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The American Nightmare (2000)

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Call me the American nightmare/Call me the American dream/Call me your soul corrupted/Call me everything you need..., 13 November 2004

Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

You know, you really see movies differently when you hear the directors talking about what the movie meant to them or what they were trying to do with it. I really should watch more of those featurettes that come on the DVDs. I don't think I'll ever have the patience for audio commentaries, but the extra features on DVDs quite often have stuff like what you find in this outstanding documentary. Hearing the creators talk about their work really puts everything into a completely different perspective.

I was especially surprised to see how affected most of them were by the Vietnam war, like Tom Savini, who served in the war and now does horror movie makeup, witnessed horrible atrocities and awful, bloody deaths, and then went on to incorporate those things into his movies. Kind of morbid, really, to think that he was an American soldier who, by his own words, would see dead bodies and would just detach himself from the immediacy and finality of it, and instead think more about how he could recreate something like that in a movie. Until I saw this documentary, I never once considered the idea of trying to recreate war deaths, at least by a soldier who is standing right there.

Even directors who did not actually go to Vietnam were affected by the war, and it's amazing to see this powerful time in this country come across in what could easily be written off as just scary, gory horror movies. Good horror movies, but still nothing more than horror movies.

In some of the clips that were shown, such as scenes from one of Wes Craven's first films, The Last House on the Left, I was amazed at how intense the horror is. I've been watching a lot of horror movies lately, things like the Friday the 13th movies, Nightmare on Elm Streets, Halloween, Child's Play, Texas Chainsaw, etc, and have started to think that I had just outgrown that sick feeling of fear and almost nausea that I would get as a kid just from walking around in the horror section, like the real raw horror movies turned into campy gore-fests by the time I got to the age I am now, but man, I must be going to the wrong video stores.

There are some scenes shown in this movie that remind you what the real horror movies were like, back when they were meant to scare, not make tons of money. Back before the Japanese had to come in and show us how it's done, because we have obviously forgotten. Rob Zombie came out with House of 1000 Corpses last year, an underrated horror film that didn't set any box office records because it wasn't meant to. Like the directors in The American Nightmare, he is a lifelong horror fan and remembers what the real horror films were like. House of 1000 Corpses was his reminder to the world, now all these other directors are doing the same.

While I loved hearing the directors talk about their movies and I loved watching all of the clips from their films, all the while trying to compile a mental list of movies that I need to rent, I have to say that I found the legitimacy of these horror films in the context of the society in which they were created to be the most interesting part. You don't really think about horror movies having too much social value or meaning, but these movies, as they say, are clearly a product of their environment.

I found myself wondering at many points if we are going to see a new breed of horror directors eventually come home from Iraq…

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Horror Documentary I Have Yet Seen, 30 April 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

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.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
THE best documentary on horror films...EVER!, 23 October 2000

Author: tripperM from earth

if your a horror fan (especially on in your mid to late 30s)and you wonder why... here's the answer.

as i sat here watching american nightmare, i nodded and nodded as i remembered my childhood and the constant nightmares and fear of the end of the world, death, and the catholic theories of a fire and brimstone afterlife. the constant threat of atomic wars, hidden under our schoolchairs as we had air-raid drills. even when it was vacation time at school, the automatic drills echoed in the background once a month. i lived within walking distance and would often go to the schoolyard during vacation times to play there with others.

the most frightening sound in the world is not the screams of michael myers' victims or the ripping of zombie flesh, but the eerie sound of an air-raid sirien going off in a virtualy empty playground mixed with the squeak of swings, the wind, and the "ting" of the empty flag pole.....

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Documentary, 18 November 2002
Author: valens-69 from New York

The American Nightmare is a Documentary about Horror films of the 60's and 70's.

Mostly 70's Horror Films are brought up.

A lot of people look at Horror films and totally miss the art in them. All they think of Blood and Nudity.

The American Nightmare shows the art of Horror films.

It shows how these movies related to the times they were made.

Some people might think how does Night of The Living Dead, Dawn of The Dead, Last House on The Left relate to the times they were made?

Watch this Documentary and you will see.

Interviews with John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, George A. Romero and Tom Savini just to name a few.

Adam Simon who was the Director brought us the best Documentary on Horror films i have ever seen.

Not only a great Documentary on Horror Films just a great Documentary in General

I have watched The American Nightmare a few times and i never get tired of it.

I give The American Nightmare 10/10

A must see for any Horror fan

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting contents, but mixed feelings - The American Nightmare - German DVD version, 13 July 2005

Author: HStammermann (hendrik@hsta.de) from Hamburg

American horror movies of the 70s are well known for newly defining the genre and changing the borders of what was possible to show up to that point. Up to then there had been Hammer Productions with their usual suspects like Frankenstein, Dracula or there had been "gentleman" murderers like Dr. Phybes, who killed their victims out revenge, but still with a certain esprit of spirit. The "new" horror of the American movies was highly influenced by five movies the directors of which still have their say in today's horror industry: George Romero („Night of the Living Dead" 1968), Wes Craven („The Last House on the Left" 1972), Tobe Hooper („The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" 1974), David Cronenberg („The Parasite Murders" 1975) as well as John Carpenter („Halloween" 1978). The documentation "The American Nightmare" now sets out to connect interviews of the film makers, film critics and academics with excerpts of contemporary as well as fictional movies. The core thesis now is that the young generation of the 60s and 70s had a feeling of fundamental uncertainty that was taken up by young film makers and transformed into angry visions full of nightmares - American nightmares. Against that foil we learn about the connections between the Civil Rights Movement and "Night of the Living Dead", we see Tom Savini talking about turning his experiences in Vietnam into his landmark splatter effects, David Cronenberg referring to the sexual liberation with "The Parasite Murders" or Wes Craven saying that on seeing Napalm attacks in Vietnam he learned that also Americans could commit atrocities. - The documentation allows some very interesting insights into the immediate historical context of American horror movies of the 60s and 70s. Especially in the middle of the documentation it might be challenging to ask oneself whether is is actually the fictional horror that horrifies us most. … Yet, the documentary also wants to be a creepy and entertaining movie itself. There is too much atmospheric gewgaw (Stockhausen's score, for example). Altogether you get too little concrete information about what you see. Whereas the film makers' commentaries are very interesting the critics are sometimes not convincing often digressing into their own individual movie watching nostalgia ("It was like - wow!"). Furthermore, the German DVD bonus materials mostly consist of text barely readable. So, all in all, highly interesting and enlightening, but I could have done with some more minutes of interviews and some more film clips.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Truly outstanding documentary about the golden age of horror, 13 February 2006

Author: pizowell

This documentary is an absolute treasure for any true horror film buff. Containing insightful interviews from film philosophers and sociologists analyzing films and the circumstances and reflections of the times in which they were made along with detailed and compelling interviews with such pioneering genre filmmakers as Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, George A. Romero, John Carpenter and others. The interview with Tom Savini in which he recalls gruesome instances from his tour in Vietnam is riveting, adding to the overall bleakness of the piece. Fascinating, thoughtful, chilling and ultimately unforgettable. I applaud director Adam Simon for assembling the components to pull off this highly analytical serenade to the most profound and influential horror films and filmmakers and his ability to do so with integrity and intelligence and an obvious love for the genre. Extra kudos for the Godspeed You Black Emperor soundtrack. Brilliant.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Superb documentary regarding the horror film industry., 5 April 2004
Author: MovieAddict2008 from UK

Back before the dire imitators, genuinely superb horror films used to be made - horror films that represented the nation's feelings. One of the best examples is "Night of the Living Dead" and the Civil Rights movement metaphors.

Adam Simon's documentary is amazing in the fact that it manages to interview some of the greatest horror directors (George A. Romero, John Landis, Tom Savini, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, et al) and examine what their films REALLY meant.

Admittedly I'm not a huge fan of the horror genre, but I love the horror masterpieces. This documentary covers every film I can imagine that represents greatness - it's definitely worth a look, especially if you're a fan of the films it encompasses (check out IMDb's references page for more info).

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
How it all started..., 8 November 2000
Author: QKnown from CALIfornia

Finally, fans get to see the blueprint of how/why the classic horror films of the late '60s and early '70s revolutionized cinema. All thanks to America's turbulent times.

Since so much went down during this era, (The End of the Cold War,Civil Rights Movements,Kent State,Manson,Vietnam,political assassinations,Watergate,etc) It just seemed apparent to young filmmakers that "the world is gonna end, Let's just make this movie and go out with a bang"- type of mentality. As we would later know, It would all pay off, spawning a new type of horror film for a new generation.

Here in this documentary, you can learn the inspirations for:

Tom Savini's realistic make-up discoveries,Tobe Hooper's "boogeyman" thoughts for TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, David Cronenberg for using sex as a life-threatening weapon, and why Wes Craven's LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT has a scene that looks similar to a disturbing sight involving a Saigon police chief and a Viet Cong suspect.

THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is not just recommended to fans of the genre. But to those who wonder where it all came from.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
interesting, funny, moving and intelligent, 27 May 2004

Author: chris miller (chris@aptpupil.org) from davis, california

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+.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant overview of the birth of Modern Horror, 12 May 2004

Author: mkeyes99

This film is amazing in that it manages to feature interview with literally everybody of any importance in the genre of Modern Horror. Adam Simon has put together something very special for fans of the genre. The film traces the origins of Modern Horror through its early classics, featuring films such as Last House On The Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead and through interviews with all the key players and then some. I tend to find that documentary films, while interesting, often fail to be really gripping, thought provoking and at the same time entertaining. This film manages all three. Thoroughly recommended for fans of the genre and also for anyone with a passing interest in horror. And for those of you that bash films such as Last House On The Left for being too extreme, watch this documentary, it might just change your mind.

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