If you're a vigilant watcher
of Fox News (you shouldn't be reading this site) you may be aware of
the so-called “War on Christmas”. According to the pundits
there's a vast conspiracy to take away our freedom to sink our
finances into further debt by denying us our God given right to
purchase cheaply made pieces of plastic that will wind up broken and
tossed into the garage sale pile six months after their unwrapping.
While the hordes of the great unwashed line up around the block of
your local Best Buy in the wee hours of Black Friday refute this
nonsense, I would argue a holiday much closer to my heart is indeed
on the decline. Each year Halloween appears to lose a little bit of
its luster it seems there are fewer kids out trick or treating,
schools put the kibosh on classroom parties and handing out candy and
television cuts back on seasonal programming from a month long affair
to an afterthought a few days before the 31st. The
celebration of Halloween as a family holiday anticipated year round
is a great part of what makes Michael Stephenson's (Best Worst
Picture) latest documentary such a joy to watch.
The American Scream focuses
on three families in Fairhaven Massachusetts that embrace the fine
art of “House Haunting”. While many houses display a token
Jack-O-Lantern on their stoop and maybe even use an old bed sheet to
turn a lantern into a ghost, these three families pull out all the
stops and transform their homes into full scale haunted attractions
that for one night a year bring joy and terror to the hearts of the
neighborhood children. Each household have their different reasons,
methods and skill when it comes to creating their haunts and
Stephenson allows each of them to their stories in a manner that is
so warm and open I found myself getting teary eyed on more than one
occasion as the film played.
Victor Baritone has turned
his backyard into a haunt haven going on eighteen years, recruiting
his wife Tina and his two adolescent daughters into the fold as well.
The Haunt has become an all consuming passion for Victor, long
transcending what started as a fun hobby as Victor spends any free
time or disposable income scouring yard sales and online classifieds
for objects he can turn into a prop in order to give his attraction a
more professional appearance. As the big day approaches Victor grows
increasingly strained as he sacrifices sleep in order to perfect his
props and design and cracks from the ambitious expectations he sets
for himself. Rather than have this lead to domestic turmoil, the
Bariteau family seems to accept this as a matter of course, with the
elder daughter pitching in by her dad's side (in one of the funniest
moments she brings out a container of Barbie Dolls she's picked up at
yard sales and tells the camera how much she enjoys mutilating them
for the display with a breezy cheerfulness). There's an added
pressure for Victor as he reveals his IT job of eleven years is
getting outsourced (along with 400 others) adding to the family's
burden. Victor grows wistful as he talks about his desire to turn his
hobby into a career.
At the other end of the
spectrum comes the father sun spectrum of Matthew Broduer and his
elderly father Richard. Their a bit bumbling and comical. Their
attraction is tossed together in a slap dash
fashion suing whatever
material they can get their hands on and often looks like a healthy
sneeze could up and blow all the props away. Yet whenever their
antics or mishaps threaten to turn them into a punchline, Stephenson
pulls out another instance of the father and son duo dressing as
clowns entertaining children at the local Shriners hospital. Their
struggles and ineptitude provide many of the film's highlight
moments, yet Stephenson makes sure we're laughing with the Broduers,
not at them. The film reveals the deep bond the two men, both of whom
are completely dependent on one another, feel for the other. A
telling sign as to how much their story effected the audience could
be found in the form of the first audience post-screening question
when Stephenson was asked if Matthew had come to his senses and
returned the affection of a childhood friend who clearly wished to
take things to a romantic level.
Existing in a happy medium
between these two examples is Manny Souza. The blue collar family man
takes tremendous pride showing off the attractions he built for
little to no cost, yet despite his non existent budget Manny proves
to be a craftsman when it comes to creating his props. He freely
admits that he doesn't sweat the last details knowing that his
audience will mostly take a quick look at each item as they pass
through. What Souza loves most about his backyard haunt is the time
it affords him to spend with his children and the knowledge that he's
creating a special memory for them. In one of the more poignant
moments, Souza's wife recalls the year before when health problems
prevented Souza from working on his exhibit. A few calls from Lori
Souza later found the neighborhood pitching in to get the haunt ready
in time for the big night.
Towards the end of the film
Stephenson gives the audience an in depth look at the results of all
the families hard work with a nice montage of the neighborhood
children and parents getting the crap scared out of them as they go
through the haunts. This scene nails one of American Scream's
greatest strengths as it nails
the Halloween atmosphere in a small New England town. At least a
thousand kids pass through the yards screaming like monkeys as the
actors pop out of the set pieces to scare the bejesus out of them.
In a festival packed with
films celebrating the extraordinary that pushes dramatic boundaries
and expectations the most moving, affecting story stems in the form
of a grounded trio of families. The American Scream is one of the
warmest, most joyous works to come along ina long time, and is the
perfect tribute to the holiday we all love.
I'm excited to see dis.
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