The American Nightmare (Horror Film Documentary/Docurama)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Documentary: B
The last golden age of Horror Cinema that began in 1968
thanks to George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead and Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s
Baby, but they are not exactly the same kind of film within the genre. Romero’s film is a B-movie that did huge
business, while Polanski’s is an A-level production that was the expected hit. Both became classics, but The American
Nightmare (2003) focuses on the cycle of low-budget classics Romero helped
to spawn.
In its too-short 73 minutes, the film takes on key films
from Romero, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and even
John Landis. What is peculiar is that
three of the key figures of the era are ignored and missing. Whether it is because they did not want to
participate is unknown at posting time, but Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, God
Told Me To), Brian De Palma (Sisters, Carrie) and Bob Clark (Deathdream,
Black Christmas; reviewed elsewhere on this site) are very conspicuously
absent. Where these films too
subversive, too intense, or just not hip enough to be part of a stereotypical
cult of Horror since the 1980s that has developed?
The program still makes the connection between societal
chaos and what was in all these films that hit a nerve. Like Cronenberg, Clark was from Canada, so
being an “American” was not a requirement for being featured. What is here is still a great start and a
must-see for any serious film fan, especially if Horror is their favorite
genre. The ideas and insight offered
here are not heard enough, also including some well-spoken experts and make-up
legend Tom Savini. We would also
recommend getting Robin Wood’s book Hollywood – From Vietnam To Reagan &
Beyond… which is reviewed elsewhere on this site.
The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 is not bad, but too bad this was
not anamorphically enhanced. With that
said, the clips of Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre look better here
than they do on the anniversary DVD reviewed elsewhere on this site. The other clips are not bad as compared to
the best DVD out there, and Dawn Of The Dead and Halloween are
also covered on this site. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and without any surrounds, unfortunately, but all
of these films were originally monophonic.
There are no extras, but there was more that could have fit here. However, it is a key film documentary worth
catching, even if it is too short and incomplete.
- Nicholas Sheffo
