It remains the most joltingly violent, psychosexual grindhouse shocker of the ’80s, directed by a veteran of I Love Lucy and starring a frequently shirtless former teen idol with an epically demented performance by an Oscar® nominee. Jimmy McNichol stars as an orphaned high-school student raised by his strangely overprotective aunt (Susan Tyrrell of FAT CITY fame) who becomes implicated in a grisly murder investigated by a psychotic police detective (an equally unhinged Bo Svenson of INGLORIOUS BASTARDS). 7x Emmy® nominee Julia Duffy (Newhart) and Bill Paxton (in one of his first film roles) co-star in this “jaw-dropping hunk of genre insanity” (Pop Culture Beast) and former DPP 39 Video Nasty – also known as NIGHT WARNING – with a brand new HD scan from the original camera negative with 6 hours of new and archival Special Features.
For thoughts on Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Severin in its original 1.85:1 sourced from an excellent 4K restoration of the original 35mm negative. There is also a 4K UHD Blu-Ray available from Severin that was not made available for review. The film was previously released on Blu-Ray by Code Red in 2017 from an older master, but we have never seen that disc to compare. Based on what we have gathered, this is a pretty great upgrade with a transfer that looks marvelous with domestic locations and suburban environments sparkling in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. The opening moments with the optical credits are not as strong, but things quickly lock into a nice appearance.
Black levels are largely deep but a few shadowy scenes struggle with delineation and fine detail. The contrast is well defined, and there is not much in the way of print damage to be found outside a few stray moments that made it through the restoration phase. There is a fantastic amount of detail present during the brightly lit shots with exceptional textures on the clothing and within the production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail. There are only a handful of moments during the presentation that take a bit of downturn in quality in terms of clarity, most likely due to the state of the original film elements. Severin has done a terrific job for an underseen horror delight. We can only assume the 4K UHD Blu-Ray would be the ultimate way to view this one.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original English (with optional English SDH subtitles). The film is a fairly straightforward dialogue-driven affair with only intermittent scenes of violence where the track wakes up more concretely. The score comes through quite well in relation to the competing sounds. Dialogue sounds clear without creepy sound effects or the music trouncing on important information. The film employs some sound effects in the form of loud thumps and breaking glass that are given a decent weight within the mix, yet the sonic range is not especially dynamic. There is also a somewhat boxy quality to the proceedings that reveals its age a bit. Otherwise, this presentation presents everything just as you would want without major issues.
Special Features
- Audio Commentaries: This disc provides a trio of commentary tracks in which the creative team reflects on the process of making the film, the inspiration for the story, the shooting locations, the memorable moments that were experienced, the audience response, and more.
- Audio Commentary #1: Star Jimmy McNichol
- Audio Commentary #2: Co-Writer/Producer Steve Breimer and Co-Writer Alan Jay Glueckman, moderated by Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson
- Audio Commentary #3: Co-Producer and Unit Production Manager Eugene Mazzola
- Extreme Prejudice – Interview with Actor Bo Svenson: A ten-minute interview with the performer in which he discusses how he inhabits his characters, his positive memories of Susan Tyrrell, creating boundaries to stay in character, and more.
- Point and Shoot – Interview with Director of Photography Robbie Greenberg: A 15-minute interview with the cinematographer in which he discusses his background, taking over this project from a different cinematographer, the challenges of certain locations, shooting the car accident scene, and more.
- Family Dynamics – Interview With Editor Ted Nicolaou: A 17-minute interview with the editor in which he discusses memorable moments in his early career, the boundary-pushing nature of the story, becoming friends with Bill Paxton, and more.
- Cast and Crew Interviews: A collection of archival interviews are provided with the cast and creative team in which they reflect on making the film.
- Actor Jimmy McNichol (8:29)
- Actress Susan Tyrrell (10:55)
- Actor Steve Eastin (9:38)
- Make-Up Artist Allan A. Apone (4:56)
- Producer Steve Breimer (12:22)
- Trailer (1:29)
- TV Spot (0:33)
Final Thoughts
Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker is not your traditional slasher movie, but it has its origins firmly in the horror genre as it takes psychological torture to some unhealthy familial places. The plot has moments of absurdity, but the execution is quite compelling with Susan Tyrrell acting up a storm. This film very easily could have been a mess, but it is quietly one of the more interesting genre offerings from this era. Severin has released a Blu-Ray featuring a wonderful A/V presentation and a stacked array of special features that makes this an even more appealing package. Horror fans of this era will not regret adding this to the collection. Recommended
Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Severin has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
