The American Nightmare

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The American Nightmare

January 18th 2010 04:00

“I think there is something about the "American Dream", the sort of Disney-esque dream, if you will, of the beautifully trimmed front lawn, the white picket fence, mom and dad and their happy children, God-fearing and doing good whenever they can; that sort of expectation, and the flipside of it, the kind of anger and the sense of outrage that comes from discovering that that's not the truth of the matter. I think that gives American horror films in some ways a kind of an additional rage …”

The American Nightmare (2000) is a concise, unpretentious and enlightening celebration and examination of several seminal American-produced horror movies and their respective directors (with the exception of David Cronenberg who is Canadian, and special effects make-up guru Tom Savini) from the late 60s to the late 70s directed by Adam Simon.

George A. Romero

The six movies put under the spotlight are George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left (1972), Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), David Cronenberg’s Shivers (1975), George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), and John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) also shares in the discussion, as do three cinema and social studies scholarly figures; Tom Gunning, Adam Lowenstein, and Carol J. Glover.

Wes Craven

The primary angle of this excellent documentary is the position of the modern horror movie within society, the direct results of the Vietnam War and other American incidents within the same time-frame on filmmakers and the audiences who watched their movies. This is pure example of the deadly irony of the collapse of American dream, how war and apocalypse infiltrated the creative thinking of these intelligent, provocative – even subversive – writer/directors. “Boot camps for the psyche,” as Wes Craven so eloquently puts it.

Tobe Hooper

I’m not a fan of Last House on the Left, but I can appreciate its immediate impact on filmgoers during the 70s. In fact, the movie still has the power to shock and disgust; a direct reflection of how the American public felt about the American involvement in ‘Nam. But of all the movies discussed in this documentary, arguably the most powerful is the gritty realism - that borders on the surreal – of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

David Cronenberg

Cronenberg’s Shivers and Romero’s two Dead movies take the horror element a step further pushing their apocalypse premise into the phantastical. Cronenberg’s sexual dementia and Romero’s zombie consumerism are deeply nightmarish, but operate on a less plausible level as Hooper’s southern-fried hospitality and Craven’s sadistic killers-next-door. Carpenter’s killer, Michael Myers, bridges the gap, being a disturbed child who grows up into the embodiment of the boogeyman, even to the point of becoming seemingly unstoppable.

John Carpenter

Each director talks freely and candidly about the nature of their movies, the influence of surrounding social upheaval, and is accompanied by potent clips from their respective movies. There are numerous great quotes, with particularly juicy ones from all involved, but especially Savini, who was a combat photographer stationed in Vietnam (no wonder his make-up work became so realistic, once he had the budget for it), Cronenberg (a fiercely intelligent man!), and Carpenter (would love to sit next to those three at a dinner party!)

John Landis

There’s an edge of melancholy that creeps into the documentary and makes a firm stand during a montage near the end where the directors pose thoughts on the future of horror filmmaking, and its place in American, and international, culture. The word “trauma” is used throughout the doco, and it’s curious to discover the origin of the word means “piercing”. Director Adam Simon has pierced the significant fabric of contemporary horror’s origins, but the bubble hasn’t burst, far from it.

Tom Savini

The American Nightmare is an exemplary post-date-stamp and essential viewing for horrorphiles, even if to simply rejoice in the glory nights of these important movies under one darkly illuminating, flickering light. It might be preaching to the converted for many, but hey …

Here's an extended excerpt focusing on John Carpenter's Halloween, and the "boot camp for the psyche":

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JohnDoe

January 20th 2010 18:41

Film & TV on DVD

So this is a must see doco in my eyes...already queued it up with netflix.

Great review, I love listening to carpenter talk horror.

Comment by Bryn

January 20th 2010 21:48

Horrorphile

Cheers JD.

[ Previous - Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film ]

[ Next - HORRORPHILE'S 50 NIGHTMARES OF THE DECADE: 2000 - 2009 ]

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