I first saw The American Nightmare a few years ago, late night on BBC 4. I was channel surfing and suddenly saw George Romero talking about Night Of The Living Dead. That immediately piqued my interest and I ended up watching what would turn out to be, probably my favourite documentary. The American Nightmare is contains interviews with some of the great icons of horror, including Romero, Tom Savini, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter along with some academic talking heads, who turn out to be quite insightful and thought provoking. Instead of being a fawning tribute to some of the most influential films of the 60's and 70's, the director Adam Simon instead chooses to quiz the directors on what events and ideas inspired their films. The films focuses on the legacy of the 1960's; the political assassinations, living under the spectre of nuclear annihilation, social unrest, the Vietnam War and the Sexual Revolution. It's an interesting topic and the directors interviewed all acknowledge the air of unrest and the social trauma of the time seeped into their films. Savini is maybe the most revealing, recounting his time in Vietnam and how it influenced his approach to SFX ad makeup.

Another big selling point for me was the music. Pretty soon after I started watching I heard one of my favourite groups, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Their music is a blend of cataclysmic post-rock and haunting drone. Amazingly, the music and the images fit together perfectly, to the point that the movie is almost an unofficial music video. There are some brilliant sequenes, most notably the black and white footage of the nuclear bomb tests and the 1950's PSA movies, where the music gives them an almost melancholic air. Thankfully, someone has uploaded the whole thing onto Youtube, so I'll present the first part here and leave you to watch the rest.

The American Nightmare is available on Region 1 DVD from all good stockists. It's available as part of the Wes CravenBoxset (Scream, Last House On The Left, The Hills Have Eyes, Mindripper ). Godspeed You! Black Emperor recently announced that they are to disband. The have released three albums and oneEP. If you want a recommendation on their music or anything similar, drop me a comment or PM.