NIGHTWISH (1989)
Label: unearthed Classics
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 92 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Bruce R. Cook
Cast: Brian Thompson, Jack Starrett, Robert Tessier, Elizabeth Kaitan, Alisha Das
In the late-80's direct-to-video gem Nightwish (1989) we have parapsychology professor (Jack Starrett, Race with the Devil) conducting strange dream experiments using sensory deprivation techniques on his graduate students; Donna (Elizabeth Kaitan, Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity), Kim (Alisha Das, Firepower), Jack (Clayton Rohner, Destroyer), and Bill (Artur Cybulski, Time Trackers). The experiments at the lab involve the students visualizing their own deaths seemed to have stalled a bit. Not sure why, but the professor moves them into an old house out in the desert, a place known as The Valley of Fear by the local indigenous people. The location is notorious for being the center for strange phenomena, everything from UFO encounters, to otherworldly creatures, satanic rituals and spiritual seances.
The students are driven to the house by a horny, lunkheaded douche-nozzle named Dean (Brian Thompson, Cobra), where the professor begins a series of experiments that seem less centered around death-dreaming than making contact with some spirit or weird supernatural force that resides within the house, with his unorthodox experimentation
resulting in the appearance of green-glowing ectoplasm, and things just get stranger from there, with the teens discovering the professor was previously expelled from an ivy league university after the death of one of his graduate students. I think his dim-witted henchmen Stanley (Robert Tessier, Double Exposure) should have tipped them off as to the professor's maniacal ways long before that revelation though!
The cast is decent enough, with Jack Starrett adding a lot of creepiness to the proceedings as the professor with his oddball delivery and supernatural obsessions. Cuties Elizabeth Kaitan and Alisha Das are about as close to leads as we get I think, with the guys not getting a whole lot to do when it comes down to it. The biggest name here is Brian Thompson (X-Files) who shows up in a small role as the driver, with his best stuff coming by way of his interactions with the properties bizarre caretaker, a strange bit of a man named Wendell (Tom Dugan, Hellraiser: Bloodline).
The film is mighty ambitious for a low-budget, direct-to-video horror, it has a dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream exploration that pays of with some reality distorting scenarios, but it is a bit muddled in it's execution, though a cool late-in-the-game twist goes a long way towards explaining the disjointedness of it all. Also helping matters are some surprisingly grotesque special FX courtesy of KNB Effects late in the film, plus some cool set design from Robert Burns (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) that give this direct-to-video gem some cool-looking production values.
Audio/Video: Nightwish (1989) arrives on Blu-ray from Unearthed Films as part of their Unearthed Classics line-up, framing the film in 1.78:1 widescreen in 1080p HD. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original film elements the presentation is strong with natural grain intact. It can be a bit soft at times but the colors are overall nicely saturated with pleasing blacks. The source does show some age related film imperfections throughout but this is generally a great looking presentation of the film.
Audio comes by way of a lossless LPCM 2.0 stereo mix that is crisp and clean, it's not a stunner but it does the job, there are no subtitles.
The main extra on the disc is an audio commentary with the film's producer Paul White moderated by Stephen Biro. White gets into the financing and distribution for the film, working with the cast and crew, and the film's director Bruce Cook. We also a get a trailer for the film, a selection of Unearthed trailers, plus an image gallery of still and artwork.
The single-disc release comes housed in a sturdy Blu-ray keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork, plus a limited edition first-pressing slipcover with atmospheric alternate artwork. Inside there's a 24-page collector's booklet with cast and crew information, production notes and an appreciation by Art Ettinger of Ultra Violence magazine, it's a nice thick booklet packed with info and images. The booklet like the slipcover is limited to the first-run edition of this release.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Paul White and Stephen Biro
- Trailer (2 min)
- Unearthed Trailers: The Dark Side of the Moon (2 min) HD, The Song of Solomon (1 min) HD, The Unnamable (2 min) HD
- Image Gallery (3 min)
- First print run gets a Limited Edition Alternate Slipcover!
- First print run gets an exclusive detailed booklet on Nightwish
Nightwish (1989) is a fun reality distorting straight-to-video horror gem, a haunted house genre-mash-up with some notably gruesome special FX from KNB. If you're into strange video gems from the late-80's, not unlike Unearthed Classics previous releases of The Unnamable (1988) and The Dark Side of the Moon (1990), this is well-worth checking out.
