All right, smile and check your spine, this movie is strange yet fun. Even as one settles into this anthology, the movie brings many old-school chills that set the fun, creepy atmosphere. This is one of those movies that captures the essence of many great horror movies but adds interesting storylines and other technical goodies for a safely entertaining ride.
One thing that I would like to mention right off is the cinematography and sound. These things can make a scene, or even a whole movie, and just as easily doom one. The correct tone, lighting, and feel to a scene are some of the most important aspects to a movie, and the directors did a great job here.
Just like in most anthologies, the short stories fuse into a single narrative that presents twists of its own. In Nightmare Radio, we find ourselves on an evening of a late-night talk show with a modern-day female DJ. The sadistic, dark, metal radio station sets a perfect vibe for the casting decision of DJ Candy Blue, played by Paula Brasca. Over the course of the night, Candy, a tough girl, and the DJ, has to deal with a very creepy caller named Jack. and during the night becomes vulnerable.
Candy Blue starts the night on Nightmare Radio by informing cloud of callers to speak on the wildest thing they’ve ever experienced. As expected, there is a range of stories shared which are utterly absurd. Between the story segments, we get quick glimpses of Candy at the radio station as her own wild story is brought to life.
In particular, this one focuses on a young couple who seem to be coping with rather common issues. The issues they face are money, insufficient photography assignments for the wife, and a dwindling relationship. The wife’s focus appears to be shifting as she is constantly feeling more of a failure, accompanied by her husband doing nothing to help her. When her drink spills on her laptop, causing great damage, her husband irritably dries the device. The disappointment he continually casts upon her without openly blaming her is palpable in this setting.
She is intrigued by the stunning, playful creatures after they had previously woken her up one night when they were rummaging through the trash bin. Her somewhat friendly pack and the ample eye contact she makes with them causes her to make them subject to her camera’s lens. There is a link that exists here, something inexplicable, leading to an unexpected conclusion, even if it is a little bit cliche.
As well as other segments, masterfully crafted sound works most efficiently for this segment and the others. There are several dialogs that keep the viewer engaged, while the soundscape lulls in the background allowing the viewer to follow along with this dreamlike episode.
As with every break during a segment, there is a short interlude with Candy at the radio station, which is supposed to be here for a spoiler-free experience. Let’s just say that tension appears to be building up for our dear DJ. She seems to be having her own uncontrollable wild story unfold at the moment. This next segment is a little less thorough, but it does feel like one of those elusive, fast-paced night terrors that leave you breathless with a pounding heart. It starts off with a young man who appears to be settling into his new apartment. The building and neighborhood are one of those chilly, unfriendly, keep-to-yourself kind of places. While surfing through channels on his TV, he stumbles on what seems to be security camera footage. The next few moments unfold to be frightening enough but then he realizes that the view was almost outside his front door.
He hurried to the place where he thought he had witnessed the incident only to end up in the middle of his worst nightmare. The story is short but managed to leave a great impression on me with the final twist being almost cliched yet enjoyable.
I must say this segment had a great deal of very personal appeal which is why I had to watch it a few times. An old and abandoned creepy hospital and how I love those old abandoned sanatorium/hospital settings. One, of the two main characters happens to be a filmmaker and is searching for filming locations (I am a filmmaker too so that definitely spoke to me). And three, it is in West Virginia, my home state! The Mountain State has been getting its fair share of attention over the years as a mysterious and scary place to get lost. Movies such as Silent Hill (2006) have shed a bit of darkness on, their hills.
Our filmmaker who is a bit overconfident heads to Wayville Hills Sanatorium with a young female property manager from Tucker County, West Virginia, Sarah Davis (Shannon Lahaie) to have a ‘look-see’ around one dimly lit evening. “Look-see’ is about the understatement, a boarding school for an oscuro (spooky tale) should be scouted during a dark night. With our filmmaker, we methodically follow the duo down the creepy corridors and rooms, with our filmmaker giddy about some of the leftover articles. He is particularly delighted with an old medical instruments collection, tools, and particularly, among other things, a skeleton wheelchair.
Next, we learn the backstory of Nurse Mary Weaver (Meghan McNicol). Mary was poor; she had suffered an absolutely horrible experience decades ago, and true to the cliché, she didn’t seem to just go away quietly.
Some great visual effects serve as garnishing to a nice surprise ending. This story has certainly enveloped me in this dank and dark void that yields a nightmare.
After another respite to check in on Candy’s, uh ‘situation’ let’s dive into the next story.
To be honest, this part was probably my least favorite, though that doesn’t mean it is automatically bad. To me, the plot seems to wander around in some parts leaving me with a ‘what is happening now?’ feeling here and there.
Essentially, we begin by riding with two young women in a car on a dark and lonely road. After they stop in the middle of the night at a deserted service station, another car arrives at the same time. Not to give too much away, we can say they end up being separated due to some pretty wild events.
Next, we change the setting to accompany the car chase for some extended duration until the rather tragic, though bewilderingly sad end. As interesting, atmospheric and well acted as this was, it didn’t hit like the rest.
Let us take a minute to return to Candy’s predicament. I think she is not quite alright well! I think we may be uncovering some very interesting facts about our favorite DJ! Oh, what a story to tell!
This story reminds me of the darn broken-down farm settings during the Great Depression with that underlying evil-wholesome thing. Well, this one is surrounded by flavors from two different eras, but it is set in modern times.
Caught myself wondering about this remote little French Chateau Sauvignon, where a son and father run their farmlands and are reputed, apparently, for winemaking. This place must be popular for people traveling so far just for a private tasting of the chateaus in the way they do for vacations and excursions.
Right off, you can sense a massive atmosphere full of tension in the air. The mother well, the mother. I will leave you to explore her a little more when you watch. I think you would be much better off watching this story unfold instead of reading about it.
What goes around, comes around. This saying perfectly sums up two tourists, who coincidently happened to drop by on a weekend while the doors were about to close. A lady, who possessed boundless riches and was in her mid-life, accompanied by her son in his 20’s. The lad seemed completely disinterested in the entire scenario and openly loathed being around his mother. It was this unbelievably cocky boy who put the bar for obnoxiously rude behavior incredibly low, and I could not stop wishing he would receive some bizarre hospitality from our hosts.
As things began cooling down, we surely did obtain a significant amount of information about the family and their unconventional winemaking strategies. And I must say, the conclusion was nothing short of astonishing.
Anyways, let’s wrap this up with Candy Blue the DJ. To our utter astonishment, it looks like Candy has some tricks up her sleeve. Crazy stories? Unexpected Events? Surprises? Definitely makes you wonder what those bones hidden in the closet are.
As you can probably guess, I enjoyed the film! It has been a long time since I felt the gravity of a movie like this one, drawing me in. This film perfectly delivers the same vibes of Creepshow, Night Gallery and Twilight Zone that I personally enjoy. If you want to wrap yourself in a blanket, turn of all the lights and grab a bowl of popcorn, then I highly recommend watching Nightmare Radio: The Night Stalker.
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