Nightmare at Noon (1988)

Must See Movie...

hyped garbage

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

At first this direct to video (I am assuming) zombie/conspiracy/western seems to have a lot going for it. I have a great B-movie cast from Wings Hauser (In full alcoholic meltdown. The actor mind you, not the character. He had to be bailed out during shooting after putting his brother in law's head through some drywall). Bo Hopkins in full southern drawl mode. (Playing a drifter/sheriff no less). George Kennedy in his Police Squad finest. That guy who is always in those Bruce Willis films who plays a silent albino (Brion James). And finally, we have Kimberly Beck (Guest star of every TV show from 1978 to 1986) who plays cleavage with a side of Mom jeans. The movie has some decent action with some many exploding cars one would think it is some sort of poorly thought out promotion for President Obama's Cash for Clunkers. It also has a decent Maximum overdrive/ The Happening vibe as the townsfolk go crazy from drinking poisoned water (Including… gasp…. coffee.) Alas the film is let down from some horrible pacing and direction especially in the second half as it really starts to wear out its welcome. The film also seems to be very light on the gore/nudity for the genre Seeming more like an A-team episode with lots of swearing.I watched the Rifftrax version (So perhaps it was edited?) and I found the boys a touch disappointing on this one. Do you remember when they riffed Laserblast on MST3K and told that Monday Night Football joke about fifty times? Yeah, they do that here with a microwaved croissant joke that goes over about as well. Outside of soggy pastries, their comments are often spot on but even they have trouble keeping the excitement going as the film drifts into Red Zone Cuba pacing in the second half. A fun romp for a while but don't be surprised if everyone is snoring on the couch before the credits roll.

This is another one of those 'townspeople infected by toxins' films along the lines of The Crazies, Nightmare City and Mutant. Especially Mutant, as if this film also has Wings Hauser and Bo Hopkins in it.Bo, once again, is playing a cop, and Wings, as you can probably imagine, is playing a moron. Both of them end up in an isolated town which has, very covertly, had its water supply contaminated as some kind of government experiment by an albino Brion James and his cohorts. Anybody that drinks that water goes berserk and starts attacking everybody else. Much hilarity ensues.Bo and Wings, and George Kennedy, and probably some other folks I've forgotten about, find themselves up against an ever growing army of crazy folks running around beating each other up or shooting each other. Wings' wife also gets infected, leading to a scene which calls for the great man to 'emote'. I was rolling around on the floor laughing.This is pure B-movie hokum, but an extremely enjoyable one for all that. I think this may be down to the director being the same guy who made the infamous Island of Death, probably one of the most offensive (and funny) films I've ever watched. He might be making trash, but he's a technically competent director.Highly recommended for folks who love a good b-movie. It slides a bit at the end when it suddenly turns into a western, but it's a fun journey all the same.Look out for the motorcycle explosion scene - so over the top I didn't stop laughing for about ten minutes.

Cult film fans should get a major kick out of this Nico Mastorakis sci-fi/action vehicle featuring a breakneck pace, green slime shootings, huge explosions, jaw dropping stunts and a truly wild helicopter chase. If that doesn't sell you, then I present a cast featuring Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser, George Kennedy and Brion James. I repeat, Bo Hopkins, Wings Hauser, George Kennedy and Brion James! Truly one of the best B-movie ensembles I have ever seen, every actor plays it a different way, getting fantastic results. Re-teaming after 1984's similar Mutant, Hauser and Hopkins are both great in the lead roles. Hauser expertly plays the hyped up, slick rock-n-roll lawyer ("Hey, I handle Twisted Sister. I think I can handle this.") thrown into this nightmare while on vacation. Hopkins, on the other hand, plays it cool with nearly every situation in the film. When a local farmer stabs a waitress' hand, Hauser gets right in his face while Hopkins keeps swigging on his beer. Brion James is also impressive, giving an entirely speechless performance as the mysterious "Albino." Supporting players Kennedy and Kimberly (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) Beck hold their own as well.Director Mastorakis keeps things moving at a great pace. So much so that viewers might initially overlook huge plots holes (such as how did Beck get cured or how did Kennedy hold out so long from the effects of the tainted water). But one thing that is great about the film is one is never told why James' character is doing this. The synopsis alludes to his crew being government agents (their vans read A.P.E. - Agency for Protecting the Environment), but in the end they are blown up by the US Army so who knows. Intentional or not, this missing bit of information makes it all the more fun. Credit should also be given to the films stunt co-coordinator (John Stewart) and aerial unit coordinator (David Jones). The car stunts and explosions are top notch, but the helicopter chase is jaw dropping in its recklessness.With such a great meeting of B-movie vets, it is suffice to say their paths have crossed before. Hauser and Hopkins both worked on the aforementioned Mutant as well as the TV films Ghost Dancing (1983) and Dark Horse (1985). Hauser and Brion James appeared in a unconnected trilogy of sci-fi films including this, Dead Man Walking (1988) and Street Asylum (1990). Hopkins and James appeared alongside each other in Radioland Murders (1994) while James and George Kennedy both appeared in the National Lampoon feature Men in White (1998). And both Hauser and Kennedy had roles on "The Young and the Restless," but never together in the same season. Whew!

This is possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen in my life. I could talk about everything from the bad acting to the non-sensical plot, but it'd be a waste of time. You only need to watch the first half-hour of the film to know it really sucks. It doesn't even have any camp value to it! This film was so bad, it hurt my feelings!