Five Masters of Horror present cinematic nightmares for unsuspecting movie patrons in Nightmare Cinema. As various people pass by an isolated movie theatre, they find their names on the marquee and enter to watch their worst nightmares, curated by the mysterious Projectionist (Mickey Rourke): In The Thing in the Woods, Samantha (Sarah Elizabeth Withers) is terrorized by a killer in a welding mask, though something is not quite right; In Mirari, Anna (Zarah Mahler) is convinced by her fiance David (Mark Grossman) to get her scarred face repaired by plastic surgeon Dr. Mirari (Richard Chamberlain); In Mashit, Father Benedict (Maurice Benard) has to deal with a demonic disturbance at his Catholic school; In This Way To Egress, Helen (Elizabeth Reaser) visits a doctor for help about the changing state of the world around her; Finally in Dead, Riley (Faly Rakotohavana) has a near-death experience after being shot and begins seeing dead people in the hospital.
From the creators of the anthology TV series Masters of Horror comes the anthology film Nightmare Cinema. Producer and co-director Mick Garris (Critters 2, The Stand) is joined by Joe Dante (Gremlins), Alejandro Brugués (Juan of the Dead), Ryûhei Kitamura (VS, Downrange), and David Slade (Thirty Days of Night) to present five horror short films that are grouped together by a wraparound segment, directed by Garris, featuring The Projectionist, curator of a hundred years of nightmares.
Nightmare Cinema is a film that can easily be described as Creepshow for a new generation. Like many anthology films, there are ups and downs, with the opening segment The Thing in the Woods arguably being the strongest of the bunch. Also, the wraparound segments with Mickey Rourke left a bit to be desired. However, ultimately Nightmare Cinema is a quite entertaining anthology.
