A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio (2019) Review

A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio (2019) Review

Rod Wilson (James Wright), radio DJ, hosts a popular horror-themed show packed with tales of terror for eager listeners. When he receives alarming calls from a horrified child things start to feel off. What ensues is a roller-coaster ride of horror stories…

For someone that hasn’t been a fan of the more recent horror anthologies reviewing this title was hardly a tantalizing prospect. Admittedly the Seventies and Eighties offered up a fair share of decent horror anthologies but in the late few years similar offerings have proved to be more miss than hit and initially it looked like A NIGHT OF HORROR : NIGHTMARE RADIO, based on user reviews on IMDB, was shaping up to be another stinker.

The user reviews on IMDB have been rather vile, partly because this is essentially a compilation of horror short films that are/have been available to view on other media platforms including YouTube. As someone who doesn’t ever think to browse channels online for short horror films these pre-existing titles are all new to me so perhaps that’s helped it get a more favourable review from me, either that or the folks on IMDB are simply being nasty for the sake of being nasty (much like most folk on the internet as a whole).

There are eight shorts sitting between framing segments with Rod, a DJ who hosts local radio, who uses his broadcast to creep out listeners with spooky tales and he has a choice selection. First up we have IN THE DARK DARK WOODS, a very short and to-the-point frightener that involves an invisible entity that takes over the form of a young woman. It’s a corker and leaves you wanting more, fortunately the following instalment – POST MORTEM MARY – continues to deliver the goods. Set somewhere in Australia in 1840 it sees a young girl learn her family’s trade of photographing the dead. Since screening at festivals from 2017 this short has won numerous awards and it’s not difficult to see why, it’s a corker even if the final twist you can see coming a mile off.

The same could not be said for the other shorts contained within this anthology but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Sure, not all of the segments measure up to the standard of the first two but all anthologies are of variable quality and for the most part A NIGHT OF HORROR has more hits than misses. A LITTLE OFF THE TOP, the third short, is interesting for the most part whereas the Spanish segment that follows – DROPS – looks great! The only problem for me was that the screener I was sent neglected to have English subtitles for this short so consequently I hadn’t a clue what was being said or why.

DROPS is followed by darkly comic Aussie offering THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WILLIE BINGHAM which sees the titular character is faced with a unique alternative to the death penalty. Next up there’s THE SMILING MAN which offers chills but little in the way of surprises, it’s all rather straightforward and you can see what’s coming otherwise it’s a well-made piece. I could also see where the following short INTO THE MUD was going, as a naked young lady is chased by a hunter through woodland, I kept thinking how she reminded me of Daryl Hannah in Splash! And I don’t think this was accidental. Finally there’s VICIUS which sees a British woman, who has recently lost a sister, being stalked by someone or something unseen in her home late at night. It’s not bad but again there are no real surprises in store for viewers.

 Normally with anthologies I find myself desperately hoping that the collective experience will end soon but as there are more hits than misses in this mixed bag then that wasn’t a problem here, in fact it’s the most enjoyable and consistent anthology that I have seen in many years. That said the wraparound segments with the DJ are slightly marred by some unconvincing voice work from callers to the radio station but otherwise this a solid genre entry that will thrill, chill and put a big smile on the face of those less jaded and more accepting horror fans amongst you.

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