Shudder presents the enormously unsettling and mesmerizing Nightmare Cinema, starring Mickey Rourke and Elizabeth Reaser. With genuinely scary segments, filmmakers Alejandro Brugués, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Ryûhei Kitamura, and David Slade unleash such unbridled imagery and innovative ideas into a must-see horror anthology.
In this twisted horror anthology directed by a killer lineup of genre legends, five strangers are drawn to an abandoned theater and forced to watch their deepest and darkest fears play out before them. Lurking in the shadows is the Projectionist, who preys upon their souls with his collection of disturbing films. As each reel spins its sinister tale, the characters find frightening parallels to their own lives.
Here are 5 reasons why you should see Nightmare Cinema on Shudder:
5) Sarah Elizabeth Withers!
With such frenetic camerawork, director Alejandro Brugués hilariously delivers a blood-splattered and comedic sendup of the slasher genre. With a deliberately deadpan performance as the final girl Samantha, Sarah Elizabeth Withers nails the over-the-top absurd humor with such precision. The Thing in the Woods kickstarts the anthology and keeps audiences hooked to the next one.
4) Zarah Mahler!
In director Joe Dante’s body horror entry, Mirare, Zarah Mahler brings so much heart and vulnerability to the physically-scarred Anna. Mahler’s expressiveness wonderfully captures Anna’s fragile emotional state. The makeup effects are top-notch as Anna discovers the true horrors of plastic surgery.
3) Elizabeth Reaser!
Director David Slade captures intense and surreal imagery in the gloriously black and white installment, This Way to Egress. Elizabeth Reaser’s charisma is in full bloom as her character, Helen, descends into madness. Carrying the entry by herself, Reaser will captivate audiences from start to finish.
2) Mickey Rourke!
Director Mick Garris cleverly sneaks in social commentary about race and privilege in Riley (Faly Rakotohavan)’s coming of age tale, Dead. X-Files and Sons of Anarchy fans will get a kick out of seeing Annabeth Gish pop up as Charity. Saving the best for last, Mickey Rourke chews up the scenery with glee as The Projectionist.
1) Nonstop Scares!
Nightmare Cinema delivers the nonstop scares at full steam and never slows down. Each entry in the horror anthology lands with a knockout.
Nightmare Cinema premieres on Shudder Tuesday, Oct. 29th, 2019.