American Nightmares (2018) Poster

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3/10
The corruption of humanity breeds contempt and crudeness.
mark.waltz10 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very strange, often perverted tale of the rotten ways of all mankind, a cynical and frequently unpleasant view of our world where I really didn't like many of the characters on screen, regardless of their race or background or gender. Both genders are pigs, with the opening scenes having women discussing male genitalia as if it's the most important thing about men, with one complaining that her boyfriend is no good, and ending up in bed on the first date with the supposed perfect man who quickly is revealed to be something other than what he seems to be. The boyfriend breaks in, a confrontation of major violence ensues, twists occur that leave someone dead, and outside of the one supposed perfect person involved in this, no one is worthy of sympathy. The second part deals with a white lawmaker, dealing with the execution of the man he sent to prison, and a twist in his own home that leads to his imprisonment. A racist Southern redneck ends up in a community that he considers perfect, and bizarre twist occur that results in the threatening of violence on a baby.

So that's just the first three of the so-called seven morality tales, viewed on a computer screen by so-called Mr. Malevolent and his assistant, played by Danny Trejo and Nichelle Nichols, hacking the hackers and creating absolute chaos, lecturing the audience and never really having a point of view outside of something that any logical human being has already figured out. This is not entertainment. In fact, I felt more cynical and anti-human after watching the first half hour than I did in a whole week of walking through the Metropolis where I live. If I had to listen to anybody talk like these characters do to each other for even half an hour a day, I would want to move to the Deep Arctic Circle and never see human life again. That is not entertainment, and the seven stories are told so quickly that everybody comes off colorless and without any shades of gray, so in the case of the morality tale being told, there is no sympathy for anybody getting what they deserve. Had there been at least two tales of decent people simply living their lives and trying to be moral with standards of class, I might have been more interested in getting the gist of what the writers were out to say. But this film is just ugly on so many levels that it was just easier to just watch it, shake my head, roll my eyes and put it aside and never think about it again.
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5/10
7 AMERICAN NIGHTMARES: "HACKED" STORIES, CULT OR TpolitiRASH?
babyjaguar20 February 2019
Yes, this film may not be an instant horror classic... some reviewers have criticize the gender, political and racial themes in 7 "American" nightmare vignettes directed/written by Rusty Cundieff/Darin Scott, but what's the big deal? Someone who takes this film "seriously" forget that's it just a "movie", you know entertainment for some viewers.

This "criticism" is what makes this film which is obviously rooted in 50s EC comic material. It would influence notable anthologies such as 70s Amicus film productions preceding 80s George A. Romero's "Creepshow" then up to the 90s "Tales from the Hood" (was first criticized and now celebrated as a cult film). The people who put out the latter and a recent sequel are involved with this film (which has the usual tropes of exploitation cinema).

This anthology forwards the evolution in form of an internet hacking by Danny Trejo playing the online storyteller, "Mister Malevolent". It's good to see Trejo expanding his acting roles and comedic actor, Chris Kattan is in one vignette. Viveca A. Fox and Nichelle Nichols also join in on the fun summing up a responsive anthology to the present-day politics.
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3/10
Dollar Store Version of Black Mirror
mtxluvva29 August 2019
Terrible dialogue, terrible plot, terrible production value, one of the best bad movies I've seen in a while. 3 stars for the laughs. Favorite quote: "It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase robotic love."
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1/10
Not Worth a Dime
arfdawg-11 November 2018
There were several former well known actors I wanted to see. Unfortunately their talents were wasted on this poorly made fiasco. Direction is non existent and the script is high school level.

Guess everyone needs a paycheck
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2/10
Let's all cheer for stereotypical clichés
vmalast19 October 2018
I gave this two stars for the acting only, which was decent. Everything else was typical stereotyping. So, the only "good" black man is a robot, the rest are worthless and abusive. All southerners are rednecks and racist. "computer nerds" just watch porn in the basement. The list goes on. 0 creativity, 0 originality. I could handle the political bent but, I know this is a movie, I found the stereotypes to be most offensive. Low grade B movie.
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1/10
One of the worst anthologies ever
kannibalcorpsegrinder4 December 2018
After looking into a pair of hackers' security system, a deranged storyteller spins tales of greed and corruption to them.

The Good Stor(ies): The Samaritan-Trying to perform a good deed, a prostitute sent to perform her duties on a dying customer and sets up his wishes of looking like a clown for his amusement. When it's turned around on them and something far deadlier is upon them, she tries to get to safety the only way she knows how. This one wasn't that bad overall. The best part of this one is the creepy atmosphere present in the apartment as the sounds of him dying and the creepiness of the clown memorabilia comes full circle with the ghost clown actually trying to do goo by warning her. The chilling final outcome is quite enjoyable, but it's just somewhat let down by not having any kind of lesson involved which is what makes it stand out positively.

The Healer-Continuing his tour across the states, a fantastical preacher is soon abducted along his route and taken out to the desert where he meets the father of a fallen believer. Realizing what he plans to do to him in revenge places him in dire consequences soon afterward. This one again could've been rather fun had in the idea of a preacher getting his comeuppance for the manner in which he treated his patrons when he begins to receive the wounds and conditions of those he wronged, but the fact that this one manages to accomplish this in a matter of seconds really undermines the concept of the story told here. This one really needed more time to tell this tale and it just can't do it in this brief timeframe since it just comes out looking like a complete cliche.

The Bad Stor(ies): Mates-Trying to put her relationship behind her, a woman at her wits end with dating resorts to a specialty dating site in order to finally find love. When she believes she's found her perfect mate, a crushing resolution causes her to question the status of her beliefs. Overall, this entry was just plain stupid. There's no horror at all in anything that happens, the sense of justice that happens is lackluster and the overall reasoning for everything resorts to a simple matter of because-I-felt-like-it. This is entirely lackluster and just plain lame all around.

The Prosecutor-Becoming a prominent political figure, an ambitious Texas Attorney General tries to ensure his position as the next Governor after a high-profile conviction. Once the suspect escapes custody and returns seeking revenge, he must put his values on the line to save his family. This was another disappointing effort. The fact that there's some solid atmosphere in the stalking scene through the house as the driving rain gives this some decent moments, but overall there's just nothing to hang on to this one. There's nothing about what he did to deserve his punishment as this is just shoddily written and that leaves the comeuppance rather disappointing.

White Flight-Trying to get away from his neighbors, a racist man and his family develop the technology needed to escape to a new dimension that won't allow them around anymore. Upon arriving at his chosen destination, he discovers a deadly secret about the society that puts them all in danger. This segment was just plain embarrassing that it got featured. The twist is spelled out so early that there's no real surprise at all but then takes forever to make that the punchline to the whole affair is just plain lame. Add into that the twist comes about through a one-line setup with no real payoff or sense of comeuppance leaves this just absolutely baffling how it got featured.

Hate Radio-While doing his daily show, a shock-jock radio announcer spreading sexist remarks about his listeners is soon overcome by a forced gender swap that turns him into a woman. Shortly thereafter, he comes across the serial killer targeting woman that's been overwhelming the city. This was the one weak one which had the potential to be better. This tells the most logical comeuppance story and is somewhat chilling in execution, but the shorter running time turns this into a barely-there aftermath and doesn't really do much to capitalize on what could've been a stand-out segment on sexism because it doesn't have the time to do so.

They Will Be Done-Abducted off the streets, a young woman is taken by a fanatical family intending to prevent her from aborting her unborn baby even though she claims it's not supposed to be good. When the child is eventually born, they come to find out the hard way that she was right all along. This one was a chore to get through for the most part as it's just plain bad all around. The storyline is a cliche and utterly suspenseless from the start, the short running time causes this to be driving along at a rather obvious clip the entire time and the utterly laughable resolution is just groan-inducing rather than scary.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity and continuous themes of racism.
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1/10
Just awful
diegosilberstein3 July 2019
Acting is below porn-level. Nobody should watch this
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1/10
Worthless
mhorg201828 November 2018
I don't know what happened to Rusty Cundieff. After he did Fear Of A Black Hat, a truly funny movie, he's done a lot of trash. Was he a one trick pony? This may be the worst anthology movie ever. It's like they took every bad idea, every stereotype, every cliche and then kept the worst of all to make this. One of the worst segments has a really stereotyped redneck who doesn't seem smart enough to tie his shoes - creating a time machine. Really a horrible waste of time.
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6/10
Multiple stories think twilight zone 2018
jrneptune14 October 2018
Two voyeuristic nerds are hacking the devices of people as they themselves are hacked by the feed from story tellers Mister Malevolent (Danny Trejo) and Mystic Woman (Nichelle Nichols) who have seven stories to tell.

Each story has its own cast of actors and I loved that some older and younger actors got their chance to shine. The cast list needs some serious updating. Jay Mohr, Chris Kattan, Barry Hensley, and Clarence Williams III also need to be included.

The seven stories are:

1. Mates - An abusive ex in a failed relationship learns a lesson the hard way. 2. The Prosecutor - An ambitious Texas AG who is proud of his career runs for Texas Governor and has a role reversal. 3. White Flight - Be careful what you wish for 4. The Samaritan - When one good soul reaches out for another. 5. Hate Radio - Another role reversal of sorts with a white male radio host who thinks women should know their place. 6. The Healer - A person preaching to others gets placed in a unique situation, 7. They Will Be Done - Right to Life fanatics kidnap a pregnant rape victim who they force to term with surprising results.

There is a last story but it is best for you to see it yourself.

Would I watch it again, sure if I had the time and had nothing else to do. Meaning that would be doubtful for now. I would not pay to see it but you might want to if yo are a big fan of someone in the movie or involved with making it.

I do hope Danny Trejo makes more like this if he gets the chance.
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1/10
Awful waste of time!!!
sheryl-1839816 September 2019
Too bad I couldn't rate "zero" stars. Don't waste you brain cells on this film.
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8/10
Enjoyable horror anthology
Woodyanders13 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Mr. Malevolent (robustly played with lip-smacking relish by Danny Trejo) hacks into the computers owned by a couple of online millennial blackmailers and forces the pair to watch an assortment of nightmarish videos.

1st story, "Mates" - Neat and charming sci-fi tale. 2nd story, "The Prosecutor" - Jay Mohr delivers a deliciously smarmy turn as a slimy lawyer who receives a brutal comeuppance for sending an innocent black man to death row. 3rd story, "White Flight" - Another tale with a harsh and ironic bent to it. 4th story, "The Samaritan" - Weird, creepy, and perverse pip. 5th story, "Hate Radio" - Yet another story with a nasty edge to it that also manages to be funny in an admittedly cruel sort of way. 6th story, "The Healer" - Spot-on segment about a shameless religious con man who acquires actual healing powers that come at a bitter price. Clarence Williams III shines as a vengeful father. 7th story, "Thy Will Be Done" - Hilariously sick vignette with a real doozy of a surprise ending.

Writers/directors Darin Scott and Rusty Cundieff maintain a brisk pace throughout, adhere to a pleasing EC Comics-style aesthetic in which bad folks who do bad things reap what they sow, provide plenty of stinging (if occasionally heavy-handed) social commentary, and further spice things up with a wickedly amusing sense of black humor. Good twisted fun.
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6/10
I love anthology movies.
SatanikPanik14 October 2018
Some of the stories on here are a little too political for me but even those ones weren't too bad. I just wish they would leave politics out and just stick to horror. Even the b movie cheese. If you liked anthology movies I would definitely give this one a shot. It kind of reminds me of tales from the hood 2.
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1/10
Horrible
bunnyhime113 August 2019
I can't believe respectable actors took the roles in this. It's not only one big political agenda push, it's not even an interesting storyline.
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1/10
If you like your movies..
ranleehow21 October 2019
Predictable, low budget, and overflowing with politically correct, unrealistic stereotypes, that have no bearing on reality. This is the flic for you. Be forewarned, you will come away from this movie with a lower IQ. Better yet, just don't waste time on it. . life is too short.
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1/10
Apparently we're all idiots
Channeleven13 February 2022
I'm no stranger to bad movies, heck, I love them, well the more obscure of the bunch. I love anthologies all the same, so I decided to seek this out and see what the trouble with this was. I was thankful someone uploaded this to YouTube... because not even a refund could fix things.

This movie wears its views on the sleeve. Yes, many of these issues addressed are real, but the way they go about it, reducing it to a cartoonish degree, it kinda ruins the prospect and takes away its legitimacy, don't you think?

Condescending messages, sloppy camera work, oftentimes sloppy writing, and the lingering sense the director thinks we're idiots, I saw this for free, and I still feel ripped off.
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5/10
Lmao
codyaveresch2 October 2019
Would I call this good? Yes I absolutely would. Would I say it's good because of quality and story? I absolutely would not. This is one of those films that it's just soo bad it's good. I recommend watching just for the goofs and gafs. At no point will you be scared or any other emotion besides the emotion you feel when you are constantly saying "wtf". I have no idea who funded this but I am very glad that they did.
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4/10
Worth watching, fun with decent writing.
tvoelkening26 October 2018
Worth watching, Fun with decent writing. An average but solid horror anthology. Big on creativity. I can see how a humorless MAGA might not find this movie to be a "Safe Space" but for the rest of us it's all in good ironic horror fun.
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Wow!
taraangel-409602 May 2021
I made myself watch this. I wanted to see what the reviewers were talking about. It was absolutely terrible. Trust me, it's not worth price of the electricity it takes to use your television :) Truly bad!
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1/10
Beware, this is hot garbage
myrothe10 February 2020
Full disclosure, I only made it about 10 minutes in. That's all my brain could take. I could feel it slipping away. I'm pretty sure the synapses were organizing a revolt

This thing is roooooooough. It made me feel a profound sadness that actors like Trejo and Nichols have to stoop to this to get paid. That's sad and unfortunate. I honestly don't even know where to start. Amateur, poorly shot, cheap, stupid, embarrassing... I dunno man. My words can't do it justice. See it yourself and see how long you can make it
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6/10
WTF !!!
usmanarfani28 November 2018
I literally put my screen down when the man said the next story is about YOU !!!

Good movie with 2 good stories
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1/10
Spoilers
mlhare9 October 2020
The only spoilers is the movie itself. I love danny trejo and i love antholgies and not a million dollars would make me watch this slop again. Worse movie i have ever seen! :-0, and i have seen ALOT of movies. Some were good some were bad-but they were ALL better than this waste of time.
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10/10
Great anthology
emceegusto20 January 2019
I loved this movie! It was super fun watching and reminded me of Tales From the Hood. The production value was great and they actually got some decent actors. Highly recommended.
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7/10
If you like Black Mirror
davespetproject14 September 2019
This is a B version of Black Mirror. Some bad acting but clever spins. It was fun.
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4/10
Not The Best, Not The Worst
tyronemartin857 May 2021
I think it was okay for an unrated horror anthology.
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5/10
Totally biased against white folks but I still liked it!
omendata15 October 2021
One or two good stories, Written by two black guys and directed by them and so overtly racist it is quite funny.

Still judging it on artistic merits it had one or two interesting stories and some laughs so not all bad!
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