This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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.

Unlike many an anthology movie, Nightmares has no wraparound story to link each chapter, the film consisting of four unconnected supernatural tales ranging from the genuinely suspenseful to the rather routine.Tale number one, Terror in Topanga, is easily the most intense of the group. Based on a popular urban legend about an escaped inmate from a lunatic asylum and a housewife (Cristina Raines) who unwisely leaves her home to purchase cigarettes, you'll probably know how this one is going to end way before you get there, but with sharp direction, a great central performance, and even a little gore, the familiarity of the material matters not—it's a great way to kick off proceedings.Chapter two is The Battle of Bishop, the tamest of the four stories, which stars Emilio Estevez as teenager J.J. Cooney, who is obsessed with reaching level 13 of a particularly challenging arcade machine. Breaking into the arcade after closing time to play the game, he finally finds out what finishing The Battle of Bishop involves. Like an episode of Amazing Stories, this one isn't in the least bit scary but does deliver a likable turn from Estevez and some fairly decent computer graphics for the day.The penultimate story is The Benediction, which stars Lance Henriksen as father MacLeod, a priest who has lost his faith. Leaving his parish, McLeod drives into the desert where he is repeatedly attacked by a mysterious black truck with tinted windows. Like a cross between Spielberg's Duel and '70s film The Car, this one offers up some reasonably exciting scenes of vehicular action (including the impressive sight of the truck bursting out of the ground), and its always great to see Henriksen on screen.Last of the four tales is Night of the Rat, in which a family find themselves terrorised by a giant devil rat that invades their home. This one builds the tension nicely only to spoil it in the closing moments with some cheesy special effects using a real rat made to look oversized. Veronica Cartwright is great as the terrified mother, but she really deserves better than this.

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