With Halloween only weeks away, fans of the spooky season have already been diving deep into their favorite movies and TV series that honor the holiday. John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s Halloween is arguably the most popular movie that leans into the more frightening components of the holiday, while Disney’s Hocus Pocus similarly celebrates All Hallow’s Eve but in a much more family-friendly manner. There’s dozens of other Halloween movies that cover all ends of the spooky spectrum, but one under-seen classic that deserves your attention is the 2012 documentary The American Scream. Luckily for fans, The American Scream is currently streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto, Kanopy, Plex, and Freevee.
Due in large part to the Salem Witch Trials, Salem, Massachusetts has become a tourist attraction over the years, with the town itself fully embracing all elements of Halloween. Salem isn’t the only town in eastern Massachusetts that goes all-out for October 31st, as Fairhaven also honors the beloved traditions of the season.
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The American Scream specifically focuses on three families in the Fairhaven community who all love Halloween and all turn their homes into haunted houses to the delight of their neighborhood. Victor Bariteau never got to celebrate Halloween as a kid, and as an adult, his ultimate goal is to be able to open up a haunted house and pursue a career as a professional haunter. Manny Souza likes to create memories for his family, scraping together any materials he can find to encourage creativity in his kids to reimagine everyday objects as spooky treasures. What father and son Rick and Matt Brodeur lack in financial resources for their haunted house they more than make up for in their passion, as they give back to the community by collecting donations at the event while also performing as clowns all year long.
Directed by Michael Paul Stephenson, who played the young boy in the cult-favorite Troll 2, the movie begins on October 1st with all if the families talking about their lofty plans for their event. As we get closer and closer to the main event, we learn what motivates them and drives them, recalling health scares and emotional trauma that drives their passions, while also seeing the setbacks they face, ranging from props not looking quite right to wind storms wreaking havoc on their outdoor props. Not only does the film depict colorful characters with a passion for Halloween, it also sparks nostalgia in the viewer, encouraging them to look inward to reflect on what about the holiday resonates so strongly with them.
For many, Halloween is nothing more than a commercialist-driven opportunity to sell candy and costumes, while others use it as an opportunity to dive deeper into the things that scare us. For others, though, it’s an opportunity to embrace another identity and embody the ideals of figures we look up to, or a chance to share silly and spooky memories with those closest to us.
The American Scream delivers plenty of images of Halloween iconography, though it’s also sure to spark nostalgia inside you for All Hallow’s Eve, no matter what it is about the event you most enjoy.
The American Scream is currently streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto, Kanopy, Plex, and Freevee.
What do you think of the movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!