Watch Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film is a look into the making of American Horror Films from a viewpoint of directors, cast, and experts on the subject. This documentary provides horror movie fans a look in to the life of the genre and all things horror. The film is based off the book with the same title written by author Joseph Maddrey. This documentary provides a view into classic movies from the roaring twenties, monsters, wartime movies, the psychics and the psychos.

Learning more about how America’s culture influenced films and the route that the American Horror movie went, directors and actor provide insight on each film. They provide a look into the silent horror films such as those by Lon Chaney, films directed by Alfred Hitchcock in to more modernized films such as Hannibal, with the infamous character Hannibal Lector.

Each commentary on the different horror movies tries to give opinion on what exactly horror films are about, and why people are so drawn to them. One interviewee says that he believes Disney influenced young children to begin to enjoy horror due to the fact that they had transformations in to beasts due to character flaws, much like in Pinocchio. Persons are drawn to the horror genre, said by many of the interviewed, because of the horror movie’s underlying themes of psychological thrills, sexual oppression, and the reality of a murderer being the next door neighbor whom you would never suspect.

Following this journey in to the entire genre and subgenres of horror, viewers will be able to learn of how the cultural phenomenon has grown from a simple black and white film into a masterpiece.