Nightmare Man (2006) Review

Written by: the5thdroog   

I'd heard of this movie about a year before at a convention, but didn't get into the screening then. So I was happy when I saw it was going to be released with the Horrorfest films. I'm a fan of Tiffany Shepis and thought the idea for the movie was interesting. This time I wasn't disappointed.

A wife is excited when a package that she has secretly ordered for her and her husband arrives. She tells him it is a fertility mask that she sent of for in hopes of helping out their own situation. She opens the box to find a demon looking mask starting back at her. She quickly shuts the box and leaves the room. While she is in the bathroom the lights in the house go out. She stumbles around in the dark knocking the mask out of the box and across the room only to realize the mask has now disappeared. She then comes face to face with someone wearing the mask in the attic. She assumes it is her husband and rips the mask off his face, only problem is once the mask is off it is the same face staring back at her only now it is a real creature. The creature then throws her on the ground and is about to rape her, then she wakes up. Her and her husband are in a car and he asks if it was the same dream again. She is convinced it isn't a dream. They are actually on their way to a hospital to try and get her some help with the spells she is having. She seems to black out without knowing what is going on. Doctors have given her pills that she can take to try and ware down the effect of the blackouts.

During their drive to this remote hospital they run out of gas. While looking for a container for more gas, she sees the mask in the trunk of the car. She then realizes that her husband was bringing it to the hospital in the hopes of making her embrace her fear as a way of healing her. She tosses the mask in the woods and the husband goes in his search for more gas. Nightfall comes and she is still waiting. She then sees her demon in the woods along the roadside. She takes her medicine, but the demon doesn't go away. She is chased into the woods where she ends up losing her pills, but comes across a small cabin where 2 couples are spending the weekend. They listen to her story of a "nightmare man", but don't know if she is telling the truth. They can't see anyone out there...at first. Strange noises begin coming from the woods and then the demon shows itself. Now they have to struggle for survival while they wait for the police to arrive.

Some of the acting isn't so great, but Tiffany Shepis does a stand out job with this one. I've never seen her play such a big part in a movie. Usually she says a few lines, gets naked, and then dies. She shows that she is a lot more than that in this movie and really surprised me. I hope that doesn't sound bad, but it just makes me wonder why she didn't have broader roles in other films. Not to worry (if you were) either, there is nudity found in this film as well. Richard Moll has a cameo in the film and the rest of the actors have their ups and downs, but Tiffany helped win this movie over for me.

She did have some assistance. The effects in the film were really good. For there not to be a large body count, the things that we are shown make up for it. Quality not quantity here. There is a certain scene that I'm not going to mention in detail that I think if probably a favorite across the board.

This is easily one of the better films of the 8 for 2007. It isn't so much anything you haven't seen before, but you haven't seen it done so well. They even attempt a couple of twists in the end. They weren't complete surprises, but they don't subtract from the movie because of it. It is more like "that is what I would've done, too" kind of surprises than "that just doesn't make any sense". Nightmare Man is a very fun movie and probably one of the more enjoyable nightmares you'll have that doesn't contain a scarred old pervert wearing a fedora and razor blade glove.