Year: 1981
Duration: 01:38:21
Directed by: Romano Scavolini
Actors: Baird Stafford, Sharon Smith, C.J. Cooke and Mik Cribben
Language: English
Country: USA | Italy
Also known as: Blood Splash, Nightmare in a Damaged Brain, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Schizo
Description: The film tells the story of a psychopath who as a child saw his father having sex with his mistress, and killed both of them with an ax. As an adult he was released from a psychiatric hospital, but he again took up the old thing…
Review: The late 70s and early 80s were a very interesting time in horror. The genre didn’t really know which direction it was going and directors weren’t afraid to try new things. Thus, cannibal films and psycho-slashers emerged (The former having it’s only real exposure up to this point in Europe). These films pushed the limits of violence and perverse situations to the fullest… and such a film was Romano Scavolini’s “Nightmare” (AKA it’s more common UK title, “Nightmares In A Damaged Brain”). “Nightmare” is what happens when u mix 1 part porn director, 5 parts gore (this is a strong one folks), and a dash of Reganomics. I’ve always believed the psycho-slasher films were heavily influenced by what was going on in America at the time, particularly New York (Which is where the film opens). Whinos and Whack-jobs littered the streets like.. litter, making it a frightening point in time indeed… But onto the film.
George Tatum is having horrible nightmares of which, at first, we’re only shown brief flashes of, though the image is loud and clear: George gave 40 whacks to a very sleazy looking couple whilst they were engaged in a slap-happy bondage session. So now he resides at the nut-house; on a steady diet of pills and straight-jackets. You see, George now suffers from ‘Homicidal Dream Fixation’ (is there even such a thing??), seizures, and mild amnesia. Thanks to the “hack-and-slash” editing in this film (one of it’s handful of flaws), only a scene or two later he is released while a narrative states that he has been cured, reformed, and is a danger to no one (!) All this is interwoven with shots of George strolling through Times Square! Nope… they sure don’t make ’em like this anymore. (Interesting note: Some of the people on the street actually stop and pause to look at the camera. Hilarious). So George does what every good man does after just being released from institutional life… he enters a sleazy sex arcade and takes a private show with porn sensation Tara Alexander! (Another Interesting Note: At the time this film was made, she held the world record for having had the most men in one session. Classy stuff!) The show triggers more flashes of the Nightmare for George and he collapses in the booth, foaming at the mouth….Tara Alexander having a colossal orgasm, screaming “George, why can’t you be doing this to me?! oh! oh! oh!” ….Yes folks, you’ll need to do some serious scrubbing after this one.
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