MovieChat Forums > Nightmare Man (2006) Discussion > For the record...

For the record...

posted 16 years ago by Rolfe30
12 replies | jump to latest

I just wanted to clear up a bit of confusion regarding some of the reviews and posts I've read about NIGHTMARE MAN. Without getting into opinions about good and bad issues, I wanted to talk a little about intention.

NIGHTMARE MAN is a horror film with a strong sense of humor. Right from the opening shot of the film when the knife swings down to, not kill someone, but instead open a sealed box, the film has an intentional wink towards the viewer. Yes, many parts are meant to be scary as well but the humor never leaves the film and purposly grows stronger and stronger as the movie proceeds. For those who know my resume, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE, THE HAZING, CORPSES, JACQUELINE HYDE, and now NIGHTMARE MAN all bare the same interweaving of humor and horror even though they tend to be sold as more straighter horror films. The humor may vary in level and intention from film to film but it is always there. I knew some of the comedy in NIGHTMARE MAN might surprise people but I didn't think there would be such confusion about "Is this supposed to be funny or not?" Laughing at or with a film is always a risk you run when you're crossing genres and for those who understand that the film is supposed to be funny but don't think it is, I'm not arguing with you. That is a perfectly valid opinion. This is just for those who were confused and scratching their heads when they went to see a horror film and found themselves and the audience laughing throughout. NIGHTMARE MAN is not a spoof like STUDENT BODIES, SCARY MOVIE, or my first flick, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE. It is more along the lines of the EVIL DEAD(s) that mix up the laughs and scares.

That said, I think if you see NIGHTMARE MAN when it hits DVD on March 18th, you might enjoy it more. It's a film that plays on knowing conventions and has fun with them as much as it indulges in the cliches to create a quirky, offbeat tale that's a mixed bag of horror, humor, and madness produced on a very limited budget. That was the intention. It's success or failure I leave up to you.

Thank you.

Writer/director/producer of NIGHTMARE MAN
Rolfe Kanefsky

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Tears_of_the_Fallen 16 years ago

EDIT: I sent you a PM on how I felt, because I didn't want it to ruin the amount of people yet to see this movie.

Formerly Known As: guitar-rock23

[–] kaiju0 16 years ago

Rolfe, a question regarding the DVD:
What kind of extras are we going to see on the dvd?

[–] Rolfe30 16 years ago

The NIGHTMARE MAN DVD will have a commentary track with myself, Tiffany Shepis, and producer Esther Goodstein. Two featurettes (both about 20 minutes apiece) on the making of the film and Tiffany's personal behind the scenes, a collection of deleted/extended scenes (roughly 15 minutes), blooper reel (10 minutes), animated behind the scenes still gallery, maybe some trailers, and I guess the Miss Horrorfest webisodes. Should be around 70 minutes of bonus stuff plus commentary so we loaded it up. Hope you like it.

The film also looks a hell of a lot better on DVD with a great 5.1 dolby mix.

[–] kaiju0 16 years ago

That sounds really good. I'm looking forward to all of that. I really enjoyed the movie, and I'm keeping an eye out for your other work. Keep it up.

[–] jdecloux 16 years ago

I haven't seen the film yet Rolfe, , but I have seen most of your other work and while it's been hit and miss (sometimes REALLY miss) I'll still keep coming back again and again because you are the rare breed of director that does what HE wants to do. Ignore the haters who bemoan only for the sake of bemoaning, they really aren't worth your time. You come off as a true fan of cinema and there's nothing more endearing then that.

Fingers crossed that the pick-up of Nightmare Man with After Dark Films will bring you bigger and better things, you deserve it, and I know I'll be there to catch them!

[–] Sic Coyote 16 years ago

I haven't seen this movie either but I will be picking up a copy of it.

My first exposure was There's Nothing Out There, which I have to say I downloaded, I had it for about a year as I'd just got it on a whim and never heard of it or knew what it was about, then I put it on when I was doing a horror movie night, unfortunately it was cropped zoomed completely washed out and the sound was terrible on the one I downloaded, but the film still shone through as FANTASTIC, unfortunately I've been unable to get the official DVD as it's deleted, I even paid £20 to Caimen, twice, only to have it refunded because they couldn't get a copy.

I've since bought The Hazing and just watched it and thought it was great fun, if only the dvd didn't have strange interlacing issues.

But as I said I will be picking up this film and I just wish There's Nothing Out There would come back into print.

I also watched another one of Tifany's films tonight, Delta Delta Die which was also really quite entertaining, if not quite as well made as Mr Kanefsky's work.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] F6Pilot 16 years ago

Although I have to admit that a lot of the haters bring out justifiable complaints, I have a soft spot for low budget movies, inventive monsters, and good looking actresses who undress. Thus this movie will never be as stupid to me as it perhaps should be. There's no law against being easy to please.

I thought the movie pulled a neat trick with having BOTH a homicidal maniac and a genuine demon. It also scored a neat trick by making us suspect that the first 2 minutes were "just a dream", tricking us into forgetting what importance it had to the story, and then giving us Mia's horrible fate, so that it was a suprise, but not really out of left field. Not too bad.

[–] msglazedsugar 16 years ago

I didn't go to the movies when horror fest was playing so I'm trying to catch up watching them on DVD. I wish I would have seen Nightmare Man in the theater. This one and Gravedancers have been my favorite horror fest movies from 2007 and 2006.

[–] shannonphoenix 15 years ago

I finally saw it and it was not that bad a movie. The only thing that I wished that would have been added is some history on the Mask itself. I think that would have been interesting, but sometimes it can ruin a movie just as well. I don't think I have seen the DVD version, but I have seen a lot worse, A LOT WORSE horror movie than this.

What is really a shame is that when I was a kid, we did not have the X-box, Nintendo, etc. We did have Atari, which shows how old I am, I still remember the pong game. People older than me relied solely on their imaginations because of the time they lived. I think Nightmare Man is one that forces you to guess and use your imagination as to the mask's origins, and what the mask is. I also thought it was interesting that the husband was using this as a way to kill his wife and then she ends up killing him.

I thought Mia was kick-ass in this movie, when everyone is freaking out, she is the one who is strong.

I thought the acting was good too. It may have been on a budget, but I know of two "low budget" movies that are now cult classics; The Rocky Horror Picture show, and Animal House. The actors were very good and everyone has to start somewhere.

So, I am sorry if people trashed the movie because I thought it was pretty good. I think what happens is that a genre becomes so predictable that people get bored and I am referring to mostly the zombie type movies. Romero is the one that really came up with the idea and no one has beat him really. The stalker in the woods movies are usually the same and they don't have to be, but it is lack of the imagination.

I have seen a no budget comedy that was hilarious called "Up your Alley" with Linda Blair. It was well acted and funny and really cute. So, I wouldn't worry about what people have to say. "The Evil Dead" made absolutely no sense to me, but yet it is good and is a cult classic. The fact that your movie was selected for After Dark Horrorfest is good enough.