Frightmare (1981 / 1983) Troma Blu-ray Review

Verdict

3.5

Summary

Writer / director Norman Thaddeus Vane did a commendable job with making this outlandish movie work somehow because it leaves a spooky and unsettling impression.

Plot:

A film appreciation college group steals the corpse of a horror film star as a prank, leading to disaster.

Review:

A celebrated horror film actor best known for playing vampires named Conrad Radzoff (Ferdy Mayne) has a stroke on stage when accepting an award for a career achievement in front of his fans, and he dies at the hospital. We already know that Conrad has a mean streak when he see him killing a director of a commercial after the petty filmmaker insults Conrad after he misses a cue, and so when a videotape is brought out to play for his fans at his own funeral, the message that is presented in front of everyone is a pleasant – if playfully sinister – address by Conrad himself from “beyond the grave,” knowing that this will be his final performance. Before he’s buried in his coffin, his most devoted fans (look for a young Jeffrey Combs and Luca Bercovici) and members of a horror film society at the local college break into the mortuary and abscond with Conrad’s corpse. What for? Well, their reasons are simply because they’re young and foolish and they want to honor his memory by being as close to him as possible (as sick and twisted as that sounds, but this is an ’80s horror movie, so yeah), but at the same time Conrad’s widow and some others perform a séance and literally resurrect Conrad’s demented spirit, leading him to resurrect as a psychic vampire! With a ghostly / vampiric / telekinetic Conrad stalking the dorm with a bad attitude, no one will get out alive because this is a “frightmare” from which there is no waking up!

Despite how goofy it all sounds, Frightmare has a decidedly weird and unsettling atmosphere with a creepy soundtrack and an oddly off-kilter mood that gives it an effective chilling atmosphere. The kills are surprisingly strong (Combs is decapitated in a vivid, splattery way), and there’s even room for a supporting performance by Chuck (Porky’s) Mitchell as a surly detective who’s trying to make sense of all the insanity. Writer / director Norman Thaddeus Vane did a commendable job with making this outlandish movie work somehow because it leaves a spooky and unsettling impression.

Troma reissues Frightmare on Blu-ray (previously available from Vinegar Syndrome), and it looks and sounds as good as possible in a high definition transfer. The disc comes with an intro, commentaries, and more. If you missed out on the previous release, this one will surely scratch that itch for ’80s horror you’re hoping to add to your collection.

Bonus Materials