Review: American Nightmares

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet

American Nightmares (aka Mr. Malevolent)

Written and directed by Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott
Patriot Pictures / Moonstone Entertainment / MVD Visual
90 minutes, 2018 / 2019
www.mvdvisual.com

For those of us who were fans of EC Comics, television shows like “Tales From the Crypt” and films such as Creepshow (1982), this is a compilation that can fit right alongside those cheesy doodles of fun.

Rather than a few films cobbled together by varied directors, here we have only two, who are also responsible for the cult hit Tales From the Hood (1995) and the more recent Tales From the Hood 2 (2018). For this new film, along with the horror, it also focuses on racial relations in Trump’s America, among other modern social-political aspects. There are eight stories in total, not counting the wraparound, and all have a twist of the knife at the end, be it literal or figurative.

In the wrap story, we meet two computer geeks in their (I’m assuming basement) man cave, who are obsessed with the darker side of the Web, focusing on nekkid women. Their screens are interrupted by a top hatted dandy called Mr. Malevolent, and his mostly silent psychic pal (a scenery-chewing Danny Trejo and Nichelle Nichols, respectively, in extended cameo roles that were probably filmed in a single day). They force these two Millennials (as they are called here) to watch a series of stories, each being vicious, and all leading up to the inevitable that is no surprise, but remains enjoyable.

Guest stars aplenty roll through the shorts, filmed especially for this collection. Many of these have roots in other tales. For example, we start off with “Mates,” where a woman who has a stalker ex-boyfriend meets her ideal companion. One cannot watch and not make a connection to “Westworld.” It’s kind of silly, but still kind of satisfying.

“The Prosecutor” takes a more political turn as Jay Mohr (remember him? He used to be on “Saturday Night Live,” and was married to a then stunning, pre-plastic surgery enhanced Nikki Cox) plays a lawyer with political ambitions who will not let the innocence of those he’s persecuted/prosecuted stand in his way. It’s a bit “The Tell-Tale Heart” meets Rudy Giuliani, as the ex-New York Mayor did pretty much the same thing by charging anyone of color of a multiple of crimes, to get the arrest numbers up to make his own District Attorney cred go up as a “crime fighter.”

There’s very little subtly in “White Flight”; well, there is no subtly and certainly no question of where the story is going as we view a reflection of a post-Charlottesville racist America. For “The Samaritan,” we get to meet our second ex-“SNL” actor in Chris Kittan. Nothing screams now like a killer clown these days as we are inundated with IT references (well, especially if you’re a horror genre fan). But this is also a tale about human trafficking, and I believe that is how it fits into this collection.

There is nothing elusive in “Hate Radio,” where we meet an Alex Jones type of screaming right wing nut; there is even a direct Trump photo reference as he spews gender hatred to his audience. But you know it’s not going to end well for him in a very imaginative way.

For “The Healer,” we are introduced to one of my own personal pet peeves, the Televangelist Faith Healer who is hustling snake oil in the name of Jeebus. But that’s before he meets a crazed fanatic in Clarence Williams III (Link from the original “Mod Squad” lookin’ a bit like Sam Jackson in 2000’s Unbreakable). Borrowing liberally, this is kind of a more extreme Resurrection (1980) and a fun story that is one of my faves of the batch.

“Thy Will Be Done” presents a pro-life trio who kidnap a woman who wants an abortion after a rape; they are intent in forcing her to have the child, and show that it’s the human monster that is most evil, often done in the name of religious beliefs.

These are mostly stories of comeuppance, in the most twisted ways, reflecting an America that is wallowing in hatred and anger over religion, power, and Other (e.g., People of Color). In that way, it is certainly more leaning towards EC Comics with adult themes. It is, however, not quite as stylized as, say, Creepshow (remember the weird angles and primary colored lights?).

The gore level is kept at kind of a cartoon level by using digital SFX rather than appliances, and sometimes it looks really good, but mostly it looks like what it is. But this really is a comic book as much as a film, so it works out okay in the long run.

The stories are divided between the two directors, and there are some decent shots and editing done, though it feels rushed at times, with some of the tales taking a day or two to shoot (my assumption). Filled with cameos, that’s how shorts tend to run these days.

Some of the acting is over the top as if being maniacal is called for to express horror. Well, this is also a dark comedy, so in some ways that’s accurate, I guess. As for the stories, many of the twists can be figured out in the first few minutes, especially the wraparound last one, but it’s still a fun ride. And the fact that the film uses a large share of African-American/Latino actors puts it in better stead from this Libtard.

The main extras are a batch of trailers, and chapters that wisely go by story.