Zombie Nightmare

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Zombie Nightmare
Movie poster
Promotional release poster
Directed byJack Bravman
Screenplay byJohn Fasano
Produced byJack Bravman
Starring
CinematographyRoger Racine
Edited by
Shapiro Entertainment
Release date
  • October 1987 (October 1987)
Running time
89 minutes[1]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$180,000[2]

Zombie Nightmare is a 1987 Canadian

Haitian voodoo priestess.[3] The zombie goes on to kill the teens, whose deaths are investigated by the police. The film was shot in the suburbs of Montreal, Canada. It was originally written to star mostly black actors but, at the request of investors, the characters' names were changed to more typically white names. While Bravman was credited as director, Fasano directed the majority of the film. Problems occurred between Fasano and the production crew, who believed him to be assistant director
and ignored his directions.

Originally planned for theatrical release, Zombie Nightmare was released

New World Video. It grossed C$1.5 million against a budget of $180,000. While it received negative reviews from critics, finding the plot to be predictable and derivative, it was praised for its heavy metal soundtrack featuring Motörhead, Girlschool, and Jon Mikl Thor's band Thor. Zombie Nightmare was shown in a 1994 episode of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000
.

Plot

Baseball player William Washington is fatally stabbed defending a young girl from two teenagers. Years later, William's son Tony also becomes a baseball player. After Tony disrupts a robbery at a grocery store, he is struck and killed by a car full of teenagers: Bob, Amy, Jim, Peter, and Susie. The teens flee the scene and Tony's body is carried to his home, where his mother Louise mourns over him. She contacts Molly Mekembe, the girl William saved, to repay the favour of her rescue. Now revealed to be a Haitian voodoo priestess, Molly resurrects Tony as a zombie and uses her powers to guide him to the teenagers, aiding him in his revenge.

The next night, Tony tracks Peter and Susie to an academy gymnasium and fatally breaks Peter's neck, then kills Susie by crushing her skull with a baseball bat. Police detective Frank Sorrell investigates the case. Police Captain Tom Churchman tells the press that the killings were a drug-induced

murder-suicide
. The next night, Tony finds Jim sexually assaulting a waitress and impales Jim with his bat, killing him. Churchman tells Sorrell that they found a suspect responsible for the murders and closes the case. Believing that the case has not truly been solved, Sorrell investigates photos that place Molly at both incidents. He suggests bringing her in for questioning but Churchman dismissed it. After sending Sorrell home to rest, Churchman calls Jim's father Fred and informs him of Molly's involvement in Jim's death. Fred goes to the police station to meet Churchman, but is killed by Tony en route.

Believing that they will be targeted next, Bob and Amy decide to leave town. They steal money from Jim's uncle's garage but Tony finds them there and kills them. Sorrell is attacked by Tony but survives. While monitoring Tony's actions, Churchman abducts Molly and forces her at gunpoint to show him where Tony is going. Sorrell follows Tony to a cemetery. Molly and Churchman soon arrive, with both telling Sorrell that the priestess resurrected Tony to not only avenge himself, but also to avenge Molly, as Churchman and Fred were the teenagers who attacked her years ago and Churchman killed Tony's father. Churchman shoots Tony, having learned that a revived zombie's power fades once it has achieved its goal. Molly tries to cast a spell, but is shot and killed by Churchman, who then turns to kill Sorrell as the only surviving witness. However, a second zombie rises out of a nearby grave and drags Churchman into the ground while Churchman pleads for Sorrell to kill him but he ignores him and walks away.

Cast

  • Adam West as Capt. Tom Churchman
  • Jon Mikl Thor as Tony Washington
  • Tia Carrere as Amy
  • Manuska Rigaud as Molly Mekembe
  • Frank Dietz as Frank Sorrell
  • Shawn Levy as Jim Batten
  • Linda Singer as Maggie
  • Alan Fisler as Bob
  • Hamish McEwan as Peter
  • Manon E. Turbide as Susie
  • Walter Massey as Mr. Peters

Production

Adam West at the 41st Emmy Awards
Adam West (pictured in 1989) was on the Zombie Nightmare set for two days.

Director Jack Bravman wanted to transition from

IBM Selectric II, Fasano typed the white-sounding names onto a page, cut them out with a knife, and glued them to their appropriate places in the script. After the name changes, they received a budget of $180,000 from investors.[2][5] Unions in New York did not give the production a permit to film in the state, so filming was moved to Montreal, Quebec.[6]

Zombie Nightmare was produced by Montreal-based company Gold-Gems Productions and was the film debut of American actress

Superstar Billy Graham was originally cast to play Tony's father. On the day he arrived in Montreal, no one came to pick him up at the airport and Graham left after waiting ten hours. Fasano took up the role.[9] Scenes with West and Carrere were directed by Bravman while Fasano shot the majority of the film.[6] Problems occurred between Fasano and the Canadian crew, who believed him to be assistant director and not co-director. This resulted in his directions being ignored by the crew, including cinematographer Roger Racine.[11]

Tony Bua and Andy Clement, college friends of Fasano, made the zombie masks and provided the makeup for the film.[11] It took five hours to apply Jon Mikal Thor's makeup, using glue and latex.[12] American cast and crew members were housed in an airport hotel with pornography being played on every television channel, and they noticed that Bravman's name appeared in the credits for many of the films.[11] Zombie Nightmare's editor, David Wellington, received the writing credit for the film so that it would qualify for a Canadian tax credit program.[13]

Thor wrote much of the incidental music. This includes heavy metal riffs by his band and synthesizer music played by the band Thorkestra. Several other heavy metal bands contribute to the soundtrack. The Motörhead single "Ace of Spades" plays during the opening credits. Other bands heard on the soundtrack include Virgin Steele, Girlschool, Fist, and Death Mask, and a track by Thor's then-wife and backup singer Rusty Hamilton.[14][15][16]

Reception and legacy

Release

The film was originally planned for a theatrical release by Filmworld Distributors but it was instead released direct-to-video by New World Pictures.[17] It was released in the United States on VHS in October 1987.[18] The film grossed C$1.5 million worldwide.[19] The film was released on special edition DVD by Scorpion Releasing in 2010.[1]

Critical reception

Steve Bissette for Deep Red Magazine criticized the story for being predictable and derivative. Bissette thought the makeup and production values to be competent and noted Rigaud's "absurd over-the-top performance".[20] Fangoria had praise for the performances of the teen leads and recommended the movie for its heavy metal soundtrack. However, the reviewer considered the film boring, criticizing the lack of special effects and the predictable plot.[21] Ian Jane of DVD Talk wrote that the film was horrible but so "deliciously goofy" one couldn't help but have fun with it.[2] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle called it "painful and toilsome".[22] Bloody Disgusting listed the film among the "cheesiest" of heavy metal horror films.[14] Kerrang! considered the soundtrack to be better than the film itself.[23] Jim Craddock, author of VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, summarized the film as "cheap and stupid".[24]

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Zombie Nightmare was featured in a season six episode of

Shout! Factory released the episode as part of the "Volume XV" box set,[29] and in 2017, the episode was added to Netflix.[30]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Zombie Nightmare– Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Jane, Ian (25 October 2010). "Zombie Nightmare". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ^ MUBI
  4. ^ Brayton 2012, p. 301.
  5. ^ Vatnsdal 2004, pp. 192–193.
  6. ^ a b Vatnsdal 2004, p. 193.
  7. Montreal Gazette
    . p. D10 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Alexander, Chris (November 2010). "Reliving a 'Zombie Nightmare'". Fangoria. No. 298. p. 34.
  9. ^ a b Vatnsdal 2004, pp. 193–194.
  10. ProQuest 431376166
    .
  11. ^ a b c Vatnsdal 2004, p. 194.
  12. ProQuest 435510703
    .
  13. ^ Vatnsdal 2004, pp. 196–197.
  14. ^ a b "10 of the Cheesiest Heavy Metal Horror Flicks of All Time!". Bloody Disgusting. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  15. ^ Seibold, Witney (18 October 2015). "SoundTreks – Zombie Nightmare". Mandatory. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  16. ^ Jack Bravman. Zombie Nightmare (Motion Picture).
  17. ^ "Film Reviews: Zombie Nightmare". Variety. 18 November 1987. p. 14.
  18. ^ "1987 U.S. Film Releases By Company". Variety. 20 January 1988. p. 71.
  19. ProQuest 432004071.[1]
  20. ^ Bissette, Steve (June 1988). "Gore Scoreboard". Deep Red Magazine. No. 3. p. 69.
  21. ^ Dr. Cyclops (August 1988). "The Video Eye of Dr. Cyclops". Fangoria. No. 76. p. 24.
  22. ^ Dendle 2001, p. 208.
  23. ^ Krovatin, Chris (12 October 2020). "13 Kickass Horror Soundtracks To Amplify Your Halloween". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  24. ^ Craddock 1994, p. 921.
  25. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (10 November 1994). "MiSTies, listen up". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Season 6, Episode 15 Zombie Nightmare". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  27. ^ Jasper, Gavin (25 November 2020). "MST3K Turkey Day: The Long History of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Thanksgiving". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. ^ Pehl 1996, p. 119.
  29. ^ Gibron, Bill (5 July 2009). "Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XV". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  30. ^ Adams, Erik (14 March 2017). "20 fan-favorite MST3K episodes will hit Netflix tomorrow". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2017.

Bibliography

External links

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