Scott LeBrun B movie god Wings Hauser and the always amusing Bo Hopkins are the heroes in this follow-up, of sorts, to the 1984 infection-horror flick "Mutant" (a.k.a. "Night Shadows"). A creepy albino villain (the great screen heavy Brion James) is conducting an insidious experiment on a remote Southwestern town called Canyonlands, contaminating the water supply and turning the citizens into maniacs who attack others and spew green acid instead of blood. Wings is a big city entertainment lawyer who teams up with loner Bo, local sheriff George Kennedy, and Kennedy's hottie daughter / deputy Kimberly Ross to save the day.Co-written and directed by celebrated cult filmmaker Nico Mastorakis, "Nightmare at Noon" is less of an outright horror film than its predecessor, concentrating mainly on action. And it delivers action in spades: gunfire, explosions, human torches, vehicle stunts, you name it. Overall, it's pretty derivative, but it's also pretty damn entertaining for this sort of low budget fare. It's filmed using gorgeous Utah scenery, has some enjoyably nasty violence, and its story moves along more than adequately. Future "name" composer Hans Zimmer contributes to the score, along with Stanley Myers, and it's good stuff. The final helicopter chase does go on for an absurdly long time, though.Wings plays a guy who is rather insufferable at first, but he becomes more engaging as he moves into heroic mode. Bo is as watchable as he's ever been. Ever-likable Kennedy, the adorable Ross, "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter" final girl Kimberly Beck gets to chew up some scenery as Wings' victimized wife, and Neal Wheeler is a hoot as local old codger Charley, one of the first on-screen victims of the infection who goes psycho in a diner. James, who never has to utter a word, is a true sight to behold, especially when the albino and his henchmen go on horseback towards the end of the story.A fun movie with a strong Western influence, "Nightmare at Noon" shows B flick enthusiasts a fairly rousing time.Seven out of 10.

julian kennedy At first this direct to video (I am assuming) zombie/conspiracy/western seems to have a lot going for it. I have a great B-movie cast from Wings Hauser (In full alcoholic meltdown. The actor mind you, not the character. He had to be bailed out during shooting after putting his brother in law's head through some drywall). Bo Hopkins in full southern drawl mode. (Playing a drifter/sheriff no less). George Kennedy in his Police Squad finest. That guy who is always in those Bruce Willis films who plays a silent albino (Brion James). And finally, we have Kimberly Beck (Guest star of every TV show from 1978 to 1986) who plays cleavage with a side of Mom jeans. The movie has some decent action with some many exploding cars one would think it is some sort of poorly thought out promotion for President Obama's Cash for Clunkers. It also has a decent Maximum overdrive/ The Happening vibe as the townsfolk go crazy from drinking poisoned water (Including… gasp…. coffee.) Alas the film is let down from some horrible pacing and direction especially in the second half as it really starts to wear out its welcome. The film also seems to be very light on the gore/nudity for the genre Seeming more like an A-team episode with lots of swearing.I watched the Rifftrax version (So perhaps it was edited?) and I found the boys a touch disappointing on this one. Do you remember when they riffed Laserblast on MST3K and told that Monday Night Football joke about fifty times? Yeah, they do that here with a microwaved croissant joke that goes over about as well. Outside of soggy pastries, their comments are often spot on but even they have trouble keeping the excitement going as the film drifts into Red Zone Cuba pacing in the second half. A fun romp for a while but don't be surprised if everyone is snoring on the couch before the credits roll.

Coventry Watching "Nightmare at Noon" turned out to be yet another personal milestone in my career as a purchaser of cinematic nonsense… This unmistakably is, hands down, the movie that makes the absolute LEAST efforts to explain all the random weirdness and palaver it brings forward throughout nearly its entire running time. Everything, even the utmost absurd story aspect, is so incredibly goalless and literally nothing appears to upset the tough and hardened lead characters. Even when the little town of Canyonland is overcome with terror, and all the usually peaceful locals turn into bloodthirsty zombies, Sheriff Hanks (George Kennedy) and accidental tourists Ken Griffiths (Wings Hauser) & Reilly (Bo Hopkins) remain stoically calm and extendedly take the time to think up theories that are – in spite of the odds – accurate to the smallest details! "Nightmare at Noon" is an unimaginably dumb film with a totally incoherent script but, as a matter of compensation for that, it features a large amount of gratuitous explosions and turbulent Western-styled shootouts in the desert! Creepy albino scientist Brion James, mute and all dressed in white to fit the color of his skin, arrives with a small army of soldiers at the borders of the desolate small town of Canyonland and initiates his diabolical experiment. The water becomes intoxicated, all entries in and out of town are shut off and the infected villagers gradually begin to exterminate each other. Why and/or how exactly is a complete mystery – at least to me it was – but the heroic crime fighters in charge spontaneously guess it must be the work of some evil psychopath experimenting up in the hills. Wow, with such guessing talents they should really enroll in the fortune telling business! The first hour of "Nightmare at Noon" guarantees good brainless and unscrupulous B-movie entertainment. The old-fashioned remote Western town setting is nostalgic and the testosterone-laden interactions between the male leads are splendid highlights, for sure. Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins and George Kennedy were all at the top of their cheesy B-movie careers here and that truly results in a couple of marvelous dialogs. After that, however, writer/director Niko Mastorakis seemingly lost complete interest to finish what he started. The last half hour is a long and dull series of desert chases and there even is an utterly pointless showdown between two helicopters that goes on for more than five whole minutes. Admittedly the cinematography and shots of desolate landscapes are professionally handled, but the whole thing is just plain purposeless. With a slightly more elaborated script and intelligent dialogs, this surely could have been an undiscovered 80's sleeper hit, but now it's just another oddball cheese-flick with nicely polished action sequences that are in vain. The two beautiful and incredibly sexy Kimberly's in the cast (Beck and Ross) are underused and aren't even offered the chance to show off their impressive bosoms. Shame.

Prosinecki This is one of the most unintentionally funny movies I've ever seen.It's a real stereotype of a B movie, or even worse, a C movie.I saw this at a military hospital and boy did I laugh my *** off, a real painkiller it was.I recommend you watch this one with a large dose of humor.