Since childhood, Kay has constantly suffered from horrifying dreams, some of which are just frightening landscapes that leave her feeling uneasy and others that show loved ones being killed by a supernatural force. Those dreams have come and gone, but now they are happening more often, growing in intensity and impacting her work as an artist.Worried that all of this stress may hurt her newfound success as an abstract artist, Kay decides to vacation on a small island, along with her husband David (Alan McRae, Three Ninjas), her brother Eric and his wife Brooke. As their pilot drops them off on the island, he mentions that a hurricane is on the way and he has to leave as soon as possible. Even stranger is the fact that the island - which they expected to be a resort town - is a deserted ruin. And not just any ruin, but the one in Kay's dreams, leading her to feel that everyone is in danger.David, Eric and Brooke are then killed one after the other. But who killed them? The film gives us three possible stories, each of which are plausible: the pilot never left the island and just dropped them off there to kill them (a theory that is somewhat proved when the pilot is seen later); Kay believes that a monster from her dreams can cross over into reality thanks to the island (which could be true, as the murders only happen when she is asleep) and finally, that Kay is really the killer, falling into a trance and acting out repressed resentment.After everyone else dies, Kay locks herself into the beach house and tries to stay awake, even burning herself with cigarettes. But that night, the pilot makes his way into the house. She shoots him with a flare gun, killing him and sending the house up in smoke. As she tries to leave, a flaming skeleton is waiting for her.But wait! It was all a dream, as Kay awakes on Christmas morning in bed. After telling her parents about the dream, they hand her a black cat to her horror. Huh? Supposedly Kay is killed by the Slayer and this is a flashback, but it certainly doesn't seem that way.Director J.S. Cardone says that he was inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and the idea of dreams versus reality, but the movie doesn't have much to do with Lovecraft. That said, this movie looks way more expensive than its budget would lead you to believe, there are some good death scenes and it has a bleak atmosphere.

Troubled and neurotic artist Kay (a fine and sympathetic performance by striking redhead Sarah Kendall) suffers from frightening recurring nightmares about gruesome murders that begin to come true after she decides to spend a vacation on a barren island with her protective husband David (well played by Frederick Flynn), her jerky brother David (a nicely irritating turn by Alan McRae), and David's wife Brooke (a solid portrayal by Carol Kottenbrook).Director J.S. Cardone, who also co-wrote the compact script with Bill Ewing, relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, ably crafts a supremely spooky and unsettling atmosphere, takes time to develop the characters, maintains an appropriately gloomy tone throughout, delivers several strong moments of graphic gore, and ends things on a haunting grim note. The remote island setting projects a potently unnerving feeling of isolation and vulnerability. Karen Grossman's polished cinematography makes neat use of a smooth gliding camera. Robert Folk's lush orchestral score hits the shivery spot. A worthwhile fright film.

Struggling with terrible dreams, a woman is talked into a vacation with her brother and several friends on a small island for a relaxing getaway realize that the nightmares revolve around a demonic entity that now been released into the world and must confront the creature to survive.This is one of the most underrated early-80s slashers out there. One of the best aspects of this one is the central storyline which is quite entertaining and offers up plenty of suspense. As this one concerns a thirty-something artist who has suffered from the same recurring nightmare since childhood where she is stalked and killed which form the basis for her new paintings and becomes increasingly obsessive about putting those images on canvas, the early setup here is quite involved yet still manages to give this a decent set-up. As her nightmares become more vivid, the more in danger they are all in by someone or something from her dreams, which is a clichéd one to be sure, but it makes for a fun time here due to the more adult setup rather than the more youthful approach at the time. That also gives this one some really great elements to play with, as there's a large amount of suspense and atmosphere coming from the film. The film has a storm sweep through the place, causing a really great tension as there was always a raging thunderstorm, and with the really interesting and creepy design for the house, the stalking scenes in here get somewhat chilling at times. From the beginning, the place has a completely suspenseful vibe and lets this one generate some solid moments here from the first one up in the attic when the group first arrives, the later one down in the basement where the killer strikes using a rather unconventional trap finally kill them off and some tense scenes around the house where the killer comes around to pick off the last remaining group-members for some rather fine stalking with the greatness of the chase throughout the house which ends this on a high note. It even has a few fun moments for the gorehounds which all combined make for a great viewing as this here has only a few small problems with it that are what keep it down somewhat. The main problem is that there's a double flaw in the way it's paced. The first one is that the middle segment of the film is remarkably dull and boring. The majority of the time is spent wandering around the house spouting off to whoever who will listen about what the dreams have just been going on, and it really manages to pad out the film with an aggravating, annoying subplot while also doing little to move it forward after what has already been said about it. That also has the factor of throwing up the notion that the film is barely over an hour long and still feels like an eternity, which shouldn't happen. A film of this length with the style of body count means that it should flow quickly and there's none of that in the film. Otherwise, these here are what keep the film down.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language, Brief Nudity and a mild sex scene.

I've noted before that the eighties were a high time for low budget horror films, equaled only by the ton of horror movies released to the drive-in market of the early sixties. But with the drive-ins in decline the outlet that took advantage of this were the mom and pop video stores across the country. In need of product for their shelves all sorts of movies were being made and horror was one of the main staples. Some were good and some were bad but most landed somewhere in between. THE SLAYER falls into this category but leans to better than expected.Kay (Sarah Kendall) is an artist plagued by terrifying images in her sleep. In an effort to relieve the stress of an upcoming gallery showing her husband David (Alan McRae), brother Eric (Frederick Flynn) and sister in law Brooke (Carol Kottenbrook) have arranged a short vacation. The location is a secluded island owned by one of Eric's friends. It's the off season and no one else is on the island. With the pantry and fridge stocked, the four set off for a quiet time away from phones and worries.But once they hit the island the fears Kay has had come up again. Various items on the island are scenes she has painted in recent months, even though she's never been to this island. The rest of the group tells her she's imagining things and they find the house and settle in. Then things begin to happen. Eventually the members of this group begin to be killed one by one. Is someone else on the island, perhaps the pilot who brought them there? Or maybe someone else, someone who has been stalking Kay? Then again maybe it is the terrifying creature she only catches glimpses of in her dreams.The movie is well made and for a group of actors who were basically unknowns they to a good job here. Kendall is particularly good with a haunted look to her that makes the character of Kay, a woman who is afraid of sleep for fear of her dreams, quite believable. Of the four main actors Kottenbrook comes off as the most skilled and her shift from perturbed at their vacation location to concern for her sister in law is well played.What makes the movie work most of all though is the way it's plotted out. We don't take too much time in exposition setting up the story but it does give us enough background to inform us. The pacing works well here too without providing an immediate murder to keep us watching but playing out the suspense enough to make us ponder whether or not Kay is insane or being pursued by a potentially supernatural force.Of course the first thing horror fans will note is her fear of sleeping. Some might think that this makes the film a rip off of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films. But check the date of release and you'll find that this movie predates the first film of that series by 2 years.Arrow Video does their usual bang up job here offering a restoration of the film from 4k scan of the original negative. Extras are fairly limited but include new interviews with the cast and crew, the original theatrical trailer, a reversible sleeve with artwork by Justin Osbourn and a booklet featuring new liner notes by writer Lee Gambin for those who pick up the first printing of the disc.A few companies have seen the success that Arrow Video has had by reclaiming these lost video store gems and are trying to compete with them now. But no one has equaled the amount of affection that Arrow has for these titles. Until they do Arrow will be the company to look for when choosing movies from this category and time period.