An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
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Title: Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)
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Cast
| Cast overview: | |||
| Lance Henriksen | ... | Narrator (voice) | |
| Larry Cohen | ... | Himself | |
| Joe Dante | ... | Himself | |
| John Carpenter | ... | Himself | |
| Darren Lynn Bousman | ... | Himself | |
| Mick Garris | ... | Himself | |
| Tom McLoughlin | ... | Himself | |
| George A. Romero | ... | Himself | |
| Brian Yuzna | ... | Himself | |
 |
Dennis Fischer | ... | Himself |
| Roger Corman | ... | Himself | |
| Anthony Timpone | ... | Himself (as Tony Timpone) | |
|
|
John Kenneth Muir | ... | Himself |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 August 2009 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Efialtes se kokkino, lefko kai ble See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color
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Composer: Quinn Coleman
Performed by Spank
Publisher: Audiosparx (ASCAP)
See more »
Did You Know?
Quotes
Darren Lynn Bousman: Speaking of Horror: Most of the power that it has relates to the time that it is made.See more »
Soundtracks
Get You BackComposer: Quinn Coleman
Performed by Spank
Publisher: Audiosparx (ASCAP)
See more »
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When it comes to film-making, horror flicks have carved out quite a nice little existence for themselves. This documentary does two things: it reflects back on the history of the horror movie, as well as gives some reasons as to why they have evolved over the years.
That first part, the reflection, is truly what carries "Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue". It is interesting to see the history of the genre, remembering all the terrifying (whether physically or emotionally) images that have branded themselves into our collective "film conscience".
However, the "discussion" parts of the documentary leave much to be desired. The approach here is very political (in one laughable segment, former President Ronald Reagan is compared to Freddy Krueger!) and really tries to understand why the "Monster Era" of the early 1900s gave way to the aliens of the 50s, the slashers of the 80s, or the psychological thrillers of the 90s, for instance. While I appreciated the effort, the reasoning just seemed a bit ridiculous at times, almost as if the panel of guests were reaching for conclusions where perhaps none in fact exist.
Overall, then, "Nightmares" is a great doc if all you care about is a history lesson on horror movies. If you want anything deeper, be prepared to take pretty much every comment with a grain of salt or that nagging feeling of "this is all just being trumped up to sell a genre".