April 10: Nightmare USA — Celebrate Stephen Thrower’s book by picking a movie from it. Here’s all of them in a list.

The origins of this movie are wonderful.

Producer William Szlinsky told director Michael Stanley that he had a great idea for a scene: a man’s face getting devoured by acid. But what if there was a movie around that scene? And what if there was an island filled with not just one of the Zuni dolls from Trilogy of Terror but hundreds of them?

And what if that deserted island was in Stamford, Connecticut?

John (Robert Nolfi), Cathy (Julia Rust), Case (Robert Lengyel), Phillip (Frank Murgalo), Diane (Lisa Pak), Mr. Morgan (John Vichiol), Mrs. Gordon (Kay Bailey), Pat (Frans Kal) and Mr, Bruin (Robert T. Firgelewski) survive the sinking of a ship only to end up on a mysterious island and then, well, succumb one by one to puppets. If you loved Bela struggling with in octopus in Bride of the Monster, get ready for an entire movie filled with moments just like that.

This is the kind of movie where a man dips his face in water to take a drink and learns — too late — that it’s acid, fulfilling the dreams of Szlinsky. It also has the kind of synth score that those who get woozy about synth scores will positively faint over when they watch this.

Also known as Hell Island, this is the type of film that separates the lovers of off the wall regional cinema from small minded folks who say things like, “This looks like it cost a hundred dollars,” “No one in this can act” or “Those are obviously puppets.” The world is too small and too sad for you to have thoughts like that. Instead, just watch this and allow it to wash over you, like calming murderdrone synth waves on the bloodiest of beaches.

You can get this from Vinegar Syndrome.