BUTCHER BAKER NIGHTMARE MAKER (1981) (Severin Films 4K Ultra HD Review)

 BUTCHER BAKER NIGHTMARE MAKER (1981) 

aka NIGHT WARNING 

Label: Severin Films

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 92 Minutes 36 Seconds

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 2160p UHD WIdescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD WIdescreen (1.85:1`) 

Director: William Asher

Cast: Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Julia Duffy, Bill Paxton, Jimmy McNichol, Steve Eastin, Caskey Swaim, Britt Leach, Marcia Lewis

The psycho-sexual slasher Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (1981) opens with a couple dying in a truly horrific vehicular accident that prefigures an iconic kill from Final Destination 2 by decades, with the man's head pulped by an log from the back of a truck after their car's brakes fail, while the woman who is now a passenger in an out-of-control car goes off a cliff into a shallow creek below and exploding. It's a stunning opener that had my jaw on the floor the first time I saw it, and every time I've watch it after. The accident orphans young Billy Lynch who goes to lives with his aunt Chery (Susan Tyrrell, Big Top Pee-wee) who raises him. Flash forward fourteen years later and Billy (Jimmy McNichol, Smokey Bites the Dust) is now a highschool senior, he and his aunt have an unusually close relationship, and the idea of him leaving for college on a basketball scholarship, and his affection for classmate Julia (Julia Duffy, Battle Beyond the Stars), has the domineering and creepily overprotective auntie flipping her wig. On his birthday Billy comes home to find aunt Cheryl covered in blood standing over the bloody body of TV repairman Phil (Caskey Swaim, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning) with a butcher knife in her hand. She claims it was self-defense and he was trying to rape her, but we know she was aggressively trying to seduce him, snapping when he refused. Investigating the murder is police Det. Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson, North Dallas Forty) and Sgt. Cook

(Britt Leach, Silent Night, Deadly Night), with Svenson's cop character being one of the vilest bigots in cinema history. Carlson knows that Phil was gay and Cheryl's story of self-defense is bullshit, and he tries to pin the crime on Billy, figuring it was some sort of gay love-triangle quarrel turned deadly, with the third  lover being Billy's basketball coach Landers (Steve Eastin, The Hidden), who was Phil's lover. Carlson becomes convinced that auntie Cheryl is covering for Billy's crime, and viciously harasses the kid in his pursuit of his guilt, repeatedly calling him a "faggot" and making jokes about limp wrists.  

Later when Cheryl catches Billy and Julie having sex in his attic room she further slips down the slope of insanity, cracking like a rotten, thin-shelled egg, fueling more murders including taking a machete to her nosy-neighbor Marge (Marcia Lewis, The Ice Pirates) in the swamp nearby the home, and Sgt. Cook gets his hand chopped off before being dispatched with a knife to the jugular; and then Cheryl knocks Julia out with a meat tenderizer before kidnapping her and trapping her him the basement where she keeps a dark family secret; she even drugs Billy with spiked-milk to sabotage his scholarship chances. 

This flick is directed by William Asher (Bikini Beach), who directed loads of classic I Love Lucy episodes, in addition to a bunch of those teen beach flicks in the 60's, and he certainly does not seem like the logical first choice for a psycho-sexual slasher, but apparently he was brought in after the original director (Michael Mill, Jackson County Jail) left the project. The film was so left of center that it ended up being tagged as a Video Nasty in the UK, the BBFC censors apparently didn't care for the blood-soaked, psycho-sexual slasher with incestual undertones, go figure. The star here is Tyrrell as the auntie who spins from warm and  motherly to unhinged murderers on a dime, she's absolutely terrific and chews up the scenery with the most deliciously overwrought portrayal of deranged psycho-biddy, the scenes of her blood-covered bosom during some of the carnage always bring a smile to my face. There are two scenes that also tickle me pink, when she's forcefully making Billy drink more tainted milk she cleans him up by licking a drip of milk off his neck, and later when she's in her death throes at the end of the film she cannot help but stick her tongue down his throat one last time, it's awesome. Also, seeing Svenson as a vicious bigot is quite an eyebrow raiser, this is a role that is so out of the ordinary for him, he's such a vile person, it's breathtaking to see a character like this today, slinging the derogatory f-word around. 

The violence is also pretty great, while there's not a ton of visceral gore we get plenty of shots of the unhinged auntie going around stabbing and hacking away at people, it gets very bloody, even chasing poor Julia through a swamp and wrestling with her in the mud before knocking her in the noggin with rock. Star Terrel is fully committed to the deranged performance, and one of my joys of this film is watching her face during her more unhinged moments, her at times absurd face and eye contortions are pure campy awesomeness. It's also interesting in the way that the handles it's gay characters, the persecuted gym coach is not some flamboyant deviant, he's just a good guy who is gay, with the repugnant cop Carlson venomously going after him for just being homosexual, suggesting he should quit his job at the highschool or risk being lynched for being queer! Also keep an eye out for a young Bill Paxton (Mortuary) as a bully basketball player with beef against Billy. 

Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (1981) delivers the goods on so many fronts; it's a psycho-biddy slasher, it's dripping with psychosexual melodrama, it's got kitsch and camp in the right proportions, there's just so much to love about it.  

Reversible Wrap 

Webstore Exclusive Slipcover 

Audio/Video: Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (1981) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Severin Films scanned in 4K from the original camera negative, presented in 2160p Ultra HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen with HDR color-grading. The source looks fantastic, grain is nicely exposed throughout, fine detail and texturing is pleasing and the well-saturated colors of the period fashions and decor really shine like never before, black levels are deep and inky. The HDR does give primaries a nice push as well, with the 4K UHD having superior depth and contrast when compared to the Blu-ray counterpart. Audio comes by way of  English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, dialogue sounds great and the score from Bruce Langhorne (Fighting Mad) sounds terrific. 

Severin stack the release with new and archival extras, starting off with three commentary tracks; the first is an Audio Commentary With Star Jimmy McNichol, then an Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer Steve Breimer And Co-Writer Alan Jay Glueckman, Moderated By Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson; and a third Audio Commentary With Co-Producer And Unit Production Manager Eugene Mazzola. 

Interviews start off with the 10-min Extreme Prejudice – Interview With Actor Bo Svenson who talks about his characters strong homophobic qualities and how he approached the characters, working with director William Asher, and some problematic squib work during his death scene. Next up is the 15-min Point And Shoot – Interview With Director Of Photography Robbie Greenberg, he talks about moving to L.A. to pursue cinematography, getting the call to replace the DP on Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, working with TV pro who was quite professional, the campy style of the film that sort of dictated the look of it, breaking down the introductory car accident scenes, how much easier it was to shoot in L.A. 45 years ago, how fast a shoot it was, his memories of Tyrell and how she gave it all, recollections of Svenson;s character and how he was solid, the effects and stunt work, and his thoughts on the film watching 45 years later. 

Then onto the 17-min Family Dynamics – Interview With Editor Ted Nicolaou, Nicolaou talks about going from pre-med to film studies, getting work as a soundman on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre his first gig in L.A. working in the infamous Roar, getting onto Nightmare Maker through DP Jan De Bont who he worked on Roar with, and how Michael Miller and De Bont left the film early on, his thoughts on the opening car accent scenes, and how William Asher when he took over, and how his tone and vision for the film felt, exploring the gay themes, breaking down the characters,  and his memories of Bill Paxton and how he was on set, 

We also get the Archival Cast And Crew Interviews With Actors Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Steve Eastin, Make-Up Artist Allan A. Apone And Producer Steve Breimer that first appeared on the Code Red release. The highlight is Terrell who talks about never having watched the film before, and then she sits down and watches it, commenting on what she's seeing and she is a blast, lots of energy while she celebrates and derides the film, commenting on how her tit accidentally fell out during a scene. My favorite quote from her is "I'd fuck anyone to get out of this move, except Bo!", this is easily one of my favorite watchalongs with a star ever, totally unhinged. Steve Eastin talks about this being his first substantial role and how he approached playing a gay character non-stereotypically, and Make-Up Artist Allan A. Apone talks about Bo Svenson's errant blood squib effects, and how Bo was a bit handsy with the make-up woman who punched him in the face! Producer Steve Breimer talks about casting the film, finding the house used in the film, and different approached they considered in regard to story structure, and the performances from McNicholl and Tyrell, how the film is not standard slasher fare, the humor and camp of it,  and how it holds up. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a minute and a half Night Warning Trailer and a 34-sec Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker TV Spot. 

The 2-disc UHD/BD arrives in a dual-hub black keepcase with Reversible Wrap, which features a recreation of the Atlantis VHS release with a Severin Twist, plus a Webstore Exclusive Slipcover with two artwork options. 

Special Features:
- Webstore Exclusive Slipcover
- Reversible Wrap
Disc 1: UHD (Feature + Special Features)
- Audio Commentary With Star Jimmy McNichol
- Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer Steve Breimer And Co-Writer Alan Jay Glueckman, Moderated By Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson
- Audio Commentary With Co-Producer And Unit Production Manager Eugene Mazzola
- Trailer
Disc 2: Blu-ray (Feature + Special Features)
- Audio Commentary With Star Jimmy McNichol
- Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer Steve Breimer And Co-Writer Alan Jay Glueckman, Moderated By Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson
- Audio Commentary With Co-Producer And Unit Production Manager Eugene Mazzola
- NEW! Extreme Prejudice – Interview With Actor Bo Svenson (9:49) 
- NEW! Point And Shoot – Interview With Director Of Photography Robbie Greenberg (15:04) 
- NEW! Family Dynamics – Interview With Editor Ted Nicolaou (16:51) 
- Cast And Crew Interviews With Actors Jimmy McNichol (8:30), Susan Tyrrell (11:56) Steve Eastin (9:39), Make-Up Artist Allan A. Apone (4:57) and Producer Steve Breimer (12:23) 
- Night Warning Trailer (1:29) 
- Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker TV Spot (0:34) 

Severin's 4K UHD release of Butcher Baker Nightmare Baker (1981) is the the definitive edition of this psycho-sexual, killer-auntie classic; it looks and sounds terrific and the plentiful extras are quite wonderful, highly recommended. 

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Screenshots from the Severin Films Blu-ray: 

Extras: