Nightmare Man

A woman is haunted by a "nightmare man" who fills her dreams with terror. When her medication runs out, Nightmare Man seemingly escapes her subconscious and enters the physical world. Hiding out in a secluded cottage (along with Tiffany Shepis and friends), she tries to stop the monster, but carnage ensues... can the beast be stopped without hurting the woman who carries him?

I really wanted to see this film for the Tiffany Shepis acting (and nudity) as well as the Rolfe Kanefsky writing and directing. Full disclosure: as part of my work as a reviewer, I have talked with both Tiffany and Rolfe and continue to exchange mail with Rolfe on occasion. So I'm a little biased, and I was more than eager to see this film (which in all honesty should have been released over a year ago).

What we have here is Kanefsky's trademarks. Good-looking girls in various stages of undress, holding rather large weapons (in this case a rifle and a crossbow). There's some sexual suggestive situations ("erotic truth or dare") and a killer demon on the loose. Unlike "The Hazing" with the excessive "Evil Dead" references, this one seems largely unique. I've heard it compared to "The Exorcist" (which is an amazing stretch), and there is one subtle and one not to subtle reference to Kanefsky's earlier film "There's Nothing Out There".

What is bothersome about Rolfe's movies is how he has big ideas but small budgets. His writing is much better than the average horror writer's and his directing is quite exquisite (as my friend Hannah keenly pointed out, he has that 1980s sense of where to put the camera while chasing a girl through the woods). And his special effects and gore are pretty decent. Even the acting is above average (Shepis in particular, but no one here was lacking -- which is more than I can say about other, "bigger" films).

This comes off as bothersome because if you're a film snob or don't have the patience for lower budget films, you'll be really turned off my the film quality. I don't know film grades (35mm? Super 8? These terms are familiar to me but unclear at the same time), so I can't say what he uses, but it does give the air of less than the Hollywood standard. Which, in turn, screams "amateur" to some people, despite Rolfe being quite the veteran of film and horror in particular. His "Hazing" makes him well-known in the cult circles -- he's without a doubt the biggest director in the 2007 After Dark Horrorfest lineup.

So anyway, the film is enjoyable if you don't mind that. Good death scenes, plenty of dry humor, some butts and breasts for the guys to enjoy. Blood, blood, blood (and even a little gore and pieces of dangling flesh). The pacing is good. I found some parts too slow or too long, but Hannah says the suspense was really well done compared to films her and I have seen lately, so I suppose it depends what pace you're ready for. Maybe I needed a beer (Regal Cinemas is lacking in the booze department).

Of the four films I've seen so far this year, I'm ranking "Nightmare Man" my second favorite (behind "Tooth and Nail"). It's worth seeing in the theater if you can get there, or otherwise I sincerely hope you make it a top renting priority when it comes out. Throw on a few special features on the DVD and this may even be worth owning (a commentary track, Rolfe? Could you do that for us?). But yeah, I give this one two thumbs up (assuming Hannah allows me to borrow her thumb).

Not that I am saying this movie was all bad, but that was the highlight and if the sexy talk is the highlight of a horror movie then it is not much of a horror film in the end. The story has this woman who seems to be having a bit of trouble on the marital front. Her solution to the problems seems to be to order some love god mask, they instead seem to send her the evil demon love god mask and throughout the movie you wander if this manifest ion is real or not. She is being driven to the mental institution by her husband they break down and she is seemingly stalked and attacked by this person or thing while her husband is getting gas. Meanwhile, somewhere in the woods there is a house with two couples. Two very cute girls who are friends and their boyfriends. They play truth or dare and then the crazy...or not, girl ends up in their care. Well lets just say there is somebody out there trying to get at her as he quickly steals a crossbow and handles the one guy while he is being mooned. However, you still don't know if it is the mysterious nightmare man the girl goes on about or something else. The husband is heading for the cabin though and soon afterward so are the police. This movie had potential as do most horror movies and like so many they just miss some stuff. On the plus side you get to see a couple of good kills, some good nudity, and the end was rather good too. However, I was kind of hoping for something more in the lines of say an Evil Dead movie rather than a typical slasher film with a twist here and there. So far out of the three Afterdark movies in this new batch this is the strongest, sadly though compared to the last batch this one would be tied with Penny Dreadful as the weakest in my eyes.

I had heard some good things about this Horrorfest film so I decided to give it a shot. I had fun with some parts of it but it's mostly an annoying, typical slasher mess. This is the only film of the 2007 Horrorfest I've seen but I'll probably be checking out the others as well. Though, they're usually pretty bad, to be honest.

The acting was okay, I guess but Tiffany Shepis' character was so extremely annoying that her performance alone could have ruined the whole movie. However, a lot of things did. The script is terrible, I am so tired of "trapped in a cabin in the middle of the woods with a killer on the loose" films. There was also very little suspense whatsoever. One thing I liked was the blood, it seems like a throw back to low budget horror of the 70's and 80's and that made me happy. Unfortunately, it was pretty much the only thing.

If you decide to see this, see it for the blood alone and expect nothing else. It truly is a tedious film that does absolutely nothing we haven't seen a million times before.

(2006) Nightmare Man HORROR

Co-produced, written and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky that showcases a young woman, Ellen (Blythe Metz) orders a ritualistic mask and it starts to stalk her with her husband, William (Luciano Szafir) telling her at the same time that she's nuts! And while driving her to see a shrink, he conveniently runs out of gas in the middle of nowhere leading to a lot of predictable and more convenient situations once she escapes to an isolated nearby house with a bunch of what else, teens! Immediately when one starts to watch this, the first thing that comes into my mind is "B" king Roger Corman since the budget is rather low and it does has some of the same qualities one would normally find on a Roger Cormon movie which're breasts, beasts and blood and plenty of bad acting, overacting and unconvincing screams! Oh yeah, there's also a twist after the first hour which some viewers might be able to see coming!

Rolf Kanesky is becoming the most interesting director working in low budget horror. Lord knows there are enough terrible hand-held efforts clogging up the rental shelves, although it's cool that people are getting out there and trying. Anyhow, Rolf seems to have a much lower budget on this one than on The Hazing, be he economises well and the make up and effects are good and it works to the films benefit that they are sparingly used until the climax.

Story concerns an unstable young woman who uses a wacko ancient fertility mask to try and improve her sex life with her husband only to end up having horrific visions of a spirit contained within the mask. The demon seems to come to life while she's stranded in the woods on a ill-fated road trip and ends up running for her life. In to the the mix is Kanefsky regular Tiffany Shepis and her gang of buddies hanging out in a remote cottage. They have their own complicated relationship issues. Shepis is a good actress who seems naturally uninhibited and doesn't look down upon B-movie roles and just has fun with it. She's great here, and has a sexy tough and funny role. Sure, there's nudity and gore, but who would want to see her as, say, Ashton Kutchers girl in a sucky comedy. The rest of cast are variable with the lead actress overplaying at times but improving as the film goes on and her responses look more appropriate.

I digress, sorry, violence and weirdness abound as the "nightmare man " descends upon the cottage, and the newly arrived guest ain't feeling herself. Some odd, surprising twists happen before the climax. Think the The Mask meets The Exorcist and you're there. Kind of..

I was lucky enough to have caught this on The Horror Channel and it's one of their best recent acquisitions. I'm not saying Nightare Man is a stone-cold classic but it is a gem and well executed considering the low budget and resources. I do feel this director will improve with each movie. Kanfesky knows how to be ambitious whilst giving the horror fans what they want.