FRIGHTMARE

(A.k.a. THE HORROR STAR)

No, not Pete Walker's celebrated British shocker from 1974. The film in question here is the comparatively little-seen 1983 cult curio from director Norman Thaddeus Vane.

It centres on Conrad (Ferdy Mayne), a faded star of yesterday's horror films, who we first meet on the set of a cheap TV commercial. He's dressed up in his signature vampire cape and is required to sink his fangs into a nubile young woman but, after 18 takes, he still can't quite make his cue. The director is furious - but so is Conrad, who quietly pushes the director over a balcony and to his death while no-one is looking.

Conrad is a bit of a cunt.

Knowing this, we feel little pity for him when he collapses at a public appearance, midway through a self-congratulatory speech explaining that he thought his legacy was all-but forgotten about until now.

Back at his mansion home, Conrad recovers on his bed (still in his cape, naturally). When his old pal, film director and frequent collaborator-of-old Wolfgang (Leon Askin) turns up, Conrad says he wants him to shoot some footage for his upcoming funeral. Wolfgang agrees to do so, but reveals his true colours when Conrad suddenly snuffs it before his eyes. Wolfgang admits to hating Conrad, a "two-bit waiter" who he plucked from obscurity and thrust into fame, only to be treated with contempt by the star ever since. Alas, Conrad was only faking his death and promptly puts traitor Wolfgang's light out via the art of pillow suffocation.

However, it's not long before Conrad dies for real and he becomes the star of his own funeral, thanks to a pre-recorded video clip inviting the congregation back to his mansion for an evening of caviar and champagne.

However, a young group of hardcore fans have other ideas: led by Saint (Luca Bercovici), these miscreants decide it'd be fun to visit the cemetery that night and break into the mausoleum where Conrad's corpse rests in a custom-made coffin. This they do, only to be met with another pre-planned video message from the late star, warning them all of an ill fate. Unperturbed, they steal Conrad's cadaver and take it back to a large house for a night of partying.

In the meantime, the police become aware of the fact that someone has robbed Conrad's grave, and the actor's widow Etta (Barbara Pilavin) hires a psychic to communicate with her late husband - inadvertently bringing his corpse back from the dead in the process. When Conrad suggests that the young revellers have put him through Hell, Etta insists he does the same to them.

And so, an evening of supernatural retribution unfurls!

FRIGHTMARE is devilishly good fun. Firstly, Vane's screenplay does a fine job of referencing a lot of cool vintage horrors (including shots of classic Christopher Lee on a TV monitor, along with nods to the likes of MADHOUSE and CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS) while keeping the pace taut. The balance of dark humour and eerie horror works extremely well, aided tremendously by cinematographer Joel King's stunning work, a company share in dry ice (surely) and a fine ethereal score from Jerry Moseley.

Mayne is fantastic in the lead role, a mix of the noble and downright sinister. He's ably supported by the likes of Pilavin, Askin and Bercovici ... as well as a young Jeffrey Combs, hamming it up agreeably as one of the mischievous youths.

For a genre flick from 1983, FRIGHTMARE ladles on an unusual amount of visual atmosphere while largely eschewing gore. There are flashes of blood here and there - a decapitation here, a tongue-extraction there - but most of Conrad's murders are committed via telepathy. That's not a complaint; merely an observation.

I enjoyed FRIGHTMARE for what it was. It's silly, but it's fun and surprisingly involving if you allow it to be. It's aged very well.

And now, here it is on UK blu-ray, thanks to 88 Films!

FRIGHTMARE is presented in full 1080p HD in its uncut form, with a running time of 86 minutes and 46 seconds (including the brief Troma Entertainment distribution logo). Housed on this disc as an MPEG4-AVC file, it looks very good in a 16x9 presentation which respects the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Images are clean and clear, colours pop off the screen and contrast is handled expertly well with no compression issues whatsoever. It's a great, filmic feel throughout. Many scenes retain a natural soft hue which was true of so many movies of the era, thanks to the infamous "fish-eye" lens which was notoriously popular among horror and porno films at the time. It looks, all told, fantastic. The onscreen title is THE HORROR STAR.

English mono audio gets treated to a consistently clean and evenly balanced DTS-HD Master Audio mix. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. There is no scene selection menu, but the film does have 12 remote-accessible chapters.

Bonus features are plentiful.

These commence with four different audio extras, all of which can be accessed via the main menu's "audio set-up" function. If selected, each of these will play while a muted version of the film runs.

The first is an archive audio interview with the late Vane. His voice is heard from the other end of a telephone line but is perfectly audible as he mentions his time in the air force early on in his career, and then how he made $100,000.00 when his play for "The Penguin" was sold to the stage - and this prompted his change of profession. We learn how Vane (not his original name) graduated to filmmaking - avoiding the pratfalls of cocaine, which sounds to have claimed a few of his mates along the way - and how he got himself a Hollywood agent to make himself more credible. The stories proceed from there, and Vane comes across as a highly listenable, fluid interviewee: he sounds a little like William Friedkin to me. This lasts for the entirety of the film's playback.

Next we have our first audio commentary track. This comes courtesy of historians David Del Valle and David DeCoteau. DeCoteau is essentially the moderator here, often offering questions as prompts to Del Valle - who was a close friend of Mayne (as well as being chummy with genre icon Christopher Lee, who he confirms was offered the lead role - "they couldn't come to terms financially"). Del Valle is quick to liken the film to the earlier Vincent Price vehicle MADHOUSE; Jeffrey Combs is pointed out the moment he appears on screen (I hadn't noticed him so early in the film before); it's disclosed that Vane's untimely death occurred just weeks before this commentary track was recorded in 2015; one of the actors insisted on a topless scenes so he could show off a new tattoo on his upper arm. Del Valle also reveals that he worked on this production in a menial role! This is a great, affable chat track.

The team from The Hysteria Continues team are up next with their own take on events. Steered, as per usual, by Justin Kerswell (author of "Teenage Wasteland"). Though no less informative than its preceding, the trivia contained within does inevitably cover much of the same ground that Del Valle already has. However, we get a much more fan-based perspective here, along with a bit more context on how the film fits into the bigger pantheon of slasher movies. Both tracks are certainly worth a listen.

As is the third (!) audio commentary track, which is this time hosted by Mondo Digital's Nathaniel Thompson and Tim Greer. There is a wealth of the usual cast and crew trivia, of course, but this track separates itself by commenting a lot on how impressive a lot of the onscreen visuals are. If anything, this is the most tangential track on offer - and I like that.

"Bobo's Confessions" is a new 16-minute featurette consisting of an onscreen interview with Thomson. He expresses amusement by the fact that Bobo translates as "fool" in Spanish, speaks about working with Vane, how the film was lucky to turn out the way it was, his "interesting on-set colleagues and much more in this light-hearted reminiscence exercise.

Cinematographer Joel King turns up for a new 21-minute interview, produced by Vinegar Syndrome. "Lighting is everything" he proclaims as his opening gambit, "if you do know light, you're not a photographer". King is a little more serious in approach than Thomson, but no less interesting for it. He speaks of how he got his break in the business, and talks us through his early career (incorporating timeline details such as marrying his wife etc). It's a nice, personable chat - and the red-hued room in which the first segment of King's interview takes place is quite fetching on the eye too.

A 2-minute stills gallery boasts a succession of eye-grabbing poster art, lobby cards etc for the film, while its ambient score plays over the top.

We also get the film's original trailer. Presented in 16x9 widescreen, this well-preserved prospect runs for an entertaining 88 seconds and bears the title THE HORROR STAR.

This sterling release is rounded off by a four-page colour collectors' booklet containing excellent liner notes by Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz which explore the world of meta horror, and double-sided cover artwork (the reverse, which reproduces the original post art for THE HORROR STAR, is great). We also get slipcase packaging.

Another strong release from 88 Films, of a film which is ripe for rediscovery.

Review by Stuart Willis