Bezenby I paid twenty-five pence for this and still feel ripped off. I only bought it because my kids had already chosen three films and you get four for a pound in Cash Generators (certain branches only). I was also curious to see what the fuss is about Soledad Miranda, only to spend most of the running time wondering why the main lady prancing about and mumbling looked nothing like the girl on the cover. Turns out Jess Franco has pulled a Godfrey Ho on us and spliced two films together, one of which contains Soledad (and her arse) hanging around an attic somewhere talking crap while the other concerns a psychotic stripper who keeps dreaming of killing people while having a relationship with a naughty lady in a big mansion. She also spends most of the film naked, as does most of the people here.In the hands of a good director (or even a good bad director, like Bruno Mattei) the story of a psychotic stripper who may or may not be killing people while hunting for underwear would make for a hilarious and gory experience, but in the nicotine stained hands of Franco, every scene is drawn out beyond endurance, the whole thing is narrated by the lady in a slightly reverbed voice for extra crapness, and the nudity is probably more likely to bring those Cheese and Onion flavour Aldi crisps back up your throat. One woman's boob looked like a huge celeriac with an unfurled condom sitting on top of it and another looked like she'd been hit between the legs with a bag of soot. And since this is 1970's Europe, everyone looks like they stink. Yet another winner from Franco then! Love the fact that during her strip scene, the lady narrates that her boss told her to make it seem like it went on forever and to be a slow as possible. Consider your job done, missus!

BA_Harrison Although the packaging for Nightmares Come At Night promotes Soledad Miranda as its star, it is Diana Lorys who takes centre stage as Anna de Istria, a stripper who is seduced by Cynthia Robins (Colette Giacobine), a mysterious blonde who frequents her show. After being lured to Cynthia's home, Anna suffers a series of nightmares in which she sees herself committing murder, but despite help from her doctor, Paul Lucas (Paul Muller), she gradually begins to lose all grip on reality.Recently rediscovered and never before released: so says the blurb on my DVD box for this erotic horror from prolific director Jess Franco. It's a statement that begs the question 'why did some idiot have to go and find the bloody thing?' because Nightmares Come At Night could have lain undiscovered for an eternity, and I couldn't have cared less: it's Franco at his most illogical, incomprehensible, and frustrating.The director takes a rather promising premise, packs it with quality naked Euro totty from start to finish, yet still somehow manages to produce a finished product that has the ability to make one's eyelids feel as though they have lead weights sewn into them, and as usual, his directorial style can be described charitably as 'unique', although I prefer the adjective 'crap' (this guy even shoves manic zooms into his opening credits!!!). Franco's story is extremely weak, and is merely a lame excuse to get his leading ladies to take their clothes off (although he can't even get this right: he has Anna partake in the most boring strip show to ever be captured on film).My version of this film was badly dubbed, something for which I suppose I should be grateful: I laughed a few times at the terrible dub track, and shudder to think how stupefyingly dull the film might have been without these unintentional moments of light relief. In fact, the highlight of the film for me was when the doctor uttered these words to Anna: 'you are a naughty little girl who, with a twitch of her magic stick, can transform her into a pink little pig or a stout and ugly black toad'. Whether this is an accurate translation I don't know (and what the hell it means is anyone's guess), but at least it made me chuckle! About the only other element worthy of note is the score, which lends a suitably grubby vibe and wouldn't be out of place playing in any sleazy 70s euro nightclub.There are those who have described this film as 'dreamlike'; my guess is that these viewers actually fell asleep whilst watching and dreamt of something far more interesting without realising.

Scarecrow-88 Strip-tease artist Anna(Diana Lorys of Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll)is having disturbing nightmares where she's forced against her will, it seems(..possibly under hypnosis by lover Cynthia? We do see her lips moving without words uttered as she stares towards the screen as if giving orders right before the off-screen murders occur), to murder people she doesn't even know. Her nervous cries to psychiatrist Dr. Paul Lucas(Paul Muller)are resisted, as he seems to offer an ear, but often scoffs at the idea of her being crazy, suggesting that hospital care might be an option worth pursuing. Anna is convinced that her lover, Cynthia(Colette Giacobine)is behind what ills her...this stems from the fact that the nightmares really didn't start until after beginning their love affair. Meanwhile a couple(Andrés Monales & Soledad Miranda), neighbors who live across from Cynthia's home where Anna stays, are often shown spying on them awaiting their "pay day".To be honest, there are some major problems that keep Franco's mystery undermined. I think Lorys is good in the right role, but, to be honest, she's not really the archetypal heroine that leads a Jess Franco production. Lorys isn't ugly, but I'm afraid to say that she doesn't really have the beauty needed for this particular role. And, Lorys tends to take it a bit over the top, except one scene, my favorite, which is in a dream sequence where Anna has this moment of tranquility and peace(..and what truly enhances this dream sequence is Bruno Nicolai's melodic and serene score which only makes the final result of it even more tragic and sad)as a possibility of true love with a fling of Cynthia's(played by Franco regular Jack Taylor)only to end in tragedy. I think Lorys is at her best when the character is subdued with the turmoil and paranoia bubbling underneath the surface, not elaborated outwardly where she often descends into hopeless melodramatics. My favorite actor in Franco's "inner circle" is Paul Muller, and he doesn't fail me here, either. His character carries an appearance as of someone who cares about the plight of a patient, listening to what Anna has to say with a quiet observance, delicately offering advice and solemn treatment to her..I think, in portraying the doctor in such a fashion, the end result with him makes a greater impact. I don't think anyone ever doubted Cynthia was corrupt. Cynthia, almost from the get-go, is pointed out as a culprit behind Anna's trauma..the way she slaps her around when angry at Anna for behaving "out of line" or how she seems little bothered at the suffering her lover is going through. Fans who adore Soledad Miranda will be sorely disappointed, because her role in the film is minimal. This is Lorys film, and Franco's camera doesn't shy away from closing in on her face and naked flesh. Lorys, like many a Franco heroine, wears revealing, see-through gowns, or those types opened down the middle as she sprawls out on a bed either in a seductive pose or under a difficult mental(..or nightmarish)state. The DVD version I watched of Nightmares Come at Night was full screen and the technical aspects of a low budget show. The lighting in certain scenes was rather blah, making it hard to see certain actions(..like a sex scene between Anna and a couple she would murder)taking place. Still, I've seen worse films than this and it held my attention..any film which uses dreams and a troubled heroine inflicted by them will always have a place with me. I have to say this is one of the saddest and grim Franco films I've seen. Two scenes which didn't work for me were the longish strip-tease sequence with Anna(..when she meets Cynthia for the first time;perhaps, I just never found Lorys acceptable or convincing so the act didn't wash)and a love-making scene between her and Cynthia due to Franco's blurring the camera not allowing us to see what was taking place between them. I think the best aspect of the film is Nicolai's score..it perfectly accentuates the mood of the story and characters even if the cast doesn't always succeed.

LARSONRD Dreary erotic thriller from Jess Franco, with Soledad Miranda wasted in a tiny role as the girlfriend of a jewel thief waiting for his share of a robbery cut. Main story has to do with a psychotic stripper under the hypnotic influence of the woman in charge of the jewel heist who uses the stripper to kill off the rest of the gang. Film is intriguingly told, with a nice bit of poetic voice-over narration by the protagonist, but visually the film is completely uninteresting, as are the two main characters, despite their usually appearing naked. Miranda's performance and appearance is the sole jewel in a film wherein even the attempted erotic sequences are boring. DVD's only other appeal is a neat new interview with Franco about this film and about Miranda.