Nightmare Maker (1982)

Dir: William Asher

Thoroughly unhinged early-80s obscurity that was briefly on the UK's Video Nasty list, despite its director being a respected veteran of TV fluff like "Bewitched", "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Bad New Bears"! It does frequently feel like a low-key TV movie potboiler as it tells the story of poor Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol), an orphan teen raised by his weird and controlling Aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrell at her battiest and best) in small town America. Somewhere, something breaks and the film tips into a final reel of surprising intensity. There are two distinct storylines - Cheryl's rapid descent into madness is offset by the investigations of a hard-boiled homophobic cop (Bo Svenson) who's trying to frame half the men in town, including Billy, to fit into a gay murder conspiracy he's concocted. Somehow, by the end these two strands have become one and the insane conclusion feels oddly logical, at least until you take a step out of the film's world and think too hard about it. Still, the gay element is particularly unusual for the era/genre and Tyrell's performance is compelling enough to really drive the film beyond its limitations. Love it, hate it or just find it baffling, you'll never see another film quite like this one. ***