Released: Not Yet Released

Director: Rolfe Kanefsky

Starring: Tiffany Shepis, Blythe Metz, Richard Moll

Distributed by: Unknown at present

There are few times when a new horror film just utterly takes me by surprise, but such is the case with director Rolfe Kanefsky's latest film "Nightmare Man". Don't get me wrong, as I have come to expect solid, B-movie style outings from Kanefsky. Over the years, he has written and directed many underrated and highly entertaining schlock films and horror parodies like "There's Nothing Out There", "The Hazing" and "Jacqueline Hyde". However, with his latest piece of work, Kanefsky plays less for laughs and more for style, and the reward is one great, stylized and effective low-budget romp that puts most studio films to shame.

After inadvertently buying a possessed fertility mask for her husband, a young woman, Ellen (played by the lovely Blythe Metz of "Jacqueline Hyde"), begins to have terrible nightmares about a man stalking her- a nightmare man, if you will. Her husband believes her to be insane and tries to drop her off at a mental institution, but along the way his car breaks down. Alone in the woods, the woman begins experiencing horrifying visions of the nightmare man, and rushes off to escape him. She stumbles upon a cabin in the woods occupied by a group of friends on vacation. With her, she brings the horrible demon from her dreams, and the friends soon begin to drop off faster than FedEx. Led by the gun toting, tomboy/gratuitous bi-sexual girl, Mia(Tiffany Shepis turning in an amazing performance, and proving that some "scream queens" can really act), the group of friends must find out the secret of Ellen's horrible curse before they all wind up victims of the "Nightmare Man".

Stylish and trashy in gloriously equal parts, "Nightmare Man" is Kanefsky's best work to date. Having improved on his cinematography and pace, he once again displays his trademark knack for witty dialogue, believable characters and parody of horror clichés- witness Tiffany Shepis' crossbow-wielding and seemingly endless crotch shots. While stepping up the gore and nudity for all the 80's horror fans, Kanefsky also creates a film that delivers something new for a generation brought up on remakes and prequels- it's called originality and style.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!