Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film | DVD Review

Over the years, Americans have enjoyed countless hours of bloodlust, spooks, and scares thanks to a long list of horror loving craftsmen that put their passion into the creation of entertaining fear. Since the beginning of film history, these tales of classic monsters, nuclear scares, undead invasions, and psychopathic slashers have not only brought shivers down our spines, but have also shown us a warped, yet direct reflection of American society that stands shoulder to shoulder with any film genre. Director Andrew Monument’s horror film history lesson could supplement a portion of any film history class, running through the decades with the living greats of horror themselves, reflecting on their favorite classics as well as their own creations. As an introduction to horror history and its charismatic pillars of production, Nightmares In Red, White and Blue works marvels, but the film also stands as comprehensive proof of the genre’s legitimacy.

Wasting no time, Monument starts his tale at the top with Thomas Edison’s ill received incarnation of Frankenstein. From there, each decade is characterized by distinct movements in the film world that directly correlate to events that were taking place in the daily lives of Americans. During World War II, people were faced with real life horrors that could never be topped on screen, so the monsters that were popular in the 30s suddenly were realized to be slightly goofy, and instead of creating fear, they were used to promote the war. In the 50s, Americans were fear stricken by the thought of nuclear attack, and in turn, nearly every horror film released featured some kind of creature created in the wake of a nuclear foul up. Each decade is examined and explained with more and more detail all the way through post-9/11 xenophobic films like Hostel. The films are lovingly spoken about by a large cast of film historians, and horror directors that still have their hands in the blood filled cauldron today. Names like John Carpenter, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Larry Cohen and George Romero line the film with passionate insight into what makes fear such a vital part of human entertainment, while a long list of film clips reinforce their trustworthy opinions.

The film is a well researched, and heavily contemplated piece, backed up firmly by authorities on the genre. That said, a film running a mere 96 minutes can only delve so deep into history that spans a hundred years. Though it also dabbles a bit outside of US borders at times, foreign influence has often played a major role in the development of domestic film movements, especially early on with films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Nosferatu leaving large impressions on American directors at the time. Monument also acknowledges the genre’s inherent goofiness, and incorporates that feeling in the film’s title cards, and editing of film montage sequences, making for a lighthearted, yet informative look at an outrageous, but important genre in film history.

Part one of Kino Lorber’s horror and exploitation film history docu double feature set looks about how you’d expect a doc that takes clips from old horror movies and mixes them with modern day interviews to look. Much of the archived film material seems a bit boosted, and older material that may not have been shot in the 1.78 aspect ratio, as this film is presented, is either stretched or cropped to fit the screen. It’s not incredibly off putting, but it’s a little disappointing not to see these clips as they were originally meant to be seen. Interviews on the other hand look natural and crisp. The stereo soundtrack in interviews, as well as the fitting narration by Lance Henrikson, is reproduced well, while film clips on the other hand tend to be a mixed bag. Unfortunately, the disc itself is bare bones. Not even a trailer to be found, say nothing of a commentary or featurette.

American horror films will always be a major money maker, even in recent years with remakes of remakes being churned out, but most still with social commentary sneaking its way into those spooky shadows, behind blood spattered curtains and tucked away deep inside gothic crypts just waiting to pop out and shock you with relevance. Nightmares In Red, White and Blue makes its case with a vast amount of historical film clips, and a star studded cast just bubbling with adulation for their beloved big screen projections of fear. Equal parts entertainment and education, Monument’s doc should be in every film history and horror buff’s library.

Movie rating – 3.5

Disc Rating – 1.5