Review of The American Nightmare (2000) by Budge B — 18 May 2009

This is an intelligently organised review of the role and status of the horror movie in the USA in the last quarter of the 20th century. It juxtaposes clips from horror and science fiction classics - the living dead, towns being sanitised to stop plague spreading, the dangers of the unknown, the ephemeral veneer of civilisation - with clips of television coverage of Vietnam and urban rioting in the USA. The real footage is every bit as horrific as the fiction.

We get a roll call of the giants of North American horror - Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, John Landis, George Romero, David Cronenberg, Tom Savini - explaining their influences and commenting on the reactions to their work. It seems they were often damned as un-American, as being subversive, purely because they might suggest that American society could break down in that way. Tobe Hunter, for instance, has his "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" hinging on a fuel shortage; George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" is a commentary on consumerism as the dead are still drawn to the Mall.

It's a very entertaining and thought provoking work which most horror fans will thoroughly enjoy. I would, however, advocate buying it as part of "The Wes Craven Collection", where it is packaged as an extra along with four of Craven's films and represents much better value in that form.