Psychological study of a psycho-slayer traveling from Manhattan to Cocoa Beach
A man with obvious mental issues is deemed well by his handers at the asylum and so he's let loose in New York City whereupon he falls back into his murderous ways and naturally travels to Florida in order to see some former family members.
“Nightmare” (1981) is serious psychological horror, like "Don't Go in the House" (1979), except that this is a slasher. The psycho escaping the sanitarium with the ultimate goal of killing former relatives recalls “Halloween” (1978), but this is way bloodier and has superior women, including Danny Ronan (Kathy), Sharon Smith (Susan) and a few others.
It’s a little tedious here and there, but I thought it was generally entertaining for this type of flick. Some people criticize if for being confusing, but this is due to the artsy style, written/directed by an Italian filmmaker. The plot (described above) is actually pretty simple. Everything makes sense by the end with a little filling-in the blanks.
The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot at Manhattan and Times Square, but mostly in Florida, including Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, nearby Merritt Island and Cocoa, not to mention the Orlando Airport.
GRADE: B-/B