Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Lack of good storyline.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Nightmares (1983) ** 1/2 (out of 4) 'Terror in Topanga' has a crazy killer escaping prison but housewife Lisa (Cristina Raines) needs cigarettes so she decides to go out. Of course, you know what happens. In 'The Bishop of Battle' a teenager (Emilio Estevez) obsessed with getting to the thirteenth level of a video games gets more than he bargained for. 'The Benediction' has a Priest (Lance Henriksen) walking away from his faith and on a journey through the desert he runs into a mysterious black truck. 'Night of the Rat' has parents (Richard Masur, Veronica Cartwright) trying to protect their daughter and home from a giant rat.As with any anthology film, NIGHTMARES is a mixed bag but overall it's worth watching if you're a fan of this type of film. With that said, there's no question that the best film is the first one. It's based off a fairly popular urban legend and I must admit that I found it to be quite creepy at times. Director Joseph Sargent really does a great job on this number and we've got a terrific performance from Raines that helps sell it. The entire sequence is the shortest of the lot but it really hammers home the tension and the twist is quite effective as well.The following three stories aren't nearly as good and all of them are rather disappointing in their own way. I'd argue that the third one was the next best as Henriksen at least delivers a nice performance but the religious overtones never really work and what we're left with is a cheap copy of DUEL. The second story with the teenager playing video games probably belonged in a different movie. It's not creepy enough to fit with the rest of the film and I'd argue it would have been better in something else. It's just too bright and the special effects just don't ring a horror film.The fourth and final story is without question the weakest and it's too bad because both Masur and Cartwright give very good performances. This type of story had already been done in several other films including stuff like THE FOOD OF THE GODS. The story runs way too long and I'd argue that the ending is more silly than anything else. In fact, I'd argue that stories two through four all ran way too long and none of them could compare to the first so that made them even more of a letdown.

Four horror tales with a supernatural twist based on urban legends...So, the story is that these were originally four sections from a television anthology show called "Dark Room" that had to be cut because of being "too intense", and then apparently more footage was added and these were collected into an anthology. In the audio commentary on the Scream Factory disc, this is denied, but we find that these were rather for a pilot for a new show. It's different, but important.The first segment Christopher Crowe wrote was "Bishop of Battle" (the most memorable of the four), and from there it seems that the decision was made by Universal to go the movie rather than TV route. Tis was likely a mistake, as it makes for a rather bland film overall but could have been an interesting series. As is, if the film did not have Emilio Estevez and Lance Henriksen (but unfortunately not together), this film would have faded into obscurity long ago...There just is not much to like in this... you could put any three "Tales From the Crypt" episodes together -- any three, even the worst -- and call it an anthology, and it would be better than this.

Though individually modest compared to the bloody affairs of horror movies these days, the sum of their parts provides a uniquely entertaining and accurate sampling of horror films of the early '80s. With four short stories addressing different areas of terror, from serial killers to giant rats, Joseph Sargent's Nightmares showcases a nostalgic spattering of the genre and an amusing range of highs and lows in substance and style. Chapter one (Terror in Topanga) sets an appropriately foreboding mood as a maniacal serial killer is loosed upon the small town of Topanga. Recalling urban legends and classic slashers, the deranged William Henry Glazer is out on a killing spree and young Lisa (Cristina Raines) decides a pack of cigarettes is worth risking her life for. Spouting the now cliché horror film line "I'll be right back," Lisa proceeds to embark on a drive alone at night and winds up in a deadly predicament. A wise segment to open the film with, Terror in Topanga ably represents the sub-genre of slasher flicks with a pervasive atmosphere of paranoia and isolation. The second chapter (The Bishop of Battle) is perhaps the most famous and features a young Emilio Estevez as J.J. Cooney, a video game hustler determined to take on the arcade game Bishop and reach the elusive Level 13. Sporting cheesy '80s special effects and a sinister green head for a villain, The Bishop of Battle cleverly plays off of obsessions and the fear of technological takeover. A virtual reality invasion of the real world and a convincing performance from Estevez make this the most engaging chapter.Easily the weakest in both story and thrills, chapter three (Benediction) finds Lance Henriksen as a priest who loses his faith after a tragic event. Told with a multitude of traumatic dreams and sullen flashbacks, Benediction plays out like a weaker version of 1977's The Car, only this time the devil's choice of transport is a large black truck. Henriksen is capable as always, but the terror is light and short-lived – even for a short film. Chapter four returns to good form in Night of the Rat, a killer rodent story revolving around the consequences of messing with Mother Nature and the task of confronting your own fears. The suspenseful buildup is by far its greatest asset, as a climax featuring disappointing special effects and laughable solutions leaves much to be desired. Paranoia, obsession, faith, and obstinance all merge with entertaining examples of the horror genre's many facets to produce an effective representation of the thrillers of the time. By today's standards you'll likely be spared any real nightmares as a result of viewing this '80s gem, but it's still worth the visit to a period of innovation over gory visuals. Joel Massie

Joseph Sargent's "Nightmares" is a very dull, childish and forgettable 80's horror anthology, completely gore-free and not even bothering to connect the different tales through a wraparound story. There have been great horror omnibuses since the 1940's already ("Dead of Night", for example) and the concept reached its peak during the 60's (with Bava's "Black Sabbath") and especially in the early 70's, when the British Amicus Studios specialized in them ("The House that Dripped Blood", "Tales that witness Madness", "Asylum"…). Like it did with so many other things, the 80's decade pretty much ruined the "portmanteau" horror film and only mediocre efforts got released like "From a Whisper to a Scream", both the "Creepshow" films and "Deadtime Stories". This movie "Nightmares" is worse than just mediocre; it's lame and incomprehensibly mundane. The first segment is not even a real story. It's one giant cliché that features a woman as she goes out late at night to buy cigarettes while there's a maniac killer loose in the area. Gee, do you think the killer ends up in the backseat of her car??? This is just an ordinary urban legend that has been done a million times before... And much better. The second story is considered to be the best by many people, but it merely just gave me a headache. Emilio Estevez plays a rebellious teenager (apparently he did that often in the eighties…) obsessed with a stupid video game. He's destined to reach the legendary 13th level and breaks into the mall at night. When J.J. thinks he completed his mission, the evil game comes to life and intergalactic war breaks loose for real. How is that possible? Who knows! Because it was the 80's and scriptwriters could get away with all kind of crazy stuff? The third chapter opens promisingly but quickly goes downhill again. Lance Henriksen stars as a priest struggling with a crisis of faith. He flees from his parish but encounters a diabolical car in the desert. "The Benediction", as this story is called, is simply a shameless copy of Steven Spielberg's "Duel", padded with needless religious undertones. The fourth and final comes from a different writer than the first three, but sadly that doesn't bring any improvement. On the contrary, "Night of the Rat" is feels like Disney-horror for kids with an annoying middle-class family battling against a giant mythological rodent that lives in the walls of their house. "Nightmares" as a wholesome doesn't contain the slightest bit of suspense. I honestly don't understand why it was labeled as "too intense for TV", as this is exactly what it looks like: a tame and bloodless TV-production accessible to younger audiences. It's definitely NOT the stuff real nightmares are made of.