This independent slasher flick was shot on Super 16mm for 52,000$ and I have to give props to Jon Keeyes, the film looks fantastic! You would think that it was shot on 35mm. The atmosphere is gloomy, the shots are stylish and the cinematography is very impressive.

Taking its cue from the recent spat of slashers, this movie sports many horror movie references. We get "Psycho", "Halloween" (even down to the babysitting gig), "The Vanishing" and of course, "Scream" (cell phones and cordless phones are abundant here). Yes, it's been done before, but here you feel that the horror winks come from an honest place, from somebody who obviously loves the genre and not some pencil pusher who thought it would be trendy to slap them in there. Trust me, that makes a difference and it made me appreciate them.

American Nightmare’s main strength is in the way that it approaches its serial killer. You see, this isn’t another tired whodunit, there’s no mystery as to whom is doing the slashing. The killer is revealed early on and her motive is quite simple: she’s fucking insane! That spares us the requisite explanatory monologue at the end and gives the film (compared to what we’ve been getting these days) a fresh feel. When I think Jane Toppan, I think Jason Voorhees with tits, smarts, charm and major personal issues. Debbie Rochon (Jane Toppan) made it all happen it for me. She gives a delicious, troubled performance that’s surprisingly grounded in reality. Jane is not a caricature or a witty one-liner-spitting nut. She’s a loon that could exist in reality and that makes her very frightening. Rochon really bites into this one. You go, girl!

But even though the movie looks slick, its independent nature is still given away early on by its poor coffee shop set (someone’s basement) and the initial awkward chemistry between all of the actors (they get better as time clocks forward though...much better). But I was able to let that go. I do have two qualms with the film though. The first being the abundance of characters; there are just too many folks in this movie and since it doesn’t have the time to really develop all of them, some of the kills lose a bit of their impact. The perfect example of that would have to be the Melanie (Heather Hass) murder. The way she bites it is very powerful and harsh. But unfortunately we didn’t see much of Melanie throughout the film or really get to know her. I still felt something watching her expire though (Hass goes all out here) but just not as much as I should have.

My second pet peeve with the film would have to be its tendency to take the easy way out of its gnarly set ups. Examples: Why bother having the lights go off in Misty’s (Rebecca Stacey) shower scene if it won't be addressed any further afterwards? The scene should’ve went further than just a cheap boo scare that made no sense (since the lights were still on in the rest of the house). Or what about the scene where our heroes finally meet the killer face-to-face outside the coffee shop and then just let her go? I didn’t buy the “she vanished” thing for one second; too simple. Last but not least, why didn’t anybody at least try to stop Jane from walking away in the end? I wanted more godamnit! All too easy…

Debbie Rochon (Jane) blew me out of my seat! She really dives into this part and her every moment on screen captivated me. It’s not everyday that you see a killer this layered and this real. Congrats girl and congrats Mr. Keeyes for writing a fascinating character! Brandie Little (Jessee) has that young “Jamie Lee Curtis” thang going for her. She’s focused, subtle and in the moment. I really liked her. Johnny Sneed (Wayne) is on and off. He sometimes lacked the proper intensity but overall he does ok. Robert McCollum (Tony) does fine with what he’s given but his character wasn’t touched upon enough for me to care about him either way. One thing though: lose the hat, buddy! The same can be said about Cynthia McCollum (Cynthia) who has dead-on comic timing. What I saw of her impressed me; too bad she’s underused.

Check out the official American Nightmare site here.

The film will get its domestic/North American release on January 29, 2002 on video and DVD. On the DVD, you'll find a "making of" documentary, the trailer, and the music video for Ghoultown's "Killer in Texas". The film begins its international distribution in October.