The American Scream (2012)
*** (out of 4)
From Michael Stephenson, the director of BEST WORST MOVIE, comes this rather charming documentary focusing on three people whose love of Halloween causes them to turn their homes into a haunted house tour on the holiday. THE American SCREAM is a rather interesting documentary, although it's certainly flawed at times as well as being a tad bit slow. I think most people love Halloween and as this film shows, people love using their imagination and getting scared. I think some of the best moments talk about not only these three men but also various others across the country who spend thousands of dollars decorating their homes and trying to outdo one another for having the best haunted house. I think some other great moments include the obvious effect this is having on some of the people but this here is also the bad part of the film. I think the movie needed more scenes taking a look at the bad times of doing this. There are times when finances are mentioned and it would have been nice hearing about how much this costs and what sacrifices these people have to make to make others happy. The pacing is a bit off and as I said, at 82-minutes the film does seem long at times. With that said, the movie is still very much worth watching.
*** (out of 4)
From Michael Stephenson, the director of BEST WORST MOVIE, comes this rather charming documentary focusing on three people whose love of Halloween causes them to turn their homes into a haunted house tour on the holiday. THE American SCREAM is a rather interesting documentary, although it's certainly flawed at times as well as being a tad bit slow. I think most people love Halloween and as this film shows, people love using their imagination and getting scared. I think some of the best moments talk about not only these three men but also various others across the country who spend thousands of dollars decorating their homes and trying to outdo one another for having the best haunted house. I think some other great moments include the obvious effect this is having on some of the people but this here is also the bad part of the film. I think the movie needed more scenes taking a look at the bad times of doing this. There are times when finances are mentioned and it would have been nice hearing about how much this costs and what sacrifices these people have to make to make others happy. The pacing is a bit off and as I said, at 82-minutes the film does seem long at times. With that said, the movie is still very much worth watching.