Nightmare Cinema

Nightmare Cinema is a 2018 American horror anthology film featuring work by directors Alejandro Brugués, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Ryūhei Kitamura, and David Slade.

The film marks the final film role of actor Richard Chamberlain before his death in 2025.

Five strangers converge at a haunted movie theater owned by The Projectionist (Mickey Rourke). Once inside, the audience members witness a series of screenings that shows them their deepest fears and darkest secrets over five tales.

The project was announced in September 2017 with the five directors attached and Rourke as the storyteller. Filming took place in the United States in November and December 2017. Bruno Kohfield-Galeano provided his voice for an uncredited ADR loop group session and voiced Mr. Stitches and was also given special thanks in the credits.

The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada on July 13, 2018. It received a limited release in the United States on June 21, 2019.

At its premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Nightmare Cinema was praised for its eclectic anthology format. Critics highlighted David Slade's segment This Way to Egress as a standout for its surreal black-and-white style.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Nightmare Cinema holds an approval rating of 77%, based on 44 reviews, and an average rating of 6.2/10. Its consensus reads, "Admirably eclectic yet more consistent than most horror anthologies, Nightmare Cinema should entertain viewers in the mood for a good old-fashioned creepshow." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Dennis Harvey, writing for Variety, gave the film a favorable review and called it an "uneven but fun compendium of scare tales."