Nightmare (1964) ( Here's the Knife, Dear: Now Use It ) ( Satan with Long Lashes )

Hammer films made a number of thriller movies during their time and this one is probably the best. It is more than likely overlooked because it does not have an major stars in it. No Peter cushing, Christopher Lee or Oliver Reed here, but the cast carris it well. The plot concerns a young girl whofears she may be crazy because her mother killed her father years ago. The girl is having a secret relationship with her doctor. She starts seeing things, is she really going crazy like her mother did? The script is nothing new, but the pacing and photography really help take it up a notch. This is one of those films that gets better each time you see it.

This is another fine effort from the Hammer studios. I had never seen this glorious black & white film until recently. This eerie tale holds up very well and I wish half the horror movies coming out these days had this much good going for them. This is avalable on DVD as part of an 8 films set called the Hammer Horror series. It's a two disc set and all the films included are in their original format. The DVD transfers are very good and the set is around $20.00 A great deal for such an interesting horror set.

"Nightmare" (1964) comes from the ever-popular Britain-based scary-movie factory of "Hammer Films", and it is (IMO) an enormously-entertaining psychological thriller, filled with macabre imagery, spooky atmosphere, and stunningly-gorgeous black-and-white photography.

There are several scenes in the movie which depict mysterious unknown figures wandering the darkened corridors of a large stately mansion late at night. These scenes are strengthened by the fine work done by cinematographer John Wilcox, who deserves applause for creating some truly memorable and scary images during the course of this motion picture. Wilcox's eerie and shadow-laden cinematography that can be found in "Nightmare" is truly exceptional.

Insanity seems to be the order of the day at "High Towers" estate. But WHO exactly is crazy, and who isn't? That's the question that needs to be answered before this "Nightmare" reaches its end.

An abrupt turn is taken halfway through the film, when the movie's main character up to that point disappears from the picture altogether. But this sudden script deviation doesn't really derail the film, IMO, because after reaching that fork in the road, the movie evolves into a clever "whodunnit", keeping the viewer guessing until the end. There are some logic gaps in the script; but even with those gaps, "Nightmare" still reeled me in right from the get-go.

The film's British cast does a very nice job here. The roster of "Nightmare" acting talent features David Knight, Jennie Linden, Moira Redmond, Irene Richmond, Brenda Bruce, John Welsh, and Elizabeth Dear. Redmond is particularly fun to watch here. She is totally believable in her part as "Grace Maddox".

Some people might want to write this film off as a lower-grade "B" picture. I'd strongly disagree with such an assessment, however. "Nightmare" is certainly no B-grade flick in my book. With acting and cinematography executed with as much care and precision as we see in this film, it rises well above any "B" status, in my personal view, and can hold its own with other top-drawer thrillers of this general ilk.

"Nightmare" is additionally bolstered by the presence of a good, mood-enhancing music score, which helps guide us through the dimly-lit hallways of "High Towers" at just the right pace and tempo.

Be sure to never watch this movie by the light of day. Because, as is the case with any genuinely-spooky motion picture, "Nightmare" is best experienced only during the pitch-darkness of nighttime, with all the lights out. (And preferably with a thunderstorm raging outside your dwelling as well, to provide an even better acoustical background while viewing a creepy gem of a flick like this one.) ~wink~

"Nightmare", thankfully, was filmed in black-and-white (this dark, shadowy film just wouldn't have been the same in color), and was directed by Freddie Francis, who also helmed several other Hammer titles as well -- e.g., "The Evil Of Frankenstein" (1964), "Dracula Has Risen From The Grave" (1968), and another excellent B&W thriller that is similar in some ways to "Nightmare", 1963's "Paranoiac".

The 82-minute-long "Nightmare" was first seen in United States movie theaters on June 17, 1964. It premiered a little earlier than that, however, in its home territory of the United Kingdom, on April 19 of '64. In England, the film had a different title too -- "Here's The Knife Dear, Now Use It". That's an interesting moniker, huh? Has a nifty little ring to it.

In order to really experience the full beauty and grand scope of "Nightmare", I'd recommend (very highly) picking up a copy of Universal Studios' 2-Disc DVD set entitled "The Hammer Horror Series: The Franchise Collection". That set is jam-packed with eight "Hammer" movies from the early 1960s, including "Nightmare". And all eight films have been remastered on those DVDs to near-perfect clarity, and have been transferred to Digital Disc in their intended Widescreen ratios, as seen in theaters.

"Nightmare" was filmed in the super-wide screen shape of 2.35:1, and is presented as such on that Universal Home Video DVD; and it looks absolutely gorgeous on that disc too.

If you've never seen the film in Widescreen before, do yourself a favor and make an effort to purchase or rent "The Hammer Horror Series" DVD collection. It definitely belongs in a horror-film buff's library.

This is one of the best movies ever made! It shows the perfect amount of horror, thriller, creepines, and uneasynes. Exellent cast and acting.

I thought the movie was good. But the VHS tape quality was very bad it kept getting stuck in my vcr and the tape would unravel.