This largely forgotten film was Stone's (Platoon, JFK) directorial debut. It's almost a shame that he moved on to more "respectable" films, as Seizure proves Stone has a talent for horror. The film is delightfully suspenseful thanks to an interesting script, taut pacing, and a great cast.
Edmund Blackstone (played by daytime TV's favorite bloodsucker Frid, a.k.a. Barnabas Collins) is a writer of horror stories for children. He is plagued by recurring nightmares from which he is drawing inspiration for his next book. Edmund and his wife Nicole (Pickles, best known for her work on St. Elsewhere) have invited several friends for a weekend at their home in the country.
The weekend quickly becomes a nightmare in and of itself thanks to the arrival of three mysterious and dangerous figures: The Spider (Villechaize of Fantasy Island fame), Jackal the Giant (Baker), and the sinister yet statuesque Kali, The Queen of Evil (Beswicke from Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde). The trio terrorizes the Blackstones and their guests, forcing them into a series of contests. The penalty for losing is immediate execution, and one by one the guests are eliminated. At first the three appear to be escapees from a nearby mental hospital, but we soon learn that all three are characters from Edmund's nightmare. He has even been drawing sketches of them for his book. Somehow his dreams have taken on physical form.
The entire film has a nightmarish feel, drawing parallels with both Edmund's dreams and the fact that the screenplay is based on an actual nightmare of Stone's. Seizure was filmed on a modest budget, so it relies more on style than flash. The gore is minimal, but the suspense is high.
A must see.