum ditches lame humor to charge full speed ahead with "Twisted Nightmare" memories, detailing how disrupted the shoot was due to weather and monetary issues, with key personnel, including members of the cast, abandoning the film. Describing "Twisted Nightmare" as a "terrible, terrible movie," Bartrum offers wonderful candor about the production, including director Paul Hunt's alcoholism and co-star attitudes. Also included are newspaper clippings from "Twisted Nightmare" theatrical release, and some understandably bewildered pans of the effort from L.A. critics in November, 1988.

• "An Evening at the New Beverly" (7:05, HD) is actually captured at the Aero Theater in 2016, where Hall takes the stage before a screening of "Twisted Nightmare" for just a handful of ticket-buyers. Repeating information from his previous Blu-ray interview, Hall drones on once again, only this featurette cuts away to a man sleeping, a physically disabled person shuffling into the theater, and activity outside the Aero, with an unseen monster stalking those waiting on the street. It ends with Hall's assassination after his intro, making for an incredibly tedious wait to arrive at a lame punchline. Who knows why this waste of time was included on the disc.

• And a Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Twisted Nightmare Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm certainly not going to stand in the way of anyone's fun, but "Twisted Nightmare" is difficult to sit through, failing to meet basic horror escapism requirements or even high camp, which is teased throughout but never achieved. It's certainly not dull, with too much incompetence on display to completely ruin a viewing. And one has to admire the sheer chutzpah of the producers to release a movie that's not even really finished, boasting two copyright dates five years apart. Godspeed, horror lovers, for a viewing of "Twisted Nightmare" requires extreme patience, offers no payoff, and probably requires a whiteboard and marker to keep track of characters, motivations, and spatial relationships.