The American Nightmare (2000)

Director:

Adam Simon

Writer:

Adam Simon (writer)

Release Date:

20 July 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Documentary | Horror

Tagline:

A celebration of Films from Horror's Golden Age of Fright.

Plot:

An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.

Plot Keywords:

1960s | Racism | Vietnam War | Art | Film Maker

Cast

John Carpenter	...	Himself
Carol J. Clover	...	Herself
Wes Craven	...	Himself
David Cronenberg	...	Himself
Tom Gunning	...	Himself
Tobe Hooper	...	Himself
John Landis	...	Himself
Adam Lowenstein	...	Himself
George A. Romero	...	Himself
Tom Savini	...	Himself

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:R

Company:

Minerva Pictures

Trivia:

Packaged as an extra on the Region 2 release of Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977).

Quotes:

Wes Craven: I think there is something about the "American Dream", the sort of Disneyesque dream if you will of the beautifully trimmed front lawn, the white picket fence, mom and dad and their happy children, god fearing and doing good whenever they can; that sort of expectation, and the flipside of it, the kind of anger and the sense of outrage that comes from discovering that that's not the truth of the matter, I think that gives American horror films in some ways kind of an additional rage...

Movie Connections:

Features It Came from Outer Space (1953)

Soundtrack:

Moya

A good documentary, putting American horror films into context

A very interesting documentary on the US horror films of the '60s and '70s. The mixture of interviews with some directors (Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, George Romero etc), film clips and social commentary works well. Films are shown as reflections of the society in which they were made - not an earth-shaking revelation, but the witty commentaries, particularly by Carol Clover and John Landis, bring home the changes in style and taste through the two decades.

Inevitably the perspective is partial, restricted to US films (and Cronenberg's 'Shivers')and to selected film-makers. But it is a very entertaining documentary - and you can apply its messages to the obsessions influencing the European horror film-makers of the same period.