Nightmare at Noon (Special Edition): Blu-Ray Review

Now available on Special Edition Blu-ray is Nico Mastorakis’ sci-fi horror film, Nightmare at Noon.  While not a remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 classic, The Crazies, Mastorakis’ film shares many similarities. Prior to this release, I had actually never seen the 1988 film before.

Nightmare at Noon opens with a weird albino scientist (Brion James) shooting some sort of glowing chemical into the water supply of a small town. He then watches on from a distance as the locals that drink the water suddenly becomes ravenous flesh eaters. These are not zombies, but normal folks that have been genetically altered and are not easy to put down.

It just so happens this is the town that Ken and Cheri Griffiths (Wings Hauser and Kimberly Beck respectively) stop at for a quick lunch while on a road trip. Joining them is mysterious hitchhiker Reilly (Bo Hopkins). They haven’t been in town for more than a few minutes when all hell begins to break loose. Along with Sheriff Hanks (George Kennedy) and fellow officer Julia (Kimberly Ross), they all must fight off the terror that has taken over the town. While not being a very memorable film, Nightmare at Noon has its’ moments. At times it feels kind of like an old western set in the 80’s. Mastorakis’ goes a little weird here, especially in the final act with both horse and helicopter chases. For the most part, Mastorakis’ succeeds at delivering B-movie entertainment, despite a few character-driven lulls.

The new restoration from the original negative looks quite good, especially when it comes to the scenes shot along the canyons. The green blood oozing from the infected people also really pops. I also really dug the score by Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer. If you are a fan of Nightmare at Noon I recommend adding this disk to your collection.

Bonus Materials

• Brand new restoration from the original negative
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original uncompressed stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Optional Greek subtitles
• The Films of Nico Mastorakis: Nightmare at Noon, featurette on the making of the film with commentary from director Nico Mastorakis
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Original onset interviews with actors Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, Kimberly Beck, George Kennedy and Brion James
• Trailer
• Image gallery accompanied by the film’s score from Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Johnny Mains

By: Marc Ferman