Nightmare Maker | 1982 | USA | William Asher

A very tense and well-made slasher-thriller, William Asher’s riff on the hagsploitation genre features the tale of young Billy, who lives with his dotty aunt who’s overly protective of him. Seemingly in a bid to keep him near, she becomes increasingly erratic and murderous, attracting the attention of nosy neighbours and a homophobic police officer. Billy faces threats from almost every turn; can he survive? Presumably it’s the themes of incest, homophobia and twisted murder that made this a candidate for the DPP’s list, as cinematically, it’s extremely well-crafted. While there are some graphic moments, it certainly doesn’t go that far in the plasma stakes.