THE AMERICAN SCREAM
(Documentary)
USA, 2012
Director: Michael Stephenson
9/10
Michael Stephenson might not be the greatest actor on Earth ("A double-decker Bologna sandwich!"), but he's definitely a fantastic documentary filmmaker and I have a slight feeling that he totally could be something like the Michael Moore of Horror. His debut documentary "Best Worst Movie" was a wonderful document about the fans of, and the 'actors' who starred in "Troll 2". His follow-up documentary "The American Scream" follows 3 Massachusettsan families who dedicate their lives to the celebration of Halloween - and omg, I loved it.
In a slow but steady and unboring pace, Stephenson gives us an intriguing in-depth look into the households of [1] the Bariteau family who work hard to make their incredible Halloween decoration look as perfect and professional as possible, [2] the Souza family who work equally hard, but in a cooler and more easygoing way, and [3] the enthusiastic father-and-son-team Matt and Rick Brodeur who feel more like two brothers or two old friends.
Beautifully filmed and accompanied with a lovely score by Bobby Tahouri ("Echelon Conspiracy"), we get to see three heartwarming portraits of people who give everything to make their idea of Halloween as awesome and impressive as possible. There's lots of fun and laughter, but also lots of drama and sadness, due to the pressure and stress they all go through during October, but in the end we can see that it's all worth it because no matter how much blood, sweat and tears they shed, the people who visit their insanely impressive 'haunted houses" have a fantastic and super-scary time, and give their 'creators' the feeling they've done something great and important, something that is worth dedicating your life to.
In a slow but steady and unboring pace, Stephenson gives us an intriguing in-depth look into the households of [1] the Bariteau family who work hard to make their incredible Halloween decoration look as perfect and professional as possible, [2] the Souza family who work equally hard, but in a cooler and more easygoing way, and [3] the enthusiastic father-and-son-team Matt and Rick Brodeur who feel more like two brothers or two old friends.
Beautifully filmed and accompanied with a lovely score by Bobby Tahouri ("Echelon Conspiracy"), we get to see three heartwarming portraits of people who give everything to make their idea of Halloween as awesome and impressive as possible. There's lots of fun and laughter, but also lots of drama and sadness, due to the pressure and stress they all go through during October, but in the end we can see that it's all worth it because no matter how much blood, sweat and tears they shed, the people who visit their insanely impressive 'haunted houses" have a fantastic and super-scary time, and give their 'creators' the feeling they've done something great and important, something that is worth dedicating your life to.
Victor Bariteau nails it when he says "It's Halloween or nothing." - and when it comes to documentaries, I hope I nail it too when I say "It's Michael Stephenson or nothing" ;-)
Source:
http://www.horrormoviediary.net/2013/09/the-american-scream-slash-filmfestival.html
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