Despite its grizzy and disturbing subject matter, The American Nightmare manages to be an intriguing small scale documentary that may be of interest to movie goers
The American Nightmare examines a collection of horror flicks of the 60's and 70's and some of the ways in which they reflect the American culture at the time, It features a handful of the great horror directors including, Craven, Romero, Carpenter and Cronenberg (who is the smartest in the movie), as well as the opinions of several other filmmakers and college professors. Like all documentaries, this one has a bias. I feel that it over praises these horror flicks, and the explanation it gives for their brilliance is only partially true. Horror films may reflect society, but they do it in a very misanthropic way.
I would say that this is Adam Simon's smartest film (not just because it is a documentary). Simon makes geeky cult films like 'Brain Dead' and 'Carnosaur' both of which are even more off-putting than this film. The way in which he structures American Nightmare to look abstract and jumbled might be distracting, but there is a scene of creativity to it. In fact, I would say that the movie is more creative than it is educational, nevertheless there are some things that can be learned from this strange documentary, but you have to approach it with an open mind.
The American Nightmare examines a collection of horror flicks of the 60's and 70's and some of the ways in which they reflect the American culture at the time, It features a handful of the great horror directors including, Craven, Romero, Carpenter and Cronenberg (who is the smartest in the movie), as well as the opinions of several other filmmakers and college professors. Like all documentaries, this one has a bias. I feel that it over praises these horror flicks, and the explanation it gives for their brilliance is only partially true. Horror films may reflect society, but they do it in a very misanthropic way.
I would say that this is Adam Simon's smartest film (not just because it is a documentary). Simon makes geeky cult films like 'Brain Dead' and 'Carnosaur' both of which are even more off-putting than this film. The way in which he structures American Nightmare to look abstract and jumbled might be distracting, but there is a scene of creativity to it. In fact, I would say that the movie is more creative than it is educational, nevertheless there are some things that can be learned from this strange documentary, but you have to approach it with an open mind.