The
American Nightmare
Adam Simon
Umbrella Entertainment 2004
R4 DVD
The American Nightmare
takes horror seriously, rather than writing off such films as violent and
anti-social or indeed as just a “good time” it works to explore the very fabric
from which horror is made with a special focus to the social and psychological
roots of the 1970’s horror boom.
Between 1968 and 1977
something truly explosive occurred in American cinema. Suddenly, the
exploitation and grindhouse experience transformed into something totally
unique and terrifying. New and confronting horror experiences began to hit and
screen and cinema has never been the same again.
Films like George A
Romero's Night of The Living Dead,
David Cronenberg's Shivers and
Wes Craven's The Last House On The Left
scared us like we were never scared before by tapping into the raw nerves of
our culture and its demons. While never overtly political or even culturally
sensitive, these films explored the fears of a culture going through immense
change and represent far more than may be seen by a surface viewing.
In this deeply insightful documentary, filmmaker Adam Simon reflects on this
period of great change, the films themselves and the radical effect they had on
the horror genre. Simon attempts to
explain the real nature of these films both via the lives and psychology of the
filmmakers, coupled with extensive interviews, and the cultural context of the
This is a fascinating documentary which offers insight not only into this
important period of film-making, but a powerful exploration of the interaction
between cinema, psychology and cultural and political change.
Simon keeps our attention
with a range of confronting clips from the films being dissected as well as
footage of the social and political revolution which set the context for their
success.
This is an impressive and
insightful exploration.