NIGHSTREAM RETRO: Deadline (1980) and Def By Temptation (1990)

Reviews of two restored horror movies, available at Nightstream

The virtual Nightstream film festival takes place online from October 8th through 11th; the collaboration between five of the biggest genre festivals in the United States will offer more than 40 feature films, 120+ shorts, and numerous livestream events. They have a lot of high-profile exclusive premieres, like Hulu’s upcoming Sarah Paulson-starring Run, and they’re also showing some excellent films that have premiered elsewhere, like Pablo Larrain’s Ema and Ali LeRoi’s The Obituary of Tunde Johnson. (You can find my roundup of five can’t-miss films here!)

A smaller, less-advertised part of the schedule is Nightstream Retro, a collection of older horror films that have been newly-restored. I got a chance to check out two such retro films, Mario Azzopardi’s Deadline (1980) and James Bond III’s Def By Temptation (1990). You can view the full Nightstream lineup here; read on for reviews of Deadline and Def By Temptation!

DEADLINE (dir. Mario Azzopardi, 1980)

When we think of the 80s, we think of slasher movies. Horror screens that decade were ruled by Freddy, Jason, and Michael, slicing and dicing teenagers across America.