Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

The film borrows themes and structures from Oedipus the King, specifically regarding adoption and mother-son incest

Horror film scholar John Kenneth Muir writes extensively regarding the themes of motherhood in Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker in his book Horror Films of the 1980s, specifically the warped relationship that Billy's aunt Cheryl (whom he later discovers to be in fact his mother) has with him.[4] Muir points out several motifs surrounding this theme, such as the milk Cheryl uses to drug him, "a symbol of her twisted motherhood...  Billy is rendered impotent by the milk, infantilized by Cheryl's inappropriate and inimical ministrations."[4] Muir also suggests that the film may potentially be engaging with the American stereotype that overbearing mothers produce gay sons, as Billy's sexuality is questioned by those around him throughout the film.[4]

Several other critics and scholars have noted the plotline of Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker is modeled after Oedipus the King by Sophocles, borrowing the themes of adoption and incestual yearning from a mother to her son.[2][5] Muir writes that when Billy eventually murders Cheryl in self-defense, he impales her with a tire iron—a phallic symbol—and that, after the struggle, her dead body collapses around his in what resembles a sexual position.[4]

Writer Marc Heuck notes that the film

predicted tropes of young adult books and films for decades to come: a teenager living in relative comfort is thrust into dangerous circumstance beyond their preparedness or comprehension, and discovers that neither parental figures nor the law can be trusted. Hell, many of us in our advanced age still have nightmares of this sort and never quite transcend that basic fear. It’s this theme that probably kept those teenage girls in their seats when the subject matter started getting really icky and they would have been tempted to leave for the mall.[1]

Heuck also views the character of Billy as an inversion of the "final girl" trope, in that he "not only is he directly injured by the villains and survives against the odds, he is also extremely attractive, feeding into the unhealthy motivations of those who threaten him within and the desires of the audience watching him outside."[1] The counterpoint to Billy is the character of Julia, his girlfriend, whom Heuck notes as taking on the "helpful boyfriend" role often present in slasher films.[1]

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker has been noted for being an early film to portray a homosexual male character as a positive figure by featuring Tom Landers, Billy's gay basketball coach who is subjected to homophobia, and later comes to Billy and Julia's rescue in the final sequence.[6] Steve Easton, who portrayed the character, recalled that the screenplay did not sensationalize the character's sexuality: "He's a gay man, but he's not a pervert. He just likes men, and he's got a boyfriend, and his boyfriend is murdered."[6] Scholar Jeffery Dennis notes that Tom's partner, who is murdered early in the film by Billy's aunt Cheryl, is "perhaps the only gay person in all of American cinema who is not an urban sophisticate",[7] as well as one of the only characters in the film shown to be an upstanding individual.[8]

Likewise, Dennis interprets an inversion of social norms in which heterosexual desire as "oppressive and sinister...  Aunt Cheryl opines that "Homosexuals are very, very sick!" as she murders half a dozen people, grabs and fondles Billy, drugs his milk, and finally tries to stab him."[8] The question of Billy's potential homosexuality is also noted, though Dennis states that his "sexual identity is not answered by his constant protesting-too-much or by his buddy bond with the coach."[8]

The character of the unhinged Cheryl was partly inspired by female film antagonists such as Baby Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Producer and co-writer Stephen Breimer co-wrote the film's screenplay with Boon Collins and Alan Jay Glueckman, aspiring to blend elements of character-driven films led by female villains (such as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) with the slasher film.[9] The genesis of the story was based on Breimer's own curiosity about his biological parents, as he himself was adopted.[10] Though the core of the plot was devised by Breimer and Glueckman, Boone, a writer from Vancouver, helped write several sequences, including the opening car crash death of Billy's parents.[11]

Jimmy McNichol, cast as the male lead, Billy, was among the first to sign on to the film.[1] McNichol had achieved significant success as a child star, which led to him signing a three-picture contract with executive producer Jerry Weintraub, in which he would receive top billing.[1] Breimer had initially wanted Bill Paxton for the leading role, but instead gave him a minor supporting part as one of Billy's bullying classmates.[1] After McNichol was cast, Bo Svenson, who was also represented by McNichol's talent agency, was cast in the role of Joe Carlson, the homophobic detective.[9] In seeking an actress to portray Cheryl, the unhinged aunt of Billy, producer Stephen Breimer hand-selected Susan Tyrrell based on her performance in Fat City (1972).[9] Glueckman was enthusiastic about Tyrrell's involvement in the film, having met her on the set of Forbidden Zone (1980).[1] Director William Asher instructed Tyrrell to "pull out all the stops," giving her character an exaggerated performance that would help lend the film a "larger-than-life" quality.[9] Julia Duffy was cast as Billy's girlfriend, Julia, beating out several other actresses who auditioned for the part, including Daryl Hannah and Ally Sheedy.[9]

Principal photography took place in Los Angeles, California.[9] Though William Asher is solely credited as director, the film's opening sequence was shot by Michael Miller, who had previously directed Jackson County Jail (1976) for Roger Corman.[1] Jan de Bont served as Miller's cinematographer for the scene.[1] Finding Miller's production pacing too slow, the film's investors fired Miller and replaced him with Asher.[1] Asher had previously had a long career directing in television, including numerous episodes of I Love Lucy and Bewitched.[1] The home in the film was located on a historic property in Elysian Park[12] that housed a larger estate, as well as several other cottages.[9]

The film was first given a small regional release through Comworld Pictures[13] under the title Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker in several cities in Oregon, including Salem and Corvallis, on November 20, 1981.[lower-alpha 1] A novel tie-in written by Joseph Burgo was issued by Pocket Books on December 1, 1981.[13][16] The film's theatrical release expanded in March 1982, screening in St. Louis, Missouri,[17] as well as Vancouver, British Columbia.[18]

The film was re-released in January 1983 under the title Night Warning, first screening in the California cities of San Francisco[19] and Santa Cruz,[20] as well as Indianapolis, Indiana.[21]

Upon the film's opening in Corvallis, Oregon, local Corvallis Gazette-Times critic Lloyd Woods praised the performances of Tyrrell and Svenson as well as the direction of William Asher, who he felt "does a credible job in developing the derangement."[22] Leonard Maltin awarded the film his usual two-and-a-half out of four stars, his most frequently used rating, writing: "Explosive, tour-de-force acting by Tyrrell distinguishes this formula horror film.[23]

Following its January 1983 re-release under the title Night Warning, critic J. A. Conner of the Santa Cruz Sentinel characterized the film as a "Tennessee Williams version of Psycho" and deemed it an early contender for the worst films of 1983, summarizing: "Night Warning is just another drive-in grindhouse sleazoid mess that somehow wandered into town by the back door."[20]

AllMovie awarded it two-and-a-half out of five stars and labeled it "an especially unique entry into the slasher film cycle in the 1980s" based on its influences, the 1960s Gothic horror films.[24] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Unfolding deftly under Asher's direction, Night Warning combines darkly outrageous humor with persuasive psychological validity."[25] Variety called it "a fine psychological horror film" in which Tyrrell "gives a tour-de-force performance."[26] In Horror Movies of the 1980s, John Kenneth Muir rated it 3.5/4 stars. Muir called it "a true gem of the decade" and "the 1980s' most twisted, bizarre cinematic vision of motherhood."[27]

In a 2019 article published in Film Comment, Justin Stewart praised Asher for directing "with a meat-and-potatoes efficiency and visual sense, letting the casting, risk-taking performances, and the twisted, quirky screenplay...  carry the day," and also praised Tyrrell's performance.[28]

The film screened on The Movie Channel in the fall of 1983,[29] and was released on VHS through HBO Home Video under the Night Warning title[13] in 1985.[30] In the United Kingdom, the film was deemed a "video nasty" by the British Board of Film Classification and refused a video certificate in 1987 under the title The Evil Protege.[5]

Independent label Code Red issued the film on DVD in 2014,[31] and reissued it on Blu-ray on July 18, 2017, which featured a 2K scan of the original film elements.[32]