"The American Nightmare" is a reasonably interesting, non-fiction feature (done for IFC) by filmmaker Adam Simon ("Brain Dead", "Carnosaur"). It interviews some giants of the horror genre - George A. Romero, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, David Cronenberg, John Carpenter - in order to get insights into the creation of their landmark films, from "Night of the Living Dead" to "Halloween".
At its best, "The American Nightmare" is a solid presentation of the idea that horror films have always drawn from the darker aspects of real life society. Here, we see how events and figures such as the civil rights movement, Kent State, the Manson family, Watergate, and the Vietnam war informed the works of these filmmakers. Tom Savini is a case in point since he had actually served in the war as a combat photographer, although he was careful to maintain a sense of detachment; later he incorporated what he saw into his legendary makeup effects.
The directors interviewed here offer pertinent commentary on American life and scary things from their own childhoods. One thing that this viewer found rather amusing was how Cronenbergs' discussion on the potent sexual atmosphere of his early films was followed by a look at Carpenters' seminal slasher film "Halloween", which of course had a seemingly puritanical, "sex = death" approach. Others offering their thoughts are John Landis, and professors Carol J. Clover, Adam Lowenstein, and Tom Gunning.
As has been said, it's always more interesting when one hears / sees filmmakers discuss the ideas and themes in their movies, and the viewer is able to gain appreciation for what they achieved or at least attempted. That's one good reason to actually check out bonus features on DVDs and Blu-rays.
Simon includes many (graphic) clips from the films being discussed, and utilizes numerous news clips and photographs with which he juxtaposes them. Rather brief in length (running only 71 minutes), this could have easily gone on longer and been even more in depth, but "The American Nightmare" makes its points well. It ultimately punches across that truth that reel life horror can't really hold a candle to real life horror.
Seven out of 10.
At its best, "The American Nightmare" is a solid presentation of the idea that horror films have always drawn from the darker aspects of real life society. Here, we see how events and figures such as the civil rights movement, Kent State, the Manson family, Watergate, and the Vietnam war informed the works of these filmmakers. Tom Savini is a case in point since he had actually served in the war as a combat photographer, although he was careful to maintain a sense of detachment; later he incorporated what he saw into his legendary makeup effects.
The directors interviewed here offer pertinent commentary on American life and scary things from their own childhoods. One thing that this viewer found rather amusing was how Cronenbergs' discussion on the potent sexual atmosphere of his early films was followed by a look at Carpenters' seminal slasher film "Halloween", which of course had a seemingly puritanical, "sex = death" approach. Others offering their thoughts are John Landis, and professors Carol J. Clover, Adam Lowenstein, and Tom Gunning.
As has been said, it's always more interesting when one hears / sees filmmakers discuss the ideas and themes in their movies, and the viewer is able to gain appreciation for what they achieved or at least attempted. That's one good reason to actually check out bonus features on DVDs and Blu-rays.
Simon includes many (graphic) clips from the films being discussed, and utilizes numerous news clips and photographs with which he juxtaposes them. Rather brief in length (running only 71 minutes), this could have easily gone on longer and been even more in depth, but "The American Nightmare" makes its points well. It ultimately punches across that truth that reel life horror can't really hold a candle to real life horror.
Seven out of 10.