Nightmare at Bittercreek

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Burstall directs. Jacques Steyn behind the camera. Arthur B. Rubinstein scores. John F. Link cuts. Produced in United States of America, Australia. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Australia.
• 3Directed by Tim Burstall, shot by Jacques Steyn. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Arthur B. Rubinstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor John F. Link shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Lindsay Wagner and Tom Skerritt and Constance McCashin carry the top of the cast.
• 7IMDB entry: tt0095741 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Jacques Steyn

Original score

Arthur B. Rubinstein

Editing

John F. Link

Production design

Richard Wilcox

Costume design

Debbie Douglas

Makeup / hair

Linda A. Brown

Stunt coordinator

J.J. Makaro

Runtime

100 min · 1h 40m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Nightmare at Bittercreek (1988) ↗

Also by

Tim Burstall

• 
  Kangaroo

  1986 · ★ 7.3
• 
  The Man from Snowy River

  1994 · ★ 7.1
• 
  End Play

  1976 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Great Expectations: The Untold Story

  1987 · ★ 6.3
• 
  Water Rats

  1996 · ★ 6.2
• 
  The Last of the Knucklemen

  1979 · ★ 6.0

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2019-12-26
  ★ 8/10

  When you're forced to Kill to survive RELEASED TO TV IN 1988 and directed by Tim Burstall, "Nightmare at Bittercreek" stars Tom Skerritt as Ding, an alcoholic trail guide who leads four vacationing women on horseback in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They unwittingly stumble across a ruthless group of paramilitary Neo-Nazis and engage in a deadly game of cat & mouse in the rugged wilderness. Will they make it out alive? The women are played by Lindsay Wagner, Constance McCashin, Joanna Cassidy and teenaged Janne Mortil. The DVD cover curiously mis-advertises the movie with images of the KKK, the Confederate flag, a noose and a grizzly bear. NONE of these items are in the movie; the story takes place in the mountains of Northern California, not in the South. This is a dead serious adventure film and, despite the inherent limitations of its TV budget, as well as lame clichés and dated score, is one of the best survival movies I've ever seen. If you favor films like "The Edge" (1997), "Deliverance" (1972) and "First Blood" (1982) then you'll appreciate "Nightmare at Bittercreek." In terms of technical production it's by far the least of these because it's a TV flick, but in spirit it's nearly as good in its own way and arguably on par. It's similar to the TV movie "Relentless" (1977) with Will Sampson, but significantly more compelling. Except for the opening in town, practically the entire movie takes place in the rugged high country with magnificent sylvan sceneries, including awesome waterfalls. In addition, the human interest is strong, as the story makes you care for the disillusioned cowboy, the four women and Buster, the guide's dog. The guerillas are wisely depicted in a vague manner, camouflaged silhouettes in the forestry or malevolent voices on a walkie-talkie. There are scenes of quality suspense and nigh horror, all grounded in reality (except for, like I said, a couple of eye-rolling clichés). For instance, a rivalry with another trail guide (Dwight McFee) is revealed at the beginning, which leads to a tense and believable confrontation, not to mention a knockdown-drag-out brouhaha. The sequence is expertly done and smacks of real life. I can only attribute the low reviews to nitpicky film snobs who get off on panning low-budget productions. The fools. THE MOVIE RUNS 92 minutes and was shot in the North Vancouver area. WRITERS: Scott Swanton & Greg McCarty. GRADE: B+/A-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• PH

  Phoenix Entertainment Group (PEG)

Key crew

• Stunt CoordinatorJ.J. Makaro
• Sound EditorAdam Johnson
• Executive ProducerJon Peters
• Supervising Sound EditorClancy T. Troutman
• Supervising ProducerRon Roth
• Key Makeup ArtistLinda A. Brown
• Sound MixerGeorge Tarrant
• Executive ProducerPeter Guber
• EditorJohn F. Link
• Costume DesignDebbie Douglas
• Special Effects CoordinatorGeorge Erschbamer
• Script SupervisorBlanche McDermaid
• Set DecorationDan Hanen
• ProducerScott Swanton
• Property MasterD. Brent Lane
• Assistant EditorWilliam J. Meshover
• Makeup ArtistJayne Dancose
• Co-ProducerStanley M. Brooks
• Production DesignRichard Wilcox

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1988-05-24NR