Bad Dreams / Visiting Hours (Blu-ray Review)
Region: 1/Number of disc: 1
Available from Scream Factory
Bad Dreams (1988)
Directed By: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott, Richard Lynch
Rated: R/Region A/1:78/1080p
In the mid-70s, the members of the love cult Unity Fields sought ‘the ultimate joining’ by dousing themselves with gasoline and committing mass suicide. A young girl blown clear of the fiery explosion was the only survivor. Thirteen years later, Cynthia (Jennifer Rubin, Screamers) awakens from a coma inside a psychiatric hospital with only buried memories of that horrific day. But now, her fellow patients are each being driven to their own violent suicides. Has the sect’s leader (Richard Lynch, Deathsport) returned to claim his final child? Bruce Abbott (Re-Animator) co-stars in this intense shocker from director Andrew Fleming (The Craft) and producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, The Walking Dead).
I really loved this film. Mixing some very “Elm street” type elements, including the leading actress who was in an Elm Street movie, with some very creepy visuals, Bad Dreams, really rocks. We have a hippie cult that is in to suicide packs on top of the peace and love. After one member has a bit of a change of heart and survives she is tossed in the crazy house where we have to then figure out if the cult’s crazy leader is back from the dead to get her or if it is just her being crazy. The movie never does seem to slow down and it keeps you watching with interest of how it will end up. It also packs great acting and characters all around.
The movie also has some very cool gore scenes that hit the spot for any blood loving horror fan. There are some fun bloody filled moments in this one and there is also some comedic moments that aren’t too funny. It really is a morbid film, but it is a fun one and one of the better ones you’d find in the year 1988. The transfer here also looks great, impressing even the most snobby HD film reviewer. If you’ve never seen Bad Dreams this release is the perfect time to check it out.
– Commentary With Writer/Director Andrew Fleming
– Interviews With Actors Jennifer Rubin, Bruce Abbott And Dean Cameron
– The Special Effects Of Bad Dreams
– Behind The Scenes Of Bad Dreams’ Original Ending
– Theatrical Trailer
Visiting Hours (1982)
Directed By: Jean-Claude Lord
Starring: Michael Ironside, Lee Grant, Linda Purl
Rated: R/Region A/1:78/1080p
Academy Award® winner Lee Grant (1975: Best Supporting Actress, Shampoo) stars as outspoken TV journalist Deborah Ballin, whose crusade against domestic violence enrages a creepo loner (a truly disturbing performance by Michael Ironside, Scanners) in Visiting Hours. He brutally attacks the anchorwoman in her home, but Ballin survives and is hospitalized. Her assailant is further enraged: He is haunted by a horrific childhood trauma…and now he has hidden himself inside the hospital to finish what he started. Can anybody (including her concerned boss (William Shatner), a frantic nurse (Linda Purl, Homeland) or Deborah herself stop the psycho’s killing spree before it reaches sick new extremes? Time to find out!
Visiting Hours does things a little harder than you usually see in a slasher-ish horror movie. In a way we have not one but TWO “final girls”. One sort of blends into the other after our movie’s local crazy attacks her. This leads to a nurse then getting attention from the same psycho. The movie has some slower parts, but it still remains very interesting and at times very intense. You never really know where things are heading in this one and that is what makes it as interesting as it ends up being.
However, it is in the film’s third act when things really get going and it is by far a very enjoyable portion of the movie. People then get stabbed, we get a cat and mouse game, and the blood ends up flying around a bit. I think it is this portion of the film that really brings this one home in the eyes of most horror fans. I also think the transfer looks very good and outside the few obvious issues a film of this age has, it will be well liked by anyone who is wanting to upgrade from the old DVD. Visiting Hours has a eerie vibe and a great look. I think it is well worth checking out.
– Interview With Screenwriter Brian Taggart
– Theatrical Trailer
– Radio and TV Spots
