‘A haunting rhyme for bedtime’
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (aka Night Warning; Momma’s Boy; Nightmare Maker; Thrilled to Death; The Evil Protege) is a 1982 exploitation horror film directed by William Asher and starring Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson (Sweet 16) and Jimmy McNichol. It was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.
Plot teaser:
Bigoted homophobic police detective Joe Carlson(Bo Svenson) tries to frame high school basketball player Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol) for the murder of a television repairman when he becomes convinced that the killing was the result of a homosexual love triangle. Unbeknownst to the detective, Billy’s aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell) is the real killer; having harbored incestuous fantasies towards Billy for years, his impending graduation has caused long dormant homicidal urges to resurface. Joe’s continued plaguing of Billy causes Cheryl to become progressively more unstable, ultimately jeopardizing the lives of everyone around her…
In the UK, the film was released on the Atlantis VHS label in April 1983. It made the list of banned video nasties by November of the same year. It was dropped from the list in December 1985. It was submitted to the BBFC in 1987 with cuts as The Evil Protege but remained banned and remains unreleased in the UK to this day. In 2014 a Code Red DVD was released in the USA.
Reviews:
“Night Warning is leagues better than most of the flicks to come out in the Golden Age of Slasher Films, and if you call yourself a slasher film aficionado, than you have to get your hands on it.” Slashers, Splatters and Giallos
“Too mediocre as a thriller to wholeheartedly recommend but too fascinating as a psychological time capsule to dismiss, Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is never the least bit suspenseful but will keep you entertained with its bizarre melodramatic subplots involving both incest and homophobia.” B-Movie Detective
“While the film itself could be considered a by-the-numbers thriller with some horror elements, it is still worth viewing for the absolutely amazing performance by Susan Tyrrell.” Video Junkie
