Review: Nightmares in a Damaged Brain 4K UHD

4K UHD & Blu-ray: Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (1981)

It’s a funny old world. Back in the 1980s I had to make a 360 mile round trip down to London to purchase a 3rd generation VHS copy of Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (and other ‘nasties’ of the time), yet here I am today with a glorious 4K UHD Blu-ray of it loaded with great special features…times are most definitely better these days for movie collectors.

From the title alone you can gauge that the movie isn’t a gentle love story, though one passionate moment of lovemaking is pivotal to the whole narrative, as a young George spies his Father in flagrante with an unknown woman…so of course he grabs an axe, decapitates the woman who was riding his dad, then buries the axe into his dad’s head.

Jump forward a good few years and George (Baird Stafford) escapes from a psychiatric hospital after undergoing experimental drug therapy…which doesn’t seem to have worked so well, as he still has a penchant for killing women in the most gruesome of ways.

Written and directed by Romano Scavolini, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain rose to notoriety here in the UK due to being put on the “Video Nasties” list…which of course just made more people (like myself) want to watch it even more.

Still shocking in its content and bloody effects, it has come to be appreciated more as a horror classic, with a standout performance by Baird Stafford being one particular highlight.

The narrative is a little disjointed and the focus soon switches to a family with an annoying little brat who likes playing practical jokes on his babysitters, but the overall feeling of dread and horror remains throughout, leaving you never really sure when the bloody axe will spring again.

This Severin Films 4K UHD release looks superb, with the bright red blood of the time almost flowing out of the screen and onto your lap, all accompanied by a set of special features that will keep you entertained and informed way after the end credits have rolled…including a great little chat with Tom Savini and why his name shouldn’t really be on the poster on in the trailer.

Never a movie that I thought I’d be able to watch in 4K, this Severin release has breathed new life into an ex-nasty and not only made it an essential purchase for old horror movie fans like myself, but opened it up to a whole new audience to appreciate.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Disc 1: 4K UHD

1. Audio Commentary with star Baird Stafford and special effects assistant Cleve Hall moderated by Lee Christian and David DeCoteau
2. Audio Commentary with producer William Paul
3. Trailers

Disc 2: Blu-ray

1. Damaged: The Very British Obscenity of David Hamilton-Grant
2. Audio commentary with Baird Stafford and Cleve Hall moderated by Lee  Christian and David DeCoteau
3. Audio commentary with producer William Paul
4. Kill Thy Father and Thy Mother – Interview with director Romano Scavolini (71 mins)
5. Dreaming Up A Nightmare – Featuring former president of 21st century distribution Arthur Schweitzer, actor/unit production manager Mik Cribben, Production Supervisor Simon Nuchtern, Florida producer/special effects artist William Milling, uncredited editor Jim Markovic and archival interviews with actor Baird Stafford and special effects artists Edward French and Cleve Hall
6. The Nightmare Of Nightmare – interview with erroneously credited special effects director Tom Savini
7. Legendary Loser – Music Video by R.A. The Rugged Man Thorburn
8. Deleted scenes
9. Image Gallery – publicity pics, behind-the-scenes shots, video covers and death pix
10. Trailers

Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Severin Films via Aim Publicity.