American Nightmare (2000) - Adam Simon

[ravenus]

AMERICAN NIGHTMARE – Adam Simon

This is a documentary that takes some of the significant American horror films of the 60's and 70's and goes into the background of history and culture that surrounded and shaped their makers and delves into what led to their arising at the precise moment they did. Or at least that's what it aims to do; the inclusion of Canadian horror-master David Cronenberg dilutes the yank-centricity and the choice of films covered while interesting is also eccentric.

The films mainly covered here are:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper)
Night of the Living Dead & Dawn of the Dead (George Romero, Tom Savini)
Shivers (David Cronenberg)
Halloween (John Carpenter)
Last House on the Left (Wes Craven).

The good news is that Simon is pretty passionate about his subject and gets some cracking interviews from his subjects. Tom Savini in particular talks a great deal about his stint in Vietnam and shows us pictures he took there and how it influenced his ground-breaking FX work. Tobe Hooper talks about the ideas and concepts that went into the making of his oppressively gripping Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Romero talks engagingly about the influence of the existing social clime for Night (racial bigotry, lack of trust in the establishment, paranoia about communism) and Dawn (rampant consumerism and other stuff). Cronenberg is given short but gripping screen time as he talks about the sexual and moral ambivalence of the period that gave birth to Shivers, a nasty indie horror about a parasite that takes over people and makes them sexually rampant. It's a pity that more of his work including Videodrome and The Brood which are at least equally important as social horror films don't get any look see here.

Wes Craven in a smooth and pleasingly articulate vein talks about the period of social unrest and public anger in the face of Vietnam that supposedly gave birth to Last House on the Left. Mixed with images of the callousness of American GI's in 'Nam and a haunting background score, the visuals of Last House suggest a far more powerful film than the campy and barely involving hodge-podge I personally found it to be. And while I find John Carpenter a pleasant and well-spoken man apart from having some interesting works under his belt, I really fail to see how his impressions of the social and cultural climate around him could have any relevance towards what I consider an (IMO) over-hyped banal slasher like Halloween.

Apart from the makers, the documentary also covers the reactions of John Landis (American Werewolf in London) and a couple of critics towards these films...while they occasionally say something interesting, the bulk of these inserts are either bland or annoying.

On the whole, American Nightmare is filled with several interesting vignettes of a specific period of American horror movie culture and a worthy watch for the horror fan.


For those of you who read through this review, a little extra - a pic of young Savini in Vietnam:

[j. d. worthington]

Thanks, Ravenus... And, yes, that's a very young Tom Savini.

On Last House on the Left ... Yes, Craven has gone into detail about that in the restored DVD of the film as well (actually, that was the first time I'd seen the film, though I'd heard tons about it for years) and he is almost always invariably an articulate spokesman for the validity of the horror genre as art and social commentary. (I must admit, though, that I doubt I'll ever watch the film again.) And on Texas Chainsaw Massacre ... while I certainly recognize its merits, that particular film is one I simply cannot watch again. I've managed to force myself through it twice (20 years apart), but each time I come away from it feeling like I need a nice long shower with lye soap and a wire scrub brush ... However, I would like to hear what Hooper has to say, as he, too, is an intelligent and articulate man, and I'd like his own views on what lies behind the film.

In other words: I'll need to keep an eye out for this one. Thank you.

[roddglenn]

Thanks for that, Ravenus. I'll certainly be looking out for it. And, yes a very young looking Savini! Is it me or does he look a little like Leonard Nimoy there????

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by roddglenn

Thanks for that, Ravenus. I'll certainly be looking out for it. And, yes a very young looking Savini! Is it me or does he look a little like Leonard Nimoy there????

I think it may be the haircut and the eyebrows ... though it does almost look like the ears are pointed.....

[Foxbat]

This sounds like a pretty interesting documentary. Is it available on DVD?

[ravenus]

Yes it is!

[Foxbat]

Thanks for the link. I'll add that to my 'to buy' list

[steve12553]

I've seen television documentaries that covered similar ground with all or most of the same authors, although not near as in depth. Facinating stuff. This one would be well worth watching bases on you synopsis.

One not: You may want to revisit Halloween. It was the first of it's kind and definitely the least bloody. It relied heavily on suspense rather than gore. It was unique and need no sequels or copies. It got lots of both and although John Carpenter got writing credits, he didn't direct it.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by steve12553

One not: You may want to revisit Halloween. It was the first of it's kind and definitely the least bloody. It relied heavily on suspense rather than gore. It was unique and need no sequels or copies. It got lots of both and although John Carpenter got writing credits, he didn't direct it.

I don't know. I was distinctly bored while sitting through it. There are much older movies like say the Val Lewton films or some of Hitchcock's films or other individual films (Carnival of Souls, The Innocents etc.) that I can absolutely be bowled over without having to make any allowances for the time or the circumstances under which they were made. This one was strictly average, and I never felt any suspense...you pretty much knew right when the characters were introduced who as going to get it and who was going to survive, it was just a question of getting to the checkpoints and there was IMO nothing noteworthy there either.

[steve12553]

Good point, it's not Hitchcock. It was merely the first and the best of the "Teenage Slasher Films". It was ten times better than Friday the Thirteen Part 26: Jason goes to Mars or any of the copies. No, it is clearly not good film making or even decent horror. It was a fairly original concept that caught on, produced many copies and made a lot of money. If you want good John Carpenter you look to The Thing, which in spite of my fond memories of the original as a child it's return to the original story made it worthwhile. Halloween was merely best of it's sub-genre. All in all it's a pretty limited sub-genre.

[j. d. worthington]

The one thing that -- for me -- made Halloween a bit more than that is something that's only lightly sketched in (but there) in the original, and explored more in later films (and something that was gone into quite a bit in the novelization by Curtis Richards), is the idea that what we're dealing with isn't just a slasher after teenagers, but is an avatar of Samhain, and it is ritualistically repeating a pattern thousands of years old, with the reincarnations of the same souls:

The horror started on the eve of Samhain, in a foggy vale in northern Ireland, at the dawn of the Celtic race. And once started, it trod the earth forevermore, wreaking its savagery suddenly, swiftly, and with incredible ferocity.

(from the opening of the novelization)

Essentially, we are dealing with Death itself, personified... literally "the Boogieman". The problem is that, as originally released (there is an extended version of the film that gets more deeply into this aspect of it) most of this was either left out or so lightly touched on that it's easy to miss. Anyway, for me, this added a dimension to the film that seems to grow over the years, and so I enjoy this one, where most slasher films simply leave me bored to tears. It remains a flawed film, but I must say I do actually quite like it.

Incidentally -- Ravenus, I have a question. You say that Carpenter didn't direct it ... where did you come across that information? Was it in this documntary? The reason I ask is that all the sources I've seen, including interviews with Carpenter, say that he did; that, in fact, this was the breakthrough film for him as a director. So I'd be very interested in clearing this up.

And, just to make matters worse: Not only are they doing a remake of Hellraiser now, but next year we'll be seeing a remake of Halloween, directed by Rob Zombie, no less. Even the mavericks are doing film remakes now....

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

...Ravenus, I have a question. You say that Carpenter didn't direct it ... where did you come across that information?

Where did I say that? Definitely never intended to.

next year we'll be seeing a remake of Halloween, directed by Rob Zombie, no less. Even the mavericks are doing film remakes now....

Damn, I would have hoped for Zombie to do something else, something fresh. A Halloween remake is the worst sort of venture I'd want for someone with creativity.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Where did I say that? Definitely never intended to.

Okay... the cold and fever yesterday must have fried my brains completely. It was Steve, not you, that made the statement.... *sigh* I hate what being ill does to my mentality!

Damn, I would have hoped for Zombie to do something else, something fresh. A Halloween remake is the worst sort of venture I'd want for someone with creativity.

And I'll second you there. I just can't believe that we're seeing this happening (again!) with the mavericks in the field. (God forbid, for instance, you should see the remake of The Fog ... I think I chipped some tooth enamel forcing myself to sit through that at my sister's importunings... and Carpenter and Hill apparently approved of the damned thing!)

[steve12553]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

Okay... the cold and fever yesterday must have fried my brains completely. It was Steve, not you, that made the statement.... *sigh* I hate what being ill does to my mentality!

And I was referring to Halloween II.

Ya know somebody said something. That's always a start.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by steve12553

And I was referring to Halloween II.

Ya know somebody said something. That's always a start.

Indeed.