Intensity	Stupidity:Nudity Ratio 2:5	Budget Medium

Ah, Rolfe Kanefsky, what a great director. Here is a guy who works on a limited budget and gets the most out of it. Starting back with some of the Emmanuelle and Click movies he learned how to do what the producers wanted and still manage to get in some clever bits of his own. There is frequently a great sense of humor in his writing which makes it to the screen without a great deal of fanfare. He expects his audience to be paying enough attention to get the joke without having to interrupt the story. At one point in Nightmare Man one of the characters is tied up. When Tiffany Shepis' character leaves the room she says "Stay put". When the other actress asks if that is a joke, Tiffany mutters "yes" without breaking stride.

The story starts with a woman (Ellen) being attacked by a demon but then, she awakens in a car and we get some backstory about how she is going crazy thinking that there is a Nightmare Man living inside her. Turns out they are on their way to an insane asylum to drop her off for a while. Suddenly the car runs out of gas and the husband is soon walking off to the gas station. As darkness descends, Ellen gets more and more nervous and soon is running through the woods being pursued by the Nightmare Man. At this point it is still hard to tell if he is real or not. The fact that he doesn't just simply kill her makes you wonder if he is just in her imagination.

As the scene switches to some friends who are spending some time at an isolated cabin in the hills, we are introduced to the rest of the cannon fodder, um, I mean cast. There is some interesting interaction between the couples and soon they hear some commotion outside. Tiffany Shepis' character (Mia) who has managed to end up in her underwear already heads outside with a crossbow and four arrows which she accidentally leaves outside. That can't be good. When everyone calms down, Ellen's husband gets called and he warns the kids that his wife is crazy and there is no danger, that the Nightmare Man is just a figment of her imagination. Tiffany gives him directions and then she and her boyfriend go outside for some fresh air. This does not work out too well, as the boyfriend catches an arrow in the mouth and we get some pretty definitive proof that the Nightmare Man is real. This is where the movie really starts to shine. Kanfesky's pacing (both as a writer and director) is great here. The eventual outcome is pretty obvious, but you are caught off guard more than a couple of times by some clever misdirection.

Seems odd that a demon would need a gun.	Or that kicking him in the crotch would be terribly effective.

One of the things I hate about a lot of movies is when the characters start yelling at each other, the camera starts swinging wildly and the lights start flashing to signify panic and confusion. Kanefsky has a scene where he gets the characters moving in three different directions at once (during Ellen's attempted suicide) and with some tight editing and restraint sets you up for a shock. Shortly after that, just when you think you can relax for a second, there is another shock. Though I got to say, Jack's demise is about the most amusing death I have seen on camera in years.

After spending some quality time with Blythe Metz's character, Ellen, we spend most of the rest of the movie focused on Tiffany Shepis' Mia. While both of them are a little heavy handed at times, they both are great. Plus they are given pretty good dialog, as the writing is solid. No, we are not talking Shakespeare here, but there is not a lot of throwaway dialog. Generally everything said advances the plot or sets up a scene. In most cases the actions of the characters even make sense. When it becomes obvious they are in danger, they call the police. They try to stay together for safety. Okay, so when Jack stands in front of the open door, that's not so bright, but it is funny.

Tiffany Shepis is fast becoming my favorite scream queen. She is good looking, works hard and can act. Kanefsky has cast her in major parts in at least three of his movies, including Corpses, another of my favorite films. Debbie Rochon once said that if you don't get a lot of money to act in films, you have to act in a lot of films to make any money. Tiffany's resume is pretty impressive number wise, but not all of the people she has worked with have been as talented as this crew, so a lot of her movies are pretty bad. Still, she does manage to bring tons of energy to whatever she does.

Tiffany Shepis. Cute Face.	Tiffany taking on the demon in a miniskirt. And you wonder why I like this girl?

All in all Nightmare Man is a terrific example of a low budget horror film. Start with a good script, get competent actors and rehearse them, get lots of footage and then edit the film carefully. Clearly Kanefsky spent a tremendous amount of time on the script and editing and it shows. Watch the extended scenes on the extras. Trimming 15 or 30 seconds here and there can make a huge difference to the pacing of the final film. Kanefsky also kept his monster under control. His special effects money was well spent and though the demon is not really, really cool, it is not laughably bad and silly. As a result you are not overly impressed by the demon, but neither do you have to suppress a giggle whenever it appears on screen.

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