Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker 4K UHD Review
“Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker” is an underrated cult horror film.
1981’s “Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker” (AKA “Night Warning”) begins with a married couple venturing off on a trip while their son Billy is being looked after by his aunt Cheryl. The couple die in a horrific car accident leaving Cheryl to raise Billy.
14 years pass and Billy is now in high school where he has a girlfriend (Julie) and is aiming for a basketball scholarship. The possessive, smothering and downright creepy Cheryl wants Billy to stay and goes about sabotaging his future. She kills a TV repairman pretending that he was trying to rape her. Friends/neighbors of Cheryl find Cheryl with Billy (who is stupidly holding the knife) over the repairman’s body leaving some (including the hardass homophobic Detective Carlson) to suspect foul play. Cheryl also goes about poisoning Billy to put his scholarship in jeopardy. How far will the clearly unstable Cheryl go to keep Billy at home?
Directed by William Asher and written by Stephen Breimer, Boon Collins, and Alan Jay Glueckman, “Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker” plays like a cross between “Friday The 13th” and “Oedipus The King.” It’s a demented psychological, psychosexual, grindhouse horror film that doesn’t unfold like your standard slasher. For the first two-thirds of the film, it’s an unsettling family horror film with incestuous undertones as the crazed Cheryl becomes more and more overprotective (to put it mildly) over her nephew. Only in the final act does it become more of a traditional slasher as the body count rises and the villain becomes more unhinged. At the same time, the usual slasher tropes are also flipped on their head as there is no final girl since Billy essentially fits that role. Moreover, another villain enters the picture outside of Cheryl, but you’ll have to watch the movie to see what that means. The film might be too icky for some, but for the horror lovers out there, this is an under-the-radar horror tale that has more going on under the surface.
The cast really elevates the material as a whole. Susan Tyrrell (who received an Oscar nomination for her work in “Fat City”) truly goes all out here with an over-the-top, scenery chewing performance for the ages. It’s a bold, big, weird performance that makes Cheryl even more terrifying. Bo Svenson gives a memorable performance as the scumbag Detective Carlson. Jimmy McNichol gives an understated performance as Billy. Viewers should also keep their eyes peeled for a young Bill Paxton as a classmate/fellow basketball player.
“Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker” is due out May 28. The exclusive slipcover edition for the 4K is only available on Severin’s website here: https://severinfilms.com/collections/uhd/products/butcher-baker-nightmare-maker-2-disc-4k-uhd-w-exclusive-slipcover
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How does it look? This is easily the best the film has looked. Expect a high quality print that maintains the grain while also offering up some crystal clear imagery.
Audio Track: English Mono. How does it sound? This is a nice clean Mono track through and through.
Extras:
* Blu-ray copy
* “Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker” trailer
* 3 commentary tracks on the 4K and Blu-ray. One by actor Jimmy McNichol, one by writers Alan Jay Glueckman and Steve Breimer and moderator Nathaniel Thompson and the third by co-producer and production manager Euegen Mazzola. The 2nd track offers up the most substantial discussions and information.
* On the Blu-ray disc, you can find separate interviews with Bo Svenson, DP Robbie Greenberg, editor Ted Nicolaou, Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Steve Eastin, makeup effects artist Allan A. Apone and producer Steve Breimer, trailer and a TV spot. The highlights here are the insightful interviews from Robbie Greenberg and Ted Nicolaou which go into the production side.
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