Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)

You won't be disappointed!

A Masterpiece!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The documentary manages to present some very interesting opinions regarding the evolution of American horror, and while I did think it lacked a bit of comparison regarding the objectives of cinema as a whole, it does present some very interesting takes on what the horror movies try to express through time and how they evolved as audiences evolved.

Can you believe that even today (56 years later) Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" still continues to have a substantial impact on the general direction of contemporary, American, horror movies? Well, it does! And, with that in mind - Is it any wonder that this particular genre of film has become the stalest and most predictably trite movie category of them all? According to all of the horror-movie directors, story-writers and historians who offered up their opinions in their fright-flick documentary - It was completely unanimous by all that Psycho was, indeed, the turning point. In the decades to follow, Psycho single-handedly set the inevitable direction that horror movies would head.And, of course, in order to continue to compete with such a significant milestone as Psycho, horror-movie scenarios quickly accelerated into fast-pace mode and became a helluva lot messier and horrendously more sadistic in those years that followed Hitchcock's unforgettable slasher classic.Yet, as is clearly evident today, it has been proved virtually impossible to fully satisfy and quench America's seemingly insatiable thirst for buckets of blood, and geysers of gore, and horrific stories that escalate into a non-stop barrage of pure, x-rated ultra-violence.2 things that quickly lost this documentary some serious points were -(1) All of those who offered up their opinions on the subject of horror movies placed a ludicrous amount of emphasis on directly connecting up these films with the socio-political mood (especially since 1950) that was clearly present in American society (at any given time in their nation's turbulent history).(2) Way too much screen-time was given over to focusing in on director John Carpenter's half-baked opinions. As well, far too many film clips from his movies were spotlighted in this documentary. Also movies adapted from Stephen King novels were given too much attention, too.P.S. - In order to make a point, I thought it was really pushing things a little too far when a particular scene from Disney's animated, 1940, classic Pinocchio was included in this film as yet another example of a horrific movie-moment worth discussing..... Spare me!

Eh, you could do worse than the Nightmares in Red, White and Blue documentary.After a great opening, I thought I was headed toward an informative, inventive and exciting doc on horror movies in the U.S. (Which by the way, isn't all state-side…but still…)Unfortunately, it got boring and provided information that kids that grew up in my era (or before) already knew. Little was provided and they jumped all over the place in the horror genre and skipped large chunks while just barely mentioning them. (Very little attention was given to huge leaps in the horror staples: Scream and The Blair Witch Project – which both, like 'em or hate 'em, they're enormously significant in the past few decades of scary cinema.)It's only 96 minutes, so I would recommend just a Saturday afternoon killing-time horror documentary.

Yes - a fine introduction to 'Horror' in American Film.But the singular use of the word 'Horror' does not do justice. Are many elements of Film Genres that cross over, and this Documentary gives tribute - so add Suspense, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi and all those other 'things' in Movies, Stories, and Tales that keep us on the edge of our seat, or huddled in fear around the campfire.Especially impressive is the Multi-Disciplinary approach. Movies and Stories don't exist in a vacuum, so factors of History and Culture are included to give further understanding of Society and how these Movies illuminate and/or reflect their Times. And although not directly mentioned, the Film does give tacit reference to Freud/Jung/Joseph Campbell's insights on Dreams, Archetypes and Myth - nothing you'd notice if you weren't aware of their work, but a taste to tease those who want to learn more.At the time of my posting are only 2 other reviews, with value in them both. Yes, a Ken Burns comparison is appropriate - has that Academic Quality. And yes, the 2000's as a decade may not measure up to those in the past. But this Film, at least in passing, does address that somewhat - plus, is difficult to write History as it's still evolving.Now, what is maybe the Greatest Thing™ ?All the Movies it tells us about, then gives the complete list, by Date, during the End Credits.Should keep you busy here at IMDb - and your 'video store' - for a while (smile)..