NIGHTMARES

At the age of four, little Helen suffered a heavy shock after seeing her mother die in a car accident, killed by the broken glass of the windshield. Twenty years have passed and Helen, now grown up, has embarked on a career as a theater actress. But a few days before the scheduled date for the staging of the work, a series of brutal murders begins to disturb the quiet of the theatrical company. A mad killer, armed with a shard of broken glass, has decided to kill, one by one, all the staff members. Dated 1980 and produced in Australia, directed by John Lamond, "Nightmares – Incubi" is a little-known film but one that does not even deserve particular attention. The 1980s achieved many merits concerning the cinematic landscape: there are indeed many films born in this period and that have been appreciated (especially by genre lovers); there are many films that have left their mark and have become over time small cults; but there are also many films of the lowest quality, which have achieved such obscene results, that they have never had the opportunity to emerge or, much less, to be remembered. Well, "Nightmares – Incubi" belongs to this last category of films! If the plot does not offer particularly interesting points, because it is too unoriginal, it must be said that there was still potential to give life to at least a sufficient work. But this was not the case and the little potential that the work could have had was certainly not exploited. Indeed, there are many (in fact, too many) negative aspects observable in this film: first of all, it is necessary to note an amateurish and extremely botched screenplay that drags on (ending in boredom) in some sequences, then there are banal and often ridiculous dialogues and finally little space is given to what should be the psychological and character development of the characters. To a screenplay that would have deserved a more careful revision, the inexperienced direction of John Lamond collaborates, which does not convince at all because it directs everything in a passive and indifferent manner, without giving a bit of character to the footage; the poor direction is further reinforced by a too televisual editing (many the dissolves in total TV style). Even the actors, completely unknown (and if you see the film you understand why), represent another weak link of the film (perhaps the weakest) because no one manages to offer a satisfactory performance but they manage to give us, in return, some good moments of involuntary comedy. But the film, now sunk in an abyss and without the possibility of recovery, would like to try to gain some points by providing a final twist capable of leaving the viewer open-mouthed; but this "twist" turns out to be so "surprising" that the viewer will be able to intuit it and take it for granted from the opening credits. Even concerning the "blood" factor, the result appears quite unsatisfactory because, although the murders are shown most of the time and almost never left off-screen, the whole thing resolves only to some splashes of blood and some wounds cut into the skin. In conclusion, this "Nightmares – Incubi" is a film with embarrassing results, a really bad film that is the fruit of the poor workmanship of a whole series of factors. The 1980s we prefer to remember for other films! To be avoided.