Horror anthologies were popular in the 80s. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe people liked smaller stories that packed a concise punch. Movies like Creepshow, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, and Twilight Zone: The Movie were just a few that managed to pull it off (more or less).

Nightmares is not a very good anthology. The four stories are supposed to be based on urban legends or something (this was back before the internet).

Story 1: someone is hiding in your back seat when you go to get gas and a pack of cigarettes. The urban legend itself is pretty boring and the way it was executed here had no real terror. That’ll teach you for buying cigarettes. Har har, ya limey bizz-natch.

Story 2: Emilio Estevez is a punk video game nerd (wat?), who wants to be the best. He manages a high level achievement and the game comes to life in full Tron special effects. This one was probably the best of the lot, but only for the cheese and bad graphics.

Story 3: Lance Henriksen is a priest who is finding his beliefs swaying to the dark side when an ominous pickup truck starts to give him heck. This is an urban legend?

Story 4: This big ass rat terrorizes a small ass family. There were a couple tense moments thanks to keeping the rat nicely hidden. The climax was super cheap, though. Everyone is like “oh, it’s a cute rat” instead of pew pewing the mother-effer.

These stories felt more like some of the less enjoyable episodes of Tales from the Crypt. It’s mostly a forgettable waste of time. I only watch these things because I’m an 80s purest and a horror completest. If I were just wanting to watch a fun anthology movie, this would not be on the list.

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