The greatest movie ever made..!

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Absolutely amazing

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

This movie "American Nightmare" is one of the countless early 80's B thriller films that involves murder and sex mixed in to make it a watch. Something to watch to pass a little time anyway it's a note that Page Fletcher has a guest spot here this was just before he got his most memorable role on HBO's terrific "Hitchhiker" series. Anyway this is typical 80's B horror sex drama a man arrives in a city looking for his missing sister only to find that she was caught up in a world of underground staples like drugs, strip clubs and peep shows and even a sadistic murder who wants all of the girls dead. Along the trail of blood and scum dark secrets are revealed behind club doors and office doors. Look for Michael Ironside's turn as a cop overall good to pass time if you like early 80's B horror thrill films.

American Nightmare is a very unusual movie. It's not like your usual slasher where it's some guy in a mask killing a bunch of high school kids. But the movie plays out kind of like a slasher. This is sort of a cross over between a slasher and a mystery. A young girl goes missing and her older brother starts looking for her but the only people who can help him are a group of strippers (who are shallowly thought of as degenerates) who shared an apartment with her. The strippers start to get picked off one by one until the older brother, a girl named Louise, and a whole lot of red herrings are left standing.For such a low budget movie, American Nightmare is actually really good. I would even say it tops the more popular B-movies from this time such as Hell Night and maybe even Terror Train. The acting in this movie isn't too bad, I think the only person who is really that bad would be the killer when their identity is revealed. Another thing is that American Nightmare is pretty scary. The murders are pretty violent and suspenseful, and the creepiest part is some people you think are going to survive end up being murdered. There are two really good chase scenes in the middle and the end of the film between Louise and the killer between an apartment complex and a huge office building. For anybody who enjoys a slasher movie, a horror, or simply just a mystery this is obviously a huge recommendation.

The fact that this one isn't easy to catch over here I was able to find me a copy. I thought it would be so creepy as Visiting Hours 'cause Ironside was involved, but he just plays a copper and nothing more. Is it scary, sometimes it has his moments but overall it's more about naked girls. But here the girls are in it for the nakedness and nothing more. Both main actresses have their strip act (eat your heart out Demi Moore) and that's the reason most viewers want to see this one. I watched it and after a few days i was already forgotten the plot of this movie, watchable, yes, gore or bloody, not that many. And don't do it for the sake of Ironside, you will be disappointed.

While the 1981 slasher film AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is not a classic by any means, it stands out from most of its contemporaries. This is because it seems to be much more influenced by the Italian "giallo" films (mystery-thrillers featuring flashy gore sequences) than by the teen-oriented slasher films which were produced in great numbers in Canada and the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. If you're simply looking for dumb teens getting killed off by masked madmen, you should stay away from AMERICAN NIGHTMARE. The film's plot concerns musician Eric Blake (Lawrence Day), who is trying to find his runaway sister who has disappeared into the sleazy world of stripping and prostitution in Toronto. At the same time a slasher is on the loose, targeting those involved in Toronto's sex industry in a twisted scheme to rid the world of "moral degenerates."This film was obviously made on a very low budget, and that limits its ability to look like a giallo. It is poorly filmed and dimly lit in most scenes. While the gore scenes are competently done, they lack the visual style that is the hallmark of the giallo. Simply stated, AMERICAN NIGHTMARE lacks the vivid colors and visual flair that are typically found in the best giallo films by directors such as Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.At the same time, AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is not worthless either. The film has a serious, grim tone, which I think is appropriate given the unpleasantness of the material. The acting is competently done. The low budget and on-location filming in Toronto also gives the film a gritty, realistic feel. Also, despite the fact that this film is extremely obscure, there are some notable cast members. Veteran character actor Michael Ironside, seen most recently in THE PERFECT STORM, portrays a detective investigating the murders in one of his earlier film roles. And oddly enough, this is the feature film debut of Alexandra Paul, who at barely age 18 appears nude in the film, in what surely is not one of her prouder moments.This film is worth a look for fans of slasher films, but it must be noted that it is very hard to find. I believe the film is best viewed as a mild companion piece to Fulci's superior THE NEW YORK RIPPER.** out of ****