Intcatinfo
A Masterpiece!
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
punishmentpark
Quite a fantastic little film, which revolves around the brutal killings of seemingly random victims, mainly prostitutes. It's hardly believable that a well to do, caring older brother would let his sister get into this much trouble, but in the end it becomes obvious why things turned out that way. Is it believable that the brother, a famous pianist, would fall in love with an exotic dancer from skid row? Maybe not, but it's portrayed with the necessary integrity. The nasty kill scenes and many gratuitous striptease scenes should clash with the serious themes, but they hardly do. The film maintains a certain amount of integrity, though I don't think it's for everyone - my love for gore and nudity admittedly helps a lot...The story (stories) evolves rather slowly, which leaves room for a believable way of Eric and Louise becoming more and more involved with each other. The ending may be a little far fetched (though I did have a feeling Uni-Save might have something to do with it), but it works well enough, even if the finale is a rather by the book way of concluding a thriller. It helps that Neil Dainard delivers a fine performance as the high and mighty baddie who believes he is just setting things right. The rest of the acting is rather okay, but nothing special.If a mix of gritty thriller and a good dose of exploitation elements might be your thing, check this one out! A good 7 out of 10 from yours truly.
forecastfortoday
American Nightmare is a very unusual movie. It's not like your usual slasher where it's some guy in a mask killing a bunch of high school kids. But the movie plays out kind of like a slasher. This is sort of a cross over between a slasher and a mystery. A young girl goes missing and her older brother starts looking for her but the only people who can help him are a group of strippers (who are shallowly thought of as degenerates) who shared an apartment with her. The strippers start to get picked off one by one until the older brother, a girl named Louise, and a whole lot of red herrings are left standing.For such a low budget movie, American Nightmare is actually really good. I would even say it tops the more popular B-movies from this time such as Hell Night and maybe even Terror Train. The acting in this movie isn't too bad, I think the only person who is really that bad would be the killer when their identity is revealed. Another thing is that American Nightmare is pretty scary. The murders are pretty violent and suspenseful, and the creepiest part is some people you think are going to survive end up being murdered. There are two really good chase scenes in the middle and the end of the film between Louise and the killer between an apartment complex and a huge office building. For anybody who enjoys a slasher movie, a horror, or simply just a mystery this is obviously a huge recommendation.
lazarillo
Most of the other reviews of this are pretty much spot on. This movie does have elements of the Italian giallo, but it is much more gritty and realistic than the garish and stylized gialli. It also resembles America slasher movies (many of which, like this movie, were actually Canadian tax shelter productions). It's not a TEEN slasher movie, however, with rutting adolescents being almost metaphorically bumped off by an unreal murderous "boogey man"; this is a more realistic movie, as much crime thriller as horror flick. It resembles gritty, urban films like "Maniac", "Nightmares in a Damaged Brain", or "The New York Ripper" but, for better or worse, doesn't quite attain that level of sordidness. It's more of a downbeat and sleazy but less harrowing film, like "Too Scared to Scream" or "Windows".In a nod to "Hardcore" (as another reviewer noted) this movie is about a brother looking for his younger sister in the red light district of strippers and prostitutes. In a noirish touch the audience knows from the opening sequence that the sister is already dead, but the brother's search will bring him face-to-face with her killer, a vicious modern-day "Jack the Ripper" who is carving up wayward women with a straight razor.A young Michael Ironside has a supporting role as police detective, and the murdered sister is played by a young Alexandra Paul. The latter has a long topless scene--and this might be the main reason this film is still sought out by anyone today. As for me though, I have a soft spot in my heart (or perhaps my brain-pan) for this kind of early 80's sleaze. If you feel the same way, you might want to check this one out.
midnight_wanderer
I thought this would suck because of the feel of the movie when it first started but it turned out a watchable movie. I think the writer wanted to add something that would hold the watchers attention & that was the love story happening between the Eric & Louise characters. It's not real scary but a good thriller & I fell in love with Lora Staley, who plays Louise, while watching. She's just so...perfect. That's my ideal girl. Anywho, it's just a feel good movie...that is if you like love stories.
