Dating : “A Night of Horror: Nightmare Radio” Film Review

The first tale Wilson regales us with is Joshua Long’s Post Mortem Mary. Post Mortem Mary, a period tale set in Australia during the 1840’s, sees a young girl named Mary (Stella Charrington) forced to photograph a two-week dead girl because the grieving parents want something tangible to remember their daughter.

The tone of the piece, coupled with the period accurate costumes and set decoration, pulls us back to a time when photography was in its infancy. The attention to detail, down to the smallest of props, is remarkable. The cost of making this short story, with how authentic Post Mortem Mary feels, could not have been cheap.

Mirna (Clara Kovacic), an apparent first time caller to Wilson’s radio show, provides the film with the second short story. This second story, another period set offering, takes us to Saint Paul during the 1980’s.

Unlike the first story, with the offering presented as a conversation between the caller and Wilson, this segment relies entirely on Kovacic’s ability to spin a tale with her voice. The actress, with this voice-over, does a good job pulling us into the story. The story, despite it being merely a conversational piece, is bloody graphic in detail. Wilson, in his scepticism of the story, feels it is merely an urban legend.

No one in their right mind, even if vanity does make certain people do stupid things, would disable the safety mechanisms on a microwave so they could use it to dry their hair. This story is used by the radio host as an effective segue to his own second story.

This short story, Adam O’Brien’s A Little Off the Top, sees hair stylist Sylvio (David Nerman) reunite with famous client Ingrid Clifford (Ingrid Falaise) during a styling session which takes his down memory lane. The story, as we see it unfold, yields unpleasant horrific consequences for one of them.

The entire time we hear Sylvio express his thoughts, as he continues to work on his client’s hair, there is not a word uttered by Ingrid. The focus of the piece is entirely on the hair stylist. There is an egotism to his words which suggests psychopathic tendencies. It isn’t until we actually see her face do we understand why it is we haven’t heard her say anything.