American Nightmare

I was thoroughly impressed with the American Nightmare documentary and found it both riveting and disturbing to watch. I could not turn my eyes away from the screen during viewing, as the images were so moving and surreal. It hit on a lot of important aspects of horror films, some of which we have begun to discuss in class including why or how certain images scare us while others are not so effective. By using interviews with directors of classic horror movies from the past fifty years, the documentary acquired a certain credibility and rawness that amplified each clip they used. It seemed that the film was trying to take a long, hard look at the link between horror films and a wider historical lens. What did each movie represent about the fears in our society at the time of its release? Why or how was this significant? To be able to get into the minds of directors who created such classics as Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Shivers was stupefying because it started to answer some of these questions.

One of my favorite parts of the film was the interview with Tobe Hooper, director of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre released in 1974. Hooper talked about how he came up with the idea for the film, and revealed that it all started when feeling pressured to evacuate a crowded store and laying his eyes upon a chainsaw on the shelves. Having a chainsaw in his arsenal would have broken up the crowd so he could leave easily. He then went even further into his inspiration for this film and discussed the idea of delving into issues that most people shun in their conscious minds. He said that there is a small window into deep, dark, sinister thoughts, but we close the door to those ideas because they frighten us.  As a film director he feels the need to push that door wide open and explore what terrifying film tactics have the most substantial effects on viewers. While watching this section I wondered what questions the interviewer was asking in order to get such incredible responses. It seemed effortless to get Hooper to open up about his process, when in reality it's a very deep and personal topic to talk about so candidly. For this and so many more reasons, I found American Nightmare both educational and socially important.