The American Nightmare

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.