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Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1983) - William Asher


Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is an Exploitation Horror movie from 1983 and part of the Video Nasty catalog. You see, in England at the end of the seventies and into the early eighties there was this Video Nasty movement that banned certain movies from seeing the light of day. Since VHS was the only way to get your hands on one of these gems, they were being passed around like hotcakes. Illegal hotcakes. People actually spent time in prison. What a waste of time and money. 

These movies aren't all wonderful, some of them are downright horrible. That is the appeal here though, when your mom tells you that you can't have something you always want it more. You always want what you can't have. So true. 

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (or Night Warning) is a strange Oedipus journey that deals with obsession, anti-homosexual views, and gruesome murder. The movie has copious amounts of blood supplemented with a late 70's soap opera storyline. The movie is cheesy and offensive and at sometimes is a bit suspect.


The movie is about a boy that loses his parents to one of the funniest car wrecks ever put on celluloid. He is raised by his aunt who continuously tries to sleep with him. She kills a gay handyman and covers it up by claiming rape. Throw in a homophobic cop (That has secret homosexual fantasies himself), a head in a jar, a decomposing body, and an insanely intriguing killer aunt and you have one hell of a cheap ass ride. 

The movie deals with some pretty heavy issues, I suppose that’s why this is a exploitation film. There are anti-homosexual remarks at every turn. I guess it was a sign of the times. The movie also really jumps around from bizarre storyline to bizarre storyline.

The special effects are nothing to write home about, in fact there aren't really any amazing special effects. The movie mostly focus on shocking you with its storyline content. There are scenes that made me ask "What the hell! How did they put this to screen?" Of course this movie is full of holes, but no Video Nasty would be complete without them so who cares? 

"Phil Brody, remember him? The man who got wasted here? Well he was a fag, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a fag to be raping your aunt, unless you're one. Are you a fag?" - Detective Joe Carlson (What the hell sense does that make?)

Director: William Asher
Country: USA
Style: Incestual Revenge Horror

 Did ya know...
The movie is also known as Night Warning and On the Verge of a Nightmare. Jan De Bont worked as a cinematographer on this movie for a few scenes. Nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. 

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