Nightmare Vacation

Director - Mark Polonia (Children of Camp Blood, Return to Splatter Farm)

Starring - Matthew Satterly (Church of the Damned, Night Crawlers), Maria Davis (How to Slay a Vampire, Monster Movie), and DJ Watts 

Release Date - 2017?

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "The next time you book a vacation for the beach... it could be your last"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    It's been almost two weeks in the making but this is the last film in my SRS Cinema marathon and third and final film in the Polonia trilogy that I was watching.  There was some highs, a few lows, but it was a very fun experience.  The Polonia releases are way more fun than I was expecting and I saved the one I was the most excited about for last.  This was Nightmare Vacation.  The film was originally shot by the late John Polonia and Todd Michael Smith but never completed.  Mark found the footage and edited it together the best he could and then used narration to fill in the gaps.  This was a unique approach but one I was so fucking excited for.

     The film follows two friends who go to the beach for a little getaway.  What they don't know is that someone wearing a mask is stalking them and killing anyone they come in contact with.

     I went into this knowing it was an unfinished project that was held together by duct tape and some spit.  I didn't realize how difficult it would be to watch.  It's cool that an unfinished project of John's found a way to a physical release for collectors to have but as a film it's a rough one to watch.  The acting in this one is odd to say the least.  I get the feeling that a lot of the scenes were never finished or some of the final recording of the scene was lost forcing Mark to use whatever he had.  What we are left with are scenes that have no enthusiasm or energy which drags the already poorly put together story down even further.  The story for this one would have been a pretty solid slasher with the Polonia/Smith spin but because it was never properly finished it is almost impossible to watch.  The narration makes it funny at times but doesn't help with the story.  Finally, the film has a few kills but by the time you get to them you are waiting for the movie to end.  They could have been fun in a normal movie setting but watching it the way it is now makes the kills feel like another chore to sit through.  Overall, Nightmare Vacation is for collectors looking to complete their Polonia or SRS collection but for someone looking for something new to watch you will be very disappointed.