Paul Andrews The American Nightmare is a 70 odd minute documentary that makes the comparison between a few classic horror films & the social & political struggles America has gone through over the past few decades. Written & directed by Adam Simon (who has directed a couple of horror films himself Brain Dead (1990) & Carnosaur (1993)) it was funded by the Independent Film Channel & I really didn't find much in The American Nightmare to enjoy, for a start the earliest film it discusses in any detail is Night of the Living Dead (1968) & the latest are Halloween (1978) & Dawn of the Dead (1978). That covers precisely 10 years, well I'm not being funny but the horror film has been a popular mainstay of the film going public since cinema began right up to the present day. A couple of early classics are mentioned but in little detail & are quickly forgotten about & absolutely nothing from the 80's, 90's or 00's are mentioned at all. The American Nightmare is also very limited in the fact that it only refers to six films, Night of the Living Dead, The Last House on the Left (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Shivers (1975), Halloween & Dawn of the Dead. It seems to me that the film selection depended upon who they could convince to appear on camera. This is one of those documentary's that feature loads of college professor type people who seem able to read so much into a film it's untrue. Sure a film like Night of the Living Dead was made to change the entire lives of everyone who saw it & possibly change the course of the entire world as we know it, but on the other hand maybe it was made as a cheap horror film to make money. You decide... Am I the only one who thinks David Cronenberg (who, by the way, is Canadian not American so what's he doing in this?) is far too intellectual for his own good? Talk about boring! It's not without it's good moments & has lots of clips from the films mentioned but I didn't like it's approach & this whole 'I made such & such a film to rebel against the system & make a political statement' just doesn't wash with me, they were made to make money whatever anyone says...

chris miller i think this documentary may have been the inspiration for danny boyle to use godspeed you black emperor! in "28 days later..." godspeed are used fairly judiciously in this film and "sad mafioso" is used during the clips of "dawn of the dead" which is the heaviest influence on "28 days later..." all that aside...the documentary covers six major horror films (night of the living dead, last house on the left, dawn of the dead, shivers, halloween, and texas chainsaw massacre) of the 60s and 70s. more than just rehashing them or talking about their influence on the genre, the film talks to the filmmakers about their influences and spends a good deal of time examining the cultural climate in which these films took place. everything from the cold war to civil rights to the sexual revolution to vietnam to the gas crisis is discussed by the filmmakers as the climate that facilitated these films. unlike "visions of light" which gave a fairly clinical view of cinematography's art and history, American Nightmare demonstrates a certain intimacy and love of the subject. visions of light certainly had interviewees who showed an immense passion for the subject, but the film itself did not exude that same passion. part of the way american nightmare does this is through its soundtrack (epically scored by godspeed you black emperor! and Karlheinz Stockhausen) and its ambitious style of cutting in source material with voice-overs. it's a good film and, like stone reader or visions of light, does a really good job of getting the audience into the material. after watching this i wanted to break out all my horror films and watch them on end. it's able to do this because the film itself is passionate about the subject, the interviewees are passionate, and the information relayed to the viewer is interesting, funny, moving and intelligent. B+.

Gafke This is a serious look at some of the most groundbreaking and innovative horror films ever made. It is also incredibly graphic, disturbing and somewhat bleak and depressing, so consider yourselves warned. No hardcore fan of horror will want to miss this, but people with weak stomachs may not be able to take it.There are long and satisfyingly gruesome clips from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night of the Living Dead & Dawn of the Dead, Last House on the Left, Shivers and many others, each accompanied by a look at what was happening in the world at the time they were made, and the bizarre ways in which art imitates life and vice versa. Gore Make-up Master Tom Savini has some amazing stories to tell about his time in Vietnam and how the atrocities he viewed through a camera later inspired his craft. There are also some wickedly clever moments here, as film footage of crazed shoppers are intercut with scenes from the zombie feeding frenzy in Dawn of the Dead. Nausea inducing moments include the rape and sadistic torture scenes from Last House on the Left, and an unflinching look at such real life horrors as Vietnam, the rioting following the King assassination, the Kent State Massacre and the Kennedy Assassination. The directors interviewed (Romero, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Hooper, Craven, etc) have some great stories to tell about their famous (and infamous) films, not only about how they were made, but also why, how they continue to inspire the current genre, what kind of an effect they had upon being released and how they reflect the times in which they were made. This is a totally engrossing documentary from start to finish that was sometimes hard to watch but which also seemed much too short. I didn't want it to end! VERY well done and highly recommended for hardcore fans.

preppy-3 Tom Savini, John Landis, George Romero, John Carpenter, Wes Craven. Tobe Hooper and David Cronenberg talk about their horror films (and others) and explain what they mean and where their ideas came from. Film shows how the times they grew up in (lates 60s, early 70s) influenced them greatly. The film includes very graphic images from the Vietnam war, Kent State, race riots, assassinations--you can see why these filmmakers make such gory, violent films! As a horror fan, I loved this documentary. It also gave me some insight into two horror films I hate-- "Last House on the Left" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I still despise them but I understand where the films came from. A rare chance to see all these directors talking about the films. A must-see for anyone interested in movies.