American Nightmare

The son of a powerful entrepreneur receives a post from his sister, pleading for him to rescue her from an unspecified danger. With only the letter's return address as a lead, he begins a dot-to-dot descent into the seedy urban underbelly, gathering bits of information from one sleazy miscreant after another.

Along the way, a good-natured stripper comes to his aid, and love blooms between the two. Meanwhile, hookers, exotic dancers, and various other reprobates are dropping dead, the victims of an unseen madman.

This is a better-than-expected film, one that joyfully wallows in the sleaze of its urban environs, but manages to rise slightly above the lowbrow caliber of gratuitous exploitation cinema. Fine performances and steady pacing catapult American NIGHTMARE above the average for films of its type, but the tawdriness of the subject matter at hand should keep the grindhouse crowd pleased, as well.

6/10...reccomended.

Wealthy pianist Eric Blade (Lawrence Day) tries to locate his missing runaway sister in an unnamed (and presumably US) metropolis. His journey takes him to seedy sex shops and strip joints. Of course, the police (include a detective played by one "Mike" Ironside) aren't really interested in a missing hooker until they find out she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Even then they spend their time following the "obvious he didn't do it" guy while the quick audience members have already correctly guessed the real culprit 10 minutes in. Despite being a tad predictable, this is still worth watching for the the sleaze factor. This ranks right up there with films like MANIAC and NEVER PICK UP A STRANGER in terms of on screen skank. I'm just saddened that my Northern neighbors think so lowly of us that they called this American NIGHTMARE. I guess Canadian NIGHTMARE didn't have that ring to it.

"American Nightmare" is one of the better eighties slashers out there, featuring a funny, enjoyable cast, good suspense, and a fun, if not predictable take on the generic stalk-and-slash scenario. After the disappearance of a young girl (played by a young Alexandra Paul), the girl's brother (Day) comes to town looking for her, only to find out she was a dancer and hooker at a strip club. With the aid of his sister's roommate and co-worker (Staley), they begin the search for his sister. Meanwhile, the beret-wearing, razor-toting man who did in the sister begins stalking the other girls she worked with, one by one. A real sense of sympathy is felt for the unfortunate victims, who are good-hearted characters, regardless of their poverty or unfortunate lifestyle. The rich people in the movie are the loathsome characters. Slasher movie veteran Lenore Zann is quite likeable as the lovely 'Tina', and has a great chase sequence with the killer, while Aubrey supports comic relief as the hilarious wise-cracking transvestite 'Dolly'....great movie...check it out!

There is a serial killer on the loose murdering young women who all work at a downtown strip club. After the brother of one of the victims shows up to uncover the killer, a stripper joins forces with him to stop the American Nightmare.

American Nightmare is a hard to find gritty 80's slasher filmed in my hometown of Toronto in Canada. The film starts with a young prostitute being viciously murdered by an unknown assailant. We quickly meet her brother Eric who is trying to find out who killed her. Along his journey we meet a very likeable transvestite named Dolly and some of his friends who work at the nearby strip club, one of which is named Louise. Eric takes an instant liking to her and works with her to discover the identity of his sisters killer.

American Nightmare is so filthy of a slasher film, you'll need to take a shower afterwards. We get trashy nudity and a script which includes very homophobic dialogue at times. It definitely feels like the depths of low down Toronto in the 80's. The death scenes (mostly stabbings) are extremely realistic and not just because of the special effects and blood. There is a brutality to them which makes it feel very real. The identity of the killer was shocking to me and there was backstory told that felt a tad rushed and a little nonsensical. That was a weak point for me for sure.

The acting is nothing great in this one, mostly unknown Canadian actors. Most notably include scream queen Lenore Zann and well known actor Michael Ironside who have very small parts. For people who know Toronto, you'll see some very familiar filming locations such as the CN Tower, downtown Yonge Street, and some office buildings around the CNE/Exhibition Grounds.

I appreciate American Nightmare for what it is. A cheap Canadian slasher flick from the 1980's that has some extremely tense moments with the killer and their victims. It isn't a must see horror film, but I would watch it if you get the chance. It gets a 6/10 for me for it's chase scenes involving the killer and it's overall decaying/depressing atmosphere.

6/10

A pianist is searching for his sister who has become a prostitute.A sadistic killer is preying on prostitutes.He kills his victims with a razor.Police hunt for the girl and the killer."American Nightmare" by Don McBrearty is a Canadian giallo with some slasher elements.The look of the film is dirty and grimy and there is enough sleaze and nudity to satisfy even the most demanding smut-peddlers.There is one extremely surprising twist involving the pianist's father that truly knocked me out of my seat.It's nice to see Michael Ironside in a small role as the cop.He was really believable as the killer in another overlooked Canadian slasher "Visiting Hours".Finally I must say that the killings are fairly brutal and effective for example one stripper is drowned in a bath-tub and the killer cuts her wrists.The water becomes red with her blood.So if you are a fan of Canadian exploitation cinema you can't miss "American Nightmare".7 out of 10.