an young woman by the name of virginia ( jenny wright ) be a fan of horror novel . she work in a used book store . when she read a novel title i and madman and which be a non fiction novel . the villain of the novel seem to come out of the book to stalk the young woman and kill the people she know . direct by tibor takacs ( the gate 1 and 2 ) make an entertaining horror fantasy thriller with an sharp performance by the underrated actress wright . the film be barely release to theater in 1989. the film go on to be a cult classic . clayton rohner ( from april fool day and the t. v. short live series good vs. evil fame ) co star a a police detective . this be one of the most rarely see and most underrated horror film of the late 80 . see it . write by david chaskin ( a nightmare on elm street part 2 representfreddy revenge and the curse ) . ( or ) .