5 reasons why Twisted Nightmare is a classic slasher!

 5 reasons why Twisted Nightmare is a classic slasher!

Last winter after some pretty tough dental work, I sat wide awake on pain killers, my mouth swollen like a chipmunk, and an ice pack pressed against the left side of my face as I finished watching one of my favorite entries from the Friday the 13th series, which was the classic part 3 in 3D. I of course, unable to sleep feeling as if the entire side of my face had been hacked open by Jason himself, cruised IMDB and noticed a very interesting bit of trivia on part 3. A slasher by the name of Twisted Nightmare had also been filmed at the same exact location as part 3, which included the cabin AND famous barn where Chris and Jason go head to head. Instantly I knew I needed to see this movie. Lucky for me, due to my Apple TV, I was able to search this movie on Youtube and find it instantly.

Boy, little did I know I was in for quite the treat. Believe it or not despite it's many flaws, I really enjoyed this hidden gem, and hope to track down the blu-tray ASAP. Until then, this gem will be watched via my VHSPS copy as my summer camp rotation. So tonight I'm here to pick apart five main reasons why this film is a classic slasher!

1) Filmed at the same location as Friday the 13th part 3. Dur...

- I don't think this is any shocker that this was the main reason why I watched this film to begin with. Sadly the main cabin burned down a few years back, but as far as I know thanks to Camp Crystal Lake Memories, the barn still stands! It's super interesting to see so many familiar areas seen in this film that you'll remember from Friday the 13th part 3. I loved how clearly they shot one of the characters falling into a lake at a different location since when they shot part 3, they had to construct a man made lake.

2) An actual scary killer.

- The Matthew character is actually super scary. I love how his death was supposed to be caused by some supernatural forces ( I guess that means you'll self combust randomly if you enter a dark barn) And how he returns a giant beast. This was actually pretty cool, how he's driven by dark magic, and has super human strength and this massive lurking figure. I have to admit, there were a few scenes when he jumped out that even I caught myself muttering "Holy shit..."

3) Some really awesome deaths.

- This movie has a huge cast of young couples. I do have to laugh over the cheesy acting, and montages of couples together basically having sex, not even caring anyone else is in the same room as them. YOLO. Still, once Matthew starts killing, some of the deaths are brutal. Like using the sauna rock against the face, the electrical fence, OR the little nod to Silent Night Deadly Night by ramming a girl into antlers. Awesome. 

4) The Laura character.

- This actress was stunning. Now here are some spoilers here, avoid reading any further if you haven't seen this! - I love how Matthew is actually driven by his crazed grief ridden sister looking for revenge. That she actually set up everyone heading to Camp Paradise, believing all of her old friends were somehow responsible for her slow brother's death (Um, okay) Here she used dark magic to summon an evil nearly unstoppable spirit that's taken the "twisted" form of her dead brother to collect revenge. One of the best deaths has to pan back and forth from the sauna with that killer music playing as a character is attacked in slow motion all the way to Laura's stunning blue eyes sitting by the fire.

5) The ending.

- This ending showdown actually takes place in the famous barn. I really love how much happens so quickly, and the characters you think are going to make it actually don't. Without going into too much detail, this film was quite explosive...he he he...

So I can't urge horror and slasher fans enough to go check out Twisted Nightmare ASAP! It's a great watch to kick summer off with!