Over the few years I have been a special guest on the Golan Globus Theater Podcast. Murray and Griff go indepth on the movies put out by the legendary Cannon Films as well as other action films from the ’80s. This has led me to questioning if a film is Golan Globus Theater worthy. What qualifies a movie for such an honor? Action must be at the forefront. This is not a place for two people talking profundities in a restaurant. There must be stunts and buttkicking galore. An insane plot helps. The cast should include either low budget legends or superstars on the career decline. Ultimately the movie should have an insane story that’s fun to describe. I watched Nightmare At Noon, the movie from 1988 and swore this is a film destined for a Golan Globus episode since it fulfilled all the necessary requirements.
Something wicked is happening to the desert community of Canyonland. An Albino (Blade Runner’s Brion James) and his paramilitary force sneak into the area at night and put a foreign agent into the water supply. You know they’re up to no good since a local in a truck says hello and gets turned into Swiss cheese by the goon squad. The next day a recreational vehicle driving by entertainment lawyer Ken (Vice Squad‘s Wings Hauser) and his wife Cheri (Massacre At Central High‘s Kimberly Beck) plus off to the side of the road to pick up a hitchhiking Reilly (The Wild Bunch‘s Bo Hopkins). Before Reilly can get overwhelmed by the couple’s bickering nature, they stop in Canyonland for a meal at the local greasy spoon. Their food gets interrupted by a local guy who does not treat the waitress right. In fact, he’s turning green and homicidal. Before things get too out of control. Ken and Reilly attempt to apprehend the guy. But he’s superhuman in strength and aggression. When Sheriff Hanks (Cool Hand Luke’s George Kennedy) shows up, he has no idea what’s happening with the out-of-control diner. Very quickly other people start to go nuts in their peaceful town. There are cars wrecking. Women are chasing children with knives. People are turning green and losing their senses. It’s pure chaos. What are the Albino and his crew doing to this remote town? Can the Sheriff, his daughter, Ken and Reilly stop them?
Nightmare At Noon gets even wilder every minute. We get more than a simple scientific formula to create zombies. There’s car exploding. There’s a horse chase that gets topped by helicopters battling in the desert. Rockets blasting all over the place. Director Nico Mastorakis (Bloodstone) packs in as much action as can be squeezed into the budget. He gives us a frenzied Wings Hauser versus a calm, cool and collected Bo Hopkins. Bo was already iconic at this point as that guy in the Burt Reynolds movies who wasn’t Jerry Reed. Now he gets to be the semi-hero of this tale. George Kennedy plays his role as if this is an episode of Police Story where the screenwriters dropped acid. Brion James gets to play a detached bad guy who just might be an alien looking for a way to invade the Earth. The fate of humanity is in the balance on the streets of this dusty town. Nightmare At Noon is Golan Globus Theater excessive level of entertainment.
Here is my guest appearance on Golan Globus Theater as we talked about Death Wish 2. Stream Death Wish 2 (W/ Joe Corey) by GolanMyGlobus | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer is a massive improvement from the VHS tapes that lurked on the shelf at Videorama. The audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and the original 2.0 mix of the soundtrack. The movie is subtitled in both English and Greek.
The Films of Nico Mastorakis: Nightmare at Noon (33:15) is the third of four installments on Nico’s directing career. This focuses on the making of the film with archival footage and commentary from director Nico Mastorakis. George Kennedy had just received knee surgery when he took the role. Kennedy didn’t complain. On the other hand Nico remembers how violent Wings got on location because of his cocaine addiction. Years later, Wings would write apology letters to people.
Behind-the-scenes footage (49:15) starts out informing us that the film took over Moab, Utah when they shot. The locals weren’t use to the firepower brought in by the production. Nico fires off blanks to get George Kennedy knowing when there’s bullets. The footage appears shot on VHS since it was 1988. They’ve done a find editing job including the actual scenes from the movie so it’s not just a raw footage dump. We see how a character gets smashed into a car.
Original onset interviews with actors Wings Hauser (12:39), Bo Hopkins(11:06), Kimberly Beck (7:36), George Kennedy (4:28) and Brion James (17:09). Wings is kinda goofy. He declares he’s only making movies with small guns after this film. Bo Hopkins is chewing gum. George Kennedy talks about the change in the moviegoing audience. He also reveals his favorite film that he starred in. Brion James looks like he has been painted into the scene.
Trailer (3:04) promises a lot of explosions and flamethrowers.
Image gallery (12:30) is a montage with press photos and behind the scenes shots. It’s looped to go with the film’s score from Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer.
Arrow Video presents Nightmare At Noon. Directed by Nico Mastorakis. Screenplay by Nico Mastorakis & Kirk Ellis. Starring Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, George Kennedy, Kimberly Beck, Brion James & Kimberly Ross. Rating: Rated R. Running Time: 96 minutes. Release Date: December 6, 2022.
