Stardate 05.12.2026.A: Happy Anniversary - 1986's 'Nightmare Weekend' Turns An Incredible 40 Years Young Today!

so many movies ... so much to celebrate!!!
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On this day in 1986 (in France), Nightmare Weekend played for audiences in attendance of the Cannes Film Festival.  Directed by Henri Sala from a story by George Faget-Benard and Robert Seidman, the SciFi/Horror feature starred Debbie Laster, Deb Hunter, Dale Midkiff, and others. 

​Here's the plot summary as provided by IMDB.com:

"A female scientist performs experiments on three college girls that turn them into drooling, murderous mutants."

-- EZ

From Google.com:

​Nightmare Weekend (1986) is a cult-classic sci-fi horror film known for its bizarre, often incomprehensible plot and status as a hallmark of "so-bad-it's-good" 80s cinema. Distributed by Troma Entertainment, it features a chaotic blend of experimental computer science, murderous mutants, and a psychic hand puppet. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]Plot OverviewThe story follows a brilliant computer scientist who has developed "Apache," a high-tech program designed to improve human behavior. His unscrupulous assistant, Julie, sabotages the experiment to serve her own nefarious goals. [6, 7, 8, 9]

• The Experiment: Three college girls are lured to a Florida mansion under the guise of behavior modification.
• The Mutation: Instead of bettering their behavior, the machine launches small silver balls that enter the subjects' bodies, turning them into "drooling, murderous mutants".
• The Chaos: The film descends into a series of disjointed scenes involving a local bar, roller skating, and various "accidental" deaths caused by the technology. [1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Key Features and Strange Elements
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• George the Puppet: One of the film's most infamous characters is a robotic, psychic hand puppet named George that interfaces with the computer and offers unsolicited advice on things like hitchhiking.
• Noteworthy Cast: The film marks early career appearances for Dale Midkiff (later of Pet Sematary) and Andrea Thompson (later of NYPD Blue).
• Troma Style: As a Troma production, it is heavily stylized with gratuitous nudity, extreme 80s aesthetics, and a synth-heavy theme song titled "Nightmare Fantasy".
• Production Background: A French crew filmed the movie in Ocala, Florida. The script was reportedly written in both French and English, contributing to the disjointed and surreal dialogue. [2, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]

Critical ReceptionCritics often describe the film as "stunningly disconnected" and nearly impossible to track logically. While initially panned, it has gained a dedicated following among fans of B-movies and has been restored for high-definition release by Vinegar Syndrome. [11, 17, 18]
You can currently find the film streaming for free on Tubi or IMDb. [9, 10]
Would you like to know more about its restored Blu-ray release or see a list of other cult horror classics from the mid-80s?

[1] https://www.reddit.com
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com
[3] https://morbidlybeautiful.com
[4] https://www.imdb.com
[5] https://www.triskaidekafiles.com
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org
[7] https://cinemorgue.fandom.com
[8] https://www.netflix.com
[9] https://tubitv.com
[10] https://www.imdb.com
[11] https://www.themoviedb.org
[12] https://www.senselesscinema.com
[13] https://www.imdb.com
[14] https://www.reddit.com
[15] https://www.facebook.com
[16] https://mubi.com
[17] https://cinemaretro.com
[18] https://dailygrindhouse.com