AMERICAN NIGHTMARE (2001)
PLOT-On Halloween night, a psychotic woman goes around killing people who confessed their greatest fears on a radio show.
VIOLENCE-A couple stabbings and shootings result in a decent amount of blood, and a guy gets his dick cut off (but we don't see it happen).
SEX/NUDITY-Two of the lead female characters are shown topless breifly at one point during the film.
WHY I LIKED IT-I'm a huge fan of Debbie Rochon, who just seems to get better and better the more she works. Being in tons of movies has really paid off for her, providing both visibility and experience, and making her one of the finest actors in independent film today. Her role as the psycho killer in AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is the perfect vehicle to really show off her range. Sometimes, Debbie was so good at being crazy that it was borderline frightening. I can't imagine being on the set when she did some of these scenes. She just rips loose, resulting in a killer performance (no pun intended) that will undoubtedly impress even her biggest fans. If your movie doesn't have a strong story, original concept, or good production value, the only way you can make it worth watching is to have enthusiastic and gutsy performances by the actors. That's the key to AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, it has Debbie. I also enjoyed seeing the brief cameo by scream queen Brinke Stevens (who had a larger role alongside Debbie in the recent flick WITCHOUSE 3: DEMON FIRE, an excellent movie). Fans of Debbie Rochon should not miss this one.
DOWNSIDE-Unfortunately, if you took Debbie out of this film, you would have nothing more than a familiar retread stalker movie. It looks and feels like it was made for television, and only the very end is anything special (I thought the final scene rocked). I got sick of the "too cool for school" radio deejay guy real fast, and I didn't feel the back story was set up well enough for the audience to understand what was happening. Also, the other characters are very one-dimensional, and thus we don't care about them when they die. It is a well-made film, just nothing out of the ordinary. Horror fans will not see anything special about AMERICAN NIGHTMARE other than Rochon, who carries the film. I was also disappointed that Rochon wasn't interviewed for the "making of" segment.
MEMORABLE SCENES-Debbie's character buries someone alive, and absolutely freaks out at the scene afterward. She shouts at the top of her lungs, repeatedly stabbing the ground in a mad frenzy. I'll say it again, Debbie is THE reason to see this film.
NOTES-This movie should not be confused with the Independent Film Channel's 2000 documentary AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, which focused on the horror films of the vietnam era. Unfortunately, that incredible program has yet to be released on video or DVD.