For the quintessential insight into what a horror movie is, ladies and gentlemen look no further than American Nightmare. Insight given to us by the very men who create horror gives a new appreciation for a genre. Hearing from men like Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Tobe Hooper, and John Carpenter we get to peer into minds behind the scariest movies in American cinema. I have left watching this documentary with an understanding and admiration for a genre that I have previously discounted. I now have the urge to sit down and go on a horror movie binge.

For my review I would like to focus on the one of the first quotes given in the movie by Tobe Hooper, the writer and director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, “I think we shoot a lot of stuff and then, 20 years later, we find out what it really meant”. This statement really resonated with me. It summarized how I have felt about not just horror movies but also much of the artistic creative world. I do not mean to discount the intentional but rather highlight the unintentional. What Hooper gets at here is the idea that we do not always consciously know it or may not be aware of it but we are at all times products of our environment. Film, and particularly horror, allows for an introspection into society that otherwise would not be acceptable. However, by calling it a movie artists are able to take liberties. But the point that I think this statement really drives home is that it is not until much later can we separate ourselves from the history that we see how much of our surroundings seep in. Watching any of the horror movies highlighted in the documentary at the time of their release undoubtedly would have resonated more then than now, however I believe that at the moment the reason is not clear why. For example the end scene in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead when the dogs are ferociously barking at the ghouls and the men are picking them off with their guns has serious civil rights implications. At this time nearly the same thing was happening to Black people who stood up for their civil rights. The question is though did the audience know why these images resonated so strongly? I do not believe they did. The simple fact is that we as a society have difficulty with introspection. Therefore, for the audience of 1968 I do not think that the blatant connection was there but looking back at the film it is near impossible not to see the connection whether it was Romero’s point or not.

I feel that watching this documentary taught me a lot, not just about horror movies but also about people. At the end of the day the horror movie is made to scare or creep the audience out. In order to do this, these directors, writers, and makeup artists need to tap into their audience to evoke such a strong emotion. In order to do so, these men and women develop the ability to teeter on and cross the line when necessary to touch the nerve of the audience. Seeing into the creative minds that can do such a thing gives the audience of this documentary a look into that reality that we so often leave untouched.

Overall I highly recommend this movie to any and everyone, be you an avid fan or horror movie skeptic.