Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The American Scream Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 20, 2022

1988’s “The American Scream” is frequently compared to “Troll 2” by horror fans, with the pictures sharing a love for…well, production completion. Logic isn’t a guest at this table, and while “Troll 2” conjures its own sense of insanity, “The American Scream” barely comes together as a complete idea. Writer/director Mitchell Linden wanted to make a genre film, and he has one with the endeavor, but he forgets to add important things like coherency and pacing to the effort, which often plays like collection of R-rated ideas thrown together without much in the way of planning. Linden has gore, nudity, and characters in dangerous situations, but it’s difficult to find the rhythm of the film, which is loaded with filler and whiplash-inducing tonal changes.

Ben (Pons Maar) and Barbara (Jennifer Darling) are eager to take a vacation to Wilson Creek, ready to enjoy the great outdoors with son Brent (Matt Borlenghi) and daughter Bridgett (Riley Weston), joined by their friends Larry (Kevin Kaye) and Roxanne (Jeanne Sapienza). Taking a long trip to a remote mountain resort, the gang settles into their cabins, but the locals show hostility to the younger guests, with the foursome searching for their own sense of fun while Ben and Barbara enjoy diner meals and the nightlife. Brent and Larry are hunting for some sexual excitement during the holiday, but plans to find willing women are put on hold when they start to experience strange visions of murder, unsure what’s going on with a mysterious man in black. Growing anxious about the situation, the kids remain on edge as they explore their surroundings, learning more about local traditions, which welcomes their deaths.

Being Linden’s first movie, “The American Scream” doesn’t have a lot of polish. Performances are cranked all the way up, resembling musical theater acting, offering unusual emphasis for a horror endeavor, teasing comedic extremes with scenes involving graphic murder. The opening travel sequence is a good example of the confusion that permeates the feature, watching the family and friends pile into a truck for a jaunty journey into the mountains, inspiring sing-alongs. During this drive, the kids in the back spot an erratic driver trying to join his baby on a breastfeeding session involving his wife, which ends in horrific violence. Yes, the teenagers witness infanticide and keep going on their merry way. It won’t be the first time you grunt “Huh?” at the screen while watching this picture.

To be fair to Linden, he does introduce a sense of unreality to the odyssey, with “The American Scream” presenting hallucinations that detail bodily decay and torturous violence. Why this imagery is present isn’t fully explained, but it does add some shock value to the endeavor. There’s mental illness as well, finding Ed (George “Buck” Flowers) a local with a metal plate in his head, stressing out over loud sounds while going everywhere with his stuffed dog. Ed represents early agitation in town, and he inspires the most egregious addition of padding to “The American Scream,” which pauses for five minutes to deal with Super 8 footage of the character’s breakdown, which doesn’t make any sense and carries on for what feel like an eternity. But hey, it gets Linden to a sellable run time, and that seems to be the overall creative goal of the production.

There are questions for the questions in “The American Scream,” including Larry, who’s Brent’s best friend and a seemingly genial guy, but he’s also prone to wild mood swings, pulling a switchblade on his buddy over bed choices, also triggering an extended snow shovel fight with his pal. What’s going on with Larry? Nobody knows, but he’s the key to the mystery aspect of the screenplay, witnessing violence involving a shadowy figure who looks remarkably like the pro-wrestling character, The Undertaker (I mean litigiously so). Little is understood about this subplot, but it adds some tension to the feature, which could use all the help it can get. There’s also a larger story concerning the town and their aversion to youth, with diner server Millie (Constance Pfeiffer) offering nothing but hostility, promising something evil to come. Something evil doesn’t actually come, but Linden tries to squeeze as much conflict as he can out of the development, which mostly plays out during party sequences involving polka and country night at a local bar.

The American Scream Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Previously available on VHS, "The American Scream" makes the big jump to Blu-ray, courtesy of Culture Shock Releasing. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a "4K scan of the 35mm original negative." Detail captures skin surfaces and fibrous resort clothing, and gore zone visits are appropriately textured. Exteriors highlight deep distances with the remote setting, and interiors offers appreciable decoration with various party sequences and diner visits. Colors are bright and inviting, with terrific greenery and crisp whites. Interiors are warmer, favoring woodsy browns and festive lighting. Costumes are loaded with primaries, and red blood is vivid. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is heavy but film-like, with some chroma noise detected at times. Source is in good condition.

The American Scream Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix is sourced from "the original magnetic audio." Some age and points of damage are detected during the listening experience. Dialogue exchanges are acceptable, dealing with louder acting choices, which reach the technical limitations of the production. Scoring cues and musical performances aren't crisply defined, but clarity and instrumentation are reasonable, as are sound effects.

The American Scream Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Intro (:53, HD) features director Mitchell Linden, who welcomes viewers to "The American Scream" Blu-ray experience, sharing his surprise that his film has maintained cult longevity.

• Commentary features director Mitchell Linden and actor Kevin Kaye.

• "Reel Collections" (69:19) is an episode of the podcast, hosted by Edward Beasley, who walks through the history of "The American Scream," collecting interviews with cast and crew, including director Mitchell Linden, and actors Pons Maar and Kevin Kaye.

• And a Trailer (4:06, HD) is included.

The American Scream Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The American Scream" doesn't build to a grand finale. Instead, it breaks down into vague chases, hunting sequences, and sexual events involving ill- defined characters. Those with more patience and imagination should be able to find some vague shape of a plot, but it's doubtful, as Linden is more a one-step-at-a-time helmer than a "big picture" craftsman. There's weirdness all over the movie, which might provide some entertainment value to viewers, who are treated to a freshly removed head winking at a young woman, and there are more traditional slasher experiences to be found in the general confusion of it all. The locations are appealing, securing a feel for resort life during the snowy season, and wild stabs at style (including a lengthy slo-mo sequence) show what Linden was at least going for something at times. "The American Scream" doesn't come together with authority, and will likely leave viewers baffled, but perhaps there's charm in such randomness and production scrambling, giving bottom-shelf admirers plenty to study as Linden sets out to craft a chiller, ending up with something far more confusing in the end.