Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Asher Michael Miller (uncredited)[1]
Written by	Stephen Breimer Boon Collins Alan Jay Glueckman
Story by	Alan Jay Glueckman
Based on	Oedipus the King by Sophocles[2]
Produced by	Richard Carrothers Dennis Hennessy Stephen Breimer
Starring	Jimmy McNichol Susan Tyrrell Bo Svenson Marcia Lewis Bill Paxton
Cinematography	Robbie Greenberg Jan de Bont (uncredited)[1]
Edited by	Ted Nicolaou
Music by	Bruce Langhorne
Production company	Royal American Pictures
Distributed by	Comworld Pictures
Release date	November 20, 1981 (1981-11-20) (Salem, Oregon)[3]
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (later re-released as Night Warning) is a 1981 American exploitation horror film directed by William Asher, and starring Susan Tyrrell, Jimmy McNichol, Julia Duffy, and Bo Svenson. Framed as a contemporary Oedipus tale, the plot focuses on a teenager who, raised by his neurotic aunt, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation after she stabs a man to death in their house. The boy's sexually repressed aunt secretly harbors incestuous feelings for him, while a detective investigating the crime irrationally believes the murder to be a result of a homosexual love triangle.

Financed by the independent Royal American Pictures, the film was shot in Los Angeles in 1981. Michael Miller was originally hired to direct, and completed the filming of the opening sequence with cinematographer Jan de Bont before being fired and replaced by Asher, who shot the remainder of the film with Robbie Greenberg.

Given a regional release in Oregon in November 1981 through Comworld Pictures, the film expanded to other U.S. cities in early 1982, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. It was reissued theatrically in 1983 under the title Night Warning, under which it was subsequently released on home video. The film has attracted critical discussion for its early positive portrayal of a gay male character.