source: Tobe Hooper's Night Terrors

Trailer—Night Terrors

Night Terrors

Normally I would never rent a movie like this, because you know it's going to be bad just by looking at the box. I rented seven movies at the same time, including Nightmare on Elm Street 5, 6 and Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Unfortunately, when I got home I found out the videostore-guy gave me the wrong tape. In the box of Wes Craven's New Nightmare I found this lame movie. This movie is incredibly boring, the acting is bad and the plot doesn't make any sense. It's hard to write a good review, because I have no idea what the movie was really about. At the end of the movie you have more questions then answers. On 'Max Power's Scale of 1 to 10' I rate this movie: 1 PS I would like to correct Corinthian's review (right below mine). He says Robert Englund is ripping off lingerie, riding horses naked, etc. The guy that did those things was Mahmoud, played by Juliano Mer, not by Robert Englund.

This is one of those movies you see in the video store that you just HAVE to get because it just looks so horribly bad. And indeed, we couldn't take most of it. There was a lot of fast-forwarding going on. But then we came across a scene where Robert Englund seduces the female protagonist (her name somehow slips my mind at this time). CRIPES. I've never watched a single scene from a film so many times (I'm estimating forty or so). And I've never laughed so hard in my life. You see, Englund has this thing for showing off his loins. I last saw the film a couple months ago, but I can't stop laughing as I type. Anyway, the scene is a montage of shots-- Englund ripping off the lingerie of the girl, Englund riding a horse naked, and some mysterious woman fellating a snake's head. This is absolute genius. You've got to see it for yourself.

I became smitten with Zoe after watching her in Night of the Demons 2, and she delivers a solid performance here as a young woman out of place in a much different society than she is used to. While visiting her father in the Middle East, sexpot Zoe stumbles into the seedier locations of this foreign land. Although her father tries to keep her on a spiritual God-fearing path, she wavers. She takes delight in the sins of the flesh at her impressionable age, and finds romance with a wealthy Arab man. The ending isn't strong at all, and is rather disappointing, but Zoe will keep your attention. She excels at portraying inner turmoil and has a feisty nature that can't be quelled. There is a plethora of nudity, both male and female, but to see Zoe disrobed is worth treading through the lush decadent atmosphere.

I like Tobe Hooper's work, but like all artist he has hits and misses. I think that horror is a very personal thing, akin to what turns a person on sexually. What is hot for one is an off for another. The movie has an interesting concept. I feel the acting is good. Robert Englund is wonderful as the Marquis De Sade and it was nice to see William Finley again. (He is also in one of my all time fav's "Funhouse" also directed by Hooper. ) Set design, editing, costuming, score and photography all have a very 80's feel to it although the movie was filmed in 1993. It has that high glossy feel to it. The movie is neither as artist as it would have like to have been, nor is it completely terrible. Trust me there are A LOT worse out there. If you like Robert Englund, or have a kind of fascination for the Marquis, then this maybe worth your time. But if you are looking for chills, gore or T&A skip it.

PURE JUNK! is poorly made and not the film we have come to expect of Tobe Hooper's caliber after her directed the brilliant Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist he gives us this piece of junk that is very poorly directed and lacks interest plus it's so weakly written you can see plot holes all over the places it's quite funny (but not in a good way) i haven't seen this in a while but i remember enough to comment on it and that it was a piece of junk. the acting is BAD Robert Englund does what he can with the awful material he has to work with and manages to come out of this looking decent. Zoe Trilling is decent looking but a good actress she is not. same goes for Alona Kimhi. rest of the cast do bad as well i am not going to comment any more on this garbage if you see this at your local video store RESIST RESIST!!!! BOMB out of 5

A young woman gets mixed up in a cult that is connected to the Marquis De Sade. Handsome looking sets, good make-up effects, lush costumes, and lots of pretty imagery can not cover up the fact that this is an incoherent mess with a skimpy script. The actors and director try hard, perhaps too hard. Rated R; Strong Sexual Content, Nudity, Violence, Adult Themes, and Profanity.

I don't know much about Tobe Hooper, or why he gets his name in the title, but maybe he shouldn't have bothered. As another commenter mentioned, there isn't really enough horror or erotica to bring in fans of either genre. The plot is incoherent, the Sade sequences are gratuitous, and most of the acting is so-so. Englund was doing his best with weak material, and Zoe Trilling has a really great bottom, but neither is enough to carry this film. This one's a tape-over. Grade: F