Nightmare at Shadow Woods

"Not all the evil is on Elm Street ..."

1987 1h 19m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 170

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Twins Todd and Terry seem like sweet boys -- that is, until one of them takes an axe to the face of a fellow patron at the local drive-in.

“Not all the evil is on Elm Street ...”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Night Flight PlusSubscription

Fandango At HomeRent

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Louise Lasser
Maddy
Mark Soper
Todd / Terry
Marianne Kanter
Dr. Berman
Julie Gordon
Karen
Jayne Bentzen
Julie
William Fuller
Brad
Lisa Randall
Andrea
Chad Montgomery
Gregg

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Grissmer
Writers: Bruce Rubin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Grissmer, shot by Richard E. Brooks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Einhorn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael R. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Louise Lasser and Mark Soper and Marianne Kanter carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Not all the evil is on Elm Street ...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0085253 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Grissmer directs. Richard E. Brooks behind the camera. Richard Einhorn scores. Michael R. Miller cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 79-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by John Grissmer, shot by Richard E. Brooks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Richard Einhorn. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michael R. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Louise Lasser and Mark Soper and Marianne Kanter carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Not all the evil is on Elm Street ...".
8IMDB entry: tt0085253 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "parent child relationship", "psychopath", "insanity", "thanksgiving".

The technical file

Cinematography: Richard E. Brooks
Original score: Richard Einhorn
Editing: Michael R. Miller
Production design: Jim Rule
Makeup / hair: Ed French
Runtime: 79 min · 1h 19m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Nightmare at Shadow Woods (1987)

Also by

John Grissmer

False Face
1977 · ★ 6.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-10-01
★ 6/10
Entertaining first two acts pave the way for a disappointing last act In Jacksonville, a single mother (Louise Lasser) finally finds the right man after raising twin brothers, one in a mental institution. When the latter escapes all hell breaks loose. Made in 1983 but not released until 1987, "Blood Rage" was originally called “Slasher” (as the title card reads) and recut as “Nightmare at Shadow Woods,” which abbreviated much of the gore and nudity to avoid an ‘X’ rating in other regions. Speaking of which, there is quite a bit of well-done gore in the full version, if that’s your thang. The nudity is pretty much par for the course with maybe a bit more than usual. Lisa Randall stands out in the feminine department as curvy Andrea. Unfortunately, this was her only acting role. Meanwhile Julie Gordon (Karen) is the proverbial final girl. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Mark Soper is great as the twin brothers; he’s really able to distinguish the two (and I was seriously wondering if they were played by two different actors). The first 55 minutes are quite good for a 2nd tier slasher (think “Sleepaway Camp”) with its quaint early 80’s electronic score. But the last act fumbles the ball and becomes increasingly tedious. A certain person shouldn’t have been removed from the proceedings. The film runs 1 hour, 22 minutes, and was shot in Jacksonville, particularly the University of North Florida, whereas the drive-in theater interiors were done in New Jersey. GRADE: B-/C+

Production companies