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The American Nightmare
TIFF [2000]
David Cronenberg(USA 2000) 75 minutes
Directed by Adam Simon
Featuring: John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper, George RomeroROBERT L'S REVIEW
My immediate reaction to Adam Simon's affectionate tribute to baby boom horror pioneers George Romero, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and David Cronenberg:
1) It's about bloody time, and
2) Why the hell didn't I make this movie, since I've spent my entire life as a mouthpiece to the virtues of the "Dead" trilogy, "Halloween", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Rabid", et al?Not all that long ago, before home video killed the drive-in and the double-bill, horror films were socially relevant, not that many people beyond "Famous Monsters" subscribers cared at the time. Modern classics such as "Night Of The Living Dead", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "The Last House On The Left" were fueled as much by young filmmakers' responses to American foreign policy and domestic civil unrest as they were by the need to make a quick buck. In carefully researched and selected footage, parallels are drawn between the televised snuff spectacles of Vietnam, the Watts riots, the Manson Massacre, and the ratings-defying, fictionalized horrors depicted in significant "exploitation" films of the era, which were often a lot more subversive and daring than their mainstream competitors.
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John McCarty, Tim Lucas, and David J. Skaal have been writing intelligently on the subject for years now, but how often have we seen these films given their due ON film? The original "indie" filmmakers discuss their works candidly and humbly from their homes, supported by more academic observations from Adam Lowenstein (Associate Director of Film Studies at the University Of Pittsburgh), Tom Gunning (acting Chair of The Committee On Cinema And Media at the University Of Chicago), and Carol Glover (Professor at USC Berkley, and author of "Men, Women, And Chainsaws").
For 75 too-brief minutes, Savini recounts how is early years as a Vietnam photographer allowed him to study the anatomy of mutilated bodies and inspire visions that a decade later would make him famous. Cronenberg unveils the both horror and the beauty of the final moment of "Shivers", as the insane Montreal high-rise occupants are liberated from societal constraints. Craven discusses how Ingmar Bergman's "The Virgin Spring" inspired "Last House On The Left". Romero recalls how a nation of roller-disco automatons spawned "Dawn Of The Dead" in the mid 70s. Hooper admits that a long department store lineup was what really inspired him to create "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". And John Carpenter, who unfortunately gets the least amount of screen time, apologizes for ending the sexual revolution with "Halloween".
"The American Nightmare" airs this month--just in time for Halloween--on The Independent Film Channel in the United States and will hopefully find a home video distributor soon after. Preaching to the converted? Sure, fans will eat it up, but I encourage any skeptic to tune in. You don't know what you're missing.
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