Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

November 5, 2010 by Editor
Filed under Film Reviews

Nightmares In Red, White and Blue (2009)

Directed By: Andrew Monument

Review Written By: Horse
Mondo Film & Video Guide Contributor
IMDb.com Link

Bear with me as I try my hand at my first documentary review. Starting way back with Edison’s 1910 Frankenstein and going all the way through the Saw and Hostel series, this is a comprehensive look back at American horror throughout the ages and eras. You may be thinking, but Horse, man, I know my horror history and don’t need to see anything about it. You may be right, but even for an old-school horror vet like myself I found plenty of enjoyment and even learned a few new things from this flick.

“Between 2003 and 2008, 135 horror titles grossed nearly 3 billion dollars at the box office”, says Lance Henricksen, our narrator for the next 96 minutes. This film talks about or at least shows clips or stills from nearly everything from 1910-2009. I don’t really want to spoil anything so I’ll focus more on the films mentioned and those interviewed instead of the content. If I tell you everything the film says, then you wouldn’t have any need to see it now would you?

Silent era: Mostly focused on Lon Chaney and the real horror of the First World War and subsequent Great Depression. Some interesting choices of clips accompany this short segment, as most wouldn’t really be considered horror unless you look deeper into the feeling of the era and what they represent.

“A new world of Gods and Monsters” has Roger Corman giving love to the early German silent films like Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu, claiming that those were the films that influenced him the most, rather than the classic American horror films. This shifts to focus on Dracula, Frankenstein and the other classic Universal Monsters. Also rich with facts and info, like “in 1934 the Hollywood Production Code Administration decreed that all movie monsters must be destroyed by the end of every film, regardless of their motives”. I may’ve heard that before, but it felt like fresh new info.

“Shadowland” starts with John Carpenter talking about the true horror of the holocaust, or “industrialized murder” as he so eloquently puts it. Joe Dante speaks of the early childhood horror of Disney, esp. Pinocchio and the transformation scene in that, and how some kids like it, some don’t, and those who do step up to horror movies. Also nice little segments (a couple minutes each) about the original Cat People and The Leopard Man, and how they started a new, minimalist era of “fill in the blank spots yourself” terror. This carries us through Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt.

“Big bugs, body snatchers and the bomb” starts with Corman recollecting on The Day the World Ended and takes us through the late 40’s and 50’s. It also focuses on the other “creatures of the bomb”, like Tarantula, Them, Beast from 20,000 Phantoms, etc. as well as stinkers like Creature with the Atom Brain which Brain Yunza says “while it isn’t a good film, it scared me when I was a kid” and how when and where you saw the oldies reflect your feeling for them. A pretty amusing piece with George A. Romero reflecting on The Thing from Another World and its use of doors is a highlight.

“Apocalypse America” starts with 1960’s Psycho. “Psycho put audiences on notice that nothing would be off-limits anymore – anyone can die, at any time!” Carpenter calls it “the beginning of the modern horror film”, citing how most horror films until then were “gothic romances” like the Hammer films of the late 50’s. Corman talks about Fall of the House of Usher as the doc. speaks of budgets going up and the boundaries of on-screen violence being pushed. This goes on through the start of the Vietnam War, the developing U.S. counter-culture, and the films spawned from all this like Rosemary’s Baby and Night of the Living Dead.

“Land of the Free” is up next. Carpenter is first up, mentioning how the culture was again changing and movies were getting “harder”, with more sex, violence and excess. Last House on the Left is prominently featured here. Darren Lynn Bousman says how it brought humanity to the on screen killers, and how a moment in the film made him want to do horror movies. Film historian John Kenneth Muir compares the violence of “Last House” against Death Wish. Being in the 70’s now, you know Texas Chainsaw Massacre is going to get at least an honorable mention. It gets a few minutes of love, as does The Exorcist. Larry Cohen talks about It’s Alive. Jaws, Stepford Wives and Shivers which are mentioned because the segment is about “horror coming home” and the settings changing to everyday places familiar to all.

Halloween and Alien are up next in a segment about sexuality. Carpenter talks about his film, and Muir about the “strong undercurrent of the reproductive cycle” in Alien. We then get a few minutes about Stephen King’s writing with clips from most of the films for the visuals. Hmmm, no Pet Sematary there.

“Old Monsters New Flesh” is the next subtitle we see, and it leads into a piece about They Live and how movies were now reflecting the political climate. Then slasher movies are mentioned. Friday the 13th takes center stage. There is a great montage of the nudity, sex and violence from the whole series, very well put together, entertaining and possibly the highlight of the whole documentary to me. Of course these films have always been my favorites since they were the ones I grew up on and with. Onward to the 80’s, which Mick Garris says is when “horror movies became spectacles again” after drawing back to “human drama” in the 60’s and 70’s. The Howling gets the most play in this part. Clips from Poltergeist, The Thing, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead and The Stuff are touched upon along with the new pessimistic view of America.

“Wes Craven produced the most iconic character of the decade” kicks off the next part about the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Nothing new here and it’s to the 90’s and Silence of the Lambs. Still amazing to think that film got all four major Academy awards in ‘91. Tony Timpone of Fangoria appears for the first time with his take on why the film was so popular. This leads directly to the next title card:

“The Nightmare American” and a spot about Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. For some reason Candyman is between that and Seven and Misery. Scream, American Psycho, Hannibal, Interview with the Vampire, Blade, The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, and Shadow of the Vampire are all mentioned, some just passing clips, some with reason.

“Ground Zero” takes us to the new millennium, beginning with 9/11. Romero tells about shopping Land of the Dead weeks before the tragedy, and “tailored it for this new normal” that came about after the shock and anger died down, and the “live in fear” era that the media started. Carpenter tells how we all bought “the evil is out there” story. A brief segment about the remakes of 2003-2005 follows, leading into Saw and Hostel. Hostel is explained as an example of this new era of xenophobia in horror, which is all back to the more things change, the more they stay the same. The underlying themes and messages in horror films always “reflect the social and political attitudes of the day” and what the real fears were then.

Tom McLoughlin and film critic Dennis Fischer also offer insights and opinions along the way. As far as documentaries go, this one is among the better ones I’ve seen. There are times when a film will come up and be instantly passed over, or others where I wish just a bit more time could have be spent on that one, but the movie keeps on chugging along through scores of films, some with clips, others with mere screenshots and quick mentions. The DVD is pretty much movie only which is kind of a bummer. We all know there has to be at least some interesting extended interview footage; they didn’t shoot just 2-5 minutes with each of these guys. It is worth checking out for any horror fan since there’s bound to be something here you haven’t heard or didn’t know, and it never gets boring or even close to it. Rent it or wait for it on the cheap (due to documentaries having low replay value, and lack of extra features).