Home Video Review: Severin Cooks Up Some Weirdness With 4K Release Of 1981’s ‘Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker’
by David Lewis
Severin Films is known for finding obscure genre films and giving them prestige treatment on physical formats, and they found a doozy with the 1981 cult oddity Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, making its debut as a 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo.
Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker (also known as Night Warning) takes an unusual, psycho-sexual approach to the typical slasher film format of the era.
1970s teen idol Jimmy McNichol (brother of Empty Nest‘s Kristy McNichol) plays Billy, a troubled, often shirtless teen being raised by his overbearing aunt Cheryl (a deliciously over-the-top Susan Tyrrell) after his parents are brutally (and hilariously) killed in a car crash. When Cheryl commits a passion-fueled murder in front of Billy, her strange obsessions start to come to light, unraveling the twisted, near-Oedipal life she’s tried to create with her nephew. Bo Svenson plays the corrupt, homophobic, racist cop investigating the murder, future Newhart Emmy winner Julia Duffy appears as Billy’s faithful girlfriend, and even a young Bill Paxton (billed here as “William Paxton”) pops up as a high school bully.
Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker represents a serious change of pace for director William Asher, best known for helming several of the squeaky clean ’60s Beach movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, as well as episodes of I Love Lucy and Bewitched.
As per usual, the folks at Severin have loaded up this release with a ton of watchable extra features, including three commentaries with McNichol, co-writers Steve Breimer and Alan Jay Glueckman, and co-producer Eugene Mazzola.
Also included are individual interviews with McNichol, Svenson, Tyrrell, and Steve Eastin, and various crew members. Eastin reflects on playing Billy’s basketball coach, a heroic gay character played with sympathy rarely seen in horror films of that era. Tyrrell’s interview alone is worth the price of admission. The late character actress (who worked with Andy Warhol, and was Oscar-nominated for her role in John Huston‘s Fat City) is interviewed while watching the film for the very first time, initially despising it but growing to enjoy it by the end.
There’s also a reversible cover and a creepy slipcase with alternate artwork. Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker is now available as a 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo.
