Nightmares in a Damaged Brain

 

Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (1981) Directed by Romano Scavollini, Starring Baird Stafford.

                  The names involved seem like Olive Garden dishes or made up on the spot names (Baird?) but apparently they are real people, how do I know? because one of them was arrested and it wasn't the Oliver Garden dude it was his distributor, a real creepo named David Hamilton Grant. He's a lurid character, a sexploitation racketeer who was arrested on obscenity charges. He took the fall for the actual filmmakers (who remained at large). Although this wasn't his first Back door BBQ if you get my drift! And so this film is a Video Nasty as well as a title in the Deep Red catalog, a double whammy! It's total unabashed garbage, but very entertaining! They tried to pass off Tom Savini as the main special effects guy, but that was total bullshit! He was on the set for one day read about the whole sorted affair in Fangoria c/o this blog

George Tatum (Stafford) plays a mental patient who has reoccurring fucked up nightmares about him as a child watching his father have sex with a dominatrix and then her head getting chopped off. Now instead of sexual gratification, every time he has an organism he reverts back to his dark childhood trauma and foams shoots out of his mouth like a mad dog.

 

                  The image of a child in a bowtie with a crew cut drenched in blood reminded me of Deep Red. It was also used for the 80's boston hardcore album Kill Kill Kill by Jerry's Kids. The dreams force him back into a psychotic state and the urge to kill consumes him, often we know this because he prank calls his ex wife and her kids in Florida. I like how his dopey psychiatrist calls him up yelling “It’s only a dream”! He travels along the way and visits a skeazy strip club and hacks up a couple of innocent bystanders. This film takes the same motif as Maniac, you know the blade as a penetrating organ does to vile levels. One hideous gurgling sweaty encounter is pretty gross as the neck slit barfs up red poster paint. Two things that make your amateur slasher movie waay more creepy then it has to be; make sure your killer dons a rubbery old man face and foams at the mouth uncontrollably when the urge to kill people is too strong to endure or while creaming his jeans. None of this should work, but it did for me! Make sure your expectations are pretty low going in though. Another aspect of creepiness is the fact that many of the children at the end all seem to be handling guns like real professionals! Check out the Uncut nicely restored version

on Youtube

Ortega Taco Shells are made of people.