NIGHTMARE SISTERS
PLOT-Three nerdy sorority girls unleash an evil demon spirit.
VIOLENCE-Nothing particularly gross springs to mind. I think maybe they imply someone's dick bitten off.
SEX/NUDITY-Several topless scenes involving the main cast, including a lengthy bathtub scene.
WHY I WATCHED IT-Having grown up a fan of Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer and Brinke Stevens, this film always had legendary status in my mind because it was VERY rare. Not many copies were made, and only recently has it become available on DVD.
THE DOPE-Let's get straight to the point: I had been waiting many many years to finally see this movie. It always topped my list of rare things that I wanted to see badly. During my time as a video clerk, I scoured rental outlets nation-wide looking for it. I breathed a sigh of relief when Retromedia finally announced it was releasing it, and sure enough they did.
I doubt many people will understand why I was so crazy about seeing this movie, so hear me out. Linnea, Brinke and Michelle were the unholy trinity of B-movie "Scream Queens" in the 1980s. They had been in movies together, but not all in the same scenes at once. NIGHTMARE SISTERS was known for being the difinitive Scream Queen indulgence movie, something fans would dream of (and I did). So knowing there was a film out there that featured these 3 women as geeks who turn into super-sexy vixens...man, the imagination ran wild.
I'm happy to say that NIGHTMARE SISTERS was every bit worth the wait, and more. I had no idea how funny it would end up being! Linnea, Brinke and Michelle do their usual get naked stuff, but what made this movie a wonderful experience for me were the scenes where the girls are made up to be extreme geeks. They are SO GOOD AT THIS! Back in those days, you just never saw anything like that. They were very brave to be so goofy and really get into it like they do. Linnea has buck teeth, Brinke is a nasaly-voiced daddy's girl, and Michelle is a goofy "fat" girl (they pad her clothes and make her eat a lot). I can watch their "nerd" scenes over and over...it's so much fun.
Also this is Richard Gabai's first movie ever. He went on to be in tons more, and he has a signature acting style that is unmistakably his. It was cool to see the early stages of Gabai here. But the movie belongs to these three now-legendary women, and I consider it to be one of the best movies of the low budget T&A comedy era. A must-have for true B-movie fans.
MEMORABLE SCENES-There is a 15-minute sequence where the three nerdy girls just talk to each other, mostly all in one take. This is the greatest part of the movie for me...just watching them get into it is awesome. They are all VERY talented.
NOTES-The DVD has a couple commentaries that are quite fun to listen to. One has Michelle Bauer, Brinke Stevens and Richard Gabai (why no Linnea? I'm sad) and the other has the director and the producer. Many facts are shared about just how cheap they made this movie for, and they point out all the mistakes and stuff. I loved hearing these guys reminisce. There's also a gag reel full of funny outtakes and also a photo gallery that is NICE. Definitely worth picking up if I didn't say so before. Visit retromedia.org to order a copy.
(February 2004)