Nightmares In A Damaged Brain (1981) 7/10

Nightmares In A Damaged Brain is one of the more notorious of the 74 Video Nasties of the early 80's. In fact this film was often used as the posterboy for the movement to ban films in England. Given the subject matter, its easy to see why.

A man suffering from schizophrenia and with homicidal tendencies plagued by a vivid night mare of decapitation is "cured" by a new miracle drug and released from an asylum. Once on the streets the man prowls sex clubs until one night, viewing a peep show he snaps and decides to go to his childhood home and kill all the occupants, killing women along the way.

Nightmare moves quickly enough with brief flash backs of violence to spice up the pace and keep us from becoming too bored with the interplay of the family that currently habitates the killer's home. The actor playing the killer does a superb job at.... well, being creepy. The violence found within is pretty graphic though not really believable gore. It often looks like red paint squirting out of a dummy, which I'm sure it was. Having said that, I did get sucked into the plot and found myself getting a bit creeped out and a bit disgusted during the kill scenes, which is saying alot since the film is done with very little money or expertise. The ending is especially creepy and brutal, elevating the film beyond being just another cheesy slasher flick.

Nightmare is a film that actually deserves to be on the Video Nasty list and is essential for completests as well as slasher fans. Its hard to track down but hopefully someone will release it eventually so we can all enjoy the red paint fury squirting from bloody stumps.

Gore - medium

Nudity - some

Overall - 6/10