A Night In Horror: Nightmare Radio

Usually when i drive my car, i turn on the radio. Sometimes it is just nice to relax with some good music, or listen to different interesting programs such as interviews, radio documentaries and more. But there are also radio channels that are funny to hear as well, such as Pass The Salt with radio host Coach Dave Daubenmire. So why is this guy funny ? Well, he says a lot of crazy things sometimes. Such as :- Masturbation is homosexuality. What does he mean by this ? He explains in his own unique way that if a man masturbate, you think about men, and not women. Keep in mind that this man claims that he is a christian radio host. I do go in and listen to his show sometimes, just to see what he will say in his next broadcast. When it comes to films that bring up the subject of radio shows, i instantly remembered one film. And that is the 1994 superhero action film The Shadow, based on the radio show on the same name that aired in 1930, on the Detective Story Hour. The 1994 film is basically told from a comic book adaptation, but keep the influences of the old radio show. Directed by Russel Mulcahy ( who is probably most known for his film Highlander ), this film is a fun action film, that is not supposed to be taken seriously. Alec Baldwin who plays The Shadow, and he is actually not that bad in the lead role. You do get the feeling that this film is inspired by the radio show, with the cinematography that manage to capture this time period. The Shadow is of course not one of the best films from director Russel Mulcahy, but worth checking out if you enjoy a different kind of superhero. There is actually a great Blu ray release of The Shadow in the UK, or if you get the American release from Shout! Factory with some great features. As i were going through VOD releases in horror films, i came across an anthology horror film called A Night In Horror: Nightmare Radio, that have a radio host telling horror stories. The concept actually sounds interesting, but the question is, does this anthology horror film have more to offer than i expected, or is it just as bad as Tila Tequila´s recent Jesus videos ?

Radio host Rod Wilson ( James Wright, have a radio show called Nightmare Radio, where you can call in and hear a story, that will guaranteed make you scared. But for each story, Rod seems to be loosing his mind, hearing things and seeing things. Is there something going on at this radio station, or is Rod stuck in a moment where he can´t get out of ?

If you were hoping to see an anthology horror film that have very divided stories, then this might be actually what you are looking for. A Night In Horror: Nightmare Radio have quite many stories to offer, with very different plots and ideas. Some are actually pretty good, while some are not as effective. Let´s get into the stories that i do enjoy. The first segment of these stories starts off great with Post Mortem Mary. This story surrounds a young dead girl being prepared to be photographed, when everything goes completely wrong. Director Joshua Long manage to tell this story very effective, using some classic horror details, that match really well with the story. The next story that i do enjoy, is the segment called Into The Mud. What seems to be a sadistic male hunter, who is hunting a naked woman, turns into an unexpected blood feast. This segment may start off pretty ordinary, but becomes surprisingly fun. My major problem with this film is that some of the stories are not strong enough to make this a really good anthology horror film. And that is too bad, because i do love the idea behind this radio show and the character Rod Wilson ( played by actor James Wright ). It is actually fun to hear him take phone calls, from listeners who wants to hear a new story. The personality of Rod is also another detail that actually fit with this radio show, you can tell he loves being the radio host. If some of the segments would have been stronger, this could have been one of the better anthology horror films in recent years. With that said, i don´t think this is a bad film. Because the segments that do deliver some solid stories, match really well into the radio show. So many talented director´s, and they actually manage to pull out an enjoyable horror anthology film. Worth checking out on VOD, if you appreciate this genre.

Rating: DDD