For the average American, October 31st means dressing up and going to a party, or if your a small child trick or treating till sundown. For the subjects of the new Halloween documentary The American Scream, the commonplace rituals would be considered “phoning it in.” Halloween for these “haunters” means months of preparation, for they nearly scare themselves to death trying to outdo their elaborate Halloween set ups from the prior year. The film, directed by Michael Stephenson, focuses mainly on three Massachusetts families who, aside from their morbid obesity, share one common belief: Halloween is life. One of the most telling scenes of the film comes when one of the main characters is listening to his Halloween podcast, not so cleverly titled “Hauntcast,” and the show host exclaims, “It’s October 15th and only 16 more days till the Big 31!” You see, this subculture is so obsessed with Halloween, that they cant even call it Halloween, for Halloween is a spirit. “The Big 31” is in haunter language, what the average person knows as October 31st.
As a viewer the film plays as a guilty pleasure to the adolescent kid inside all of us whose been told he or she is now “too old for Halloween.” From the second it starts rolling you have no choice but to take a bite of the forbidden fruit and buy into all this Halloween madness. As the film goes on you see that the traditions of these Massachusetts families are more than just the sum of their parts. Sharing recipes for the best paper-mache mummy, or debating the most efficient way to powder ones face is used as a family bonding tool. This is the big surprise of the film. Stephenson never chooses to take a harsh tone of lunacy or outrageousness, but instead chooses to take a theme of family togetherness and tradition. The Halloween rituals are merely an outlet of expression: a safe place where nothing is absurd or impossible. In this day and age when the corporate mindset seems all too prevalent, The American Scream gives you a nostalgic look at what it was like when we all were, frankly,
too young to care what our neighbors thought. The Haunters never beg for the viewers approval. Actually it seems as if they don’t have the time to care, for there is always more to do in the name of Halloween.
Though the film mostly revolves around the tight nit group of characters, it seems to shed a provocative light on the somewhat underground existence of a Halloween obsessed sub-culture. Actually it seems to shed a light on every sub-culture that can now flourish due to geographical boundaries no longer being a factor. Through the advent of the Internet, these “haunters” gather together in chat rooms and messageboards to discuss all things Halloween.
Overall the documentary succeeds as a insightful portrait of a Halloween suburbia that believes that the family who Haunts together, stays together.
Rating: An insightful yet lighthearted family film that reminds us that the Halloween spirit is about more than just costumes and candy (8.5/10)
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