The Nightmare Gallery (2019)

Directed by: Gene Blalock | 94 minutes | drama, horror | Actors: Amber Benson, Kevin Chamberlin, Mat Devine, Mieko Hillman, Rahul Parikh, Nichole Eberle, Jeff Jeffers, JT Robinson, Nadina Gerlach, Liv Southard, Andrew Adams, Aly Wolff-Mills, Michael Baszler, Sam Robson, Jhan Harp

‘Never judge a book by its cover’ is a saying that often applies when it comes to movies. With the majority of movie posters and DVD covers, a tantalizing image should grab attention. Based on the outside, you decide whether the movie in question might be for you. ‘The Nightmare Gallery’ tries to trigger curiosity with a hideous cover with an eerie intended image with a key and a demon hand on it. Not much time has been put into this piece, which is a shame, because the content of the DVD in question isn’t that bad.

In ‘The Nightmare Gallery’, Samantha Rand (Amber Benson) takes the lead. This renowned professor of anthropology is interested in occult matters. Of course that is asking for trouble, because flirting with demons is unwise. When one of Rand’s students disappears under mysterious circumstances, she sets out to investigate. It turns out that there are all kinds of paranormal things at play in this disappearance and then it gets really dangerous.

Gene Blalock wants to can a thrilling horror thriller, but takes a long time to do so. It takes quite a while for something to happen and when it finally does, rather cheap special effects ensure that the magic quickly disappears. Fortunately, this film features Benson’s talent.

Benson single-handedly ensures that ‘The Nightmare Gallery’ remains viewable. Her character is a sympathetic troublemaker who, despite her quirks, remains empathetic. Benson plays the part with visible pleasure and takes the film to a higher level. Her fellow players are not that strong. This production relies heavily on the main character’s game. The special effects are appalling and so is the boring camera work that never exceeds the level of a TV movie. Fortunately, the soundtrack is decent. Blalock tries to spice things up a bit by putting quite a bit of emphasis on his heroine’s sexual orientation. Rand is a lesbian and likes to kiss her friend. These scenes add nothing and are clearly meant to show how progressive this film thinks it is.

‘The Nightmare Gallery’ is a failed horror thriller, but thanks to a good casting, this film is still worth watching once.