The-american-scream

The American Scream is pretty damn awesome as far as documentaries go and for you, dear reader, there are going to be two ways of checking it out: In a limited theatrical run or when it hits Chiller on television October 28th.

Directed by Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie), the film is set against the backdrop of sleepy Fairhaven, Massachusetts which erupts with the most ambitiously creative spookery in the world.  Endless styrofoam tombstones and backyard beasts come courtesy of a few supremely dedicated local “home haunters” who’ve devoted their lives to the art of handmade monster making.  The American Scream follows three of these horrific households to uncover the triumphs and tragedies that come with carrying the blackened banner of true Halloween spirit.

You can check out the official trailer inside.

Magic Stone Productions and Brainstorm Media along with Chiller Films are bringing the terrific feature-length documentary The American Scream –  which we gave a rave review for here at Shock – to theaters during  October in the following locations and theaters, and will also be available through Tugg.com in cities where it does not have a current theatrical engagement…

Now that we have hopefully put The American Scream – a documentary on Halloween home haunting – on your radar, here are two TV spots touting its premiere on Chiller.  The film airs on October 28th and was directed by Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie).  You can read our 10/10 review from the Fantastic Fest premiere right here.

It’s post-Fantastic Fest wrap-up time…  

ShockTillYouDrop.com’s Ryan Turek and FEARnet.com’s Lawrence Raffel are back from the 8th annual Austin, Texas event and they’re here to tell you about the best and worst films.  Listen in as they weigh in on Antiviral, American Mary, Frankenweenie, Berberian Sound Studio, Come Out and Play, The American Scream and more!

Music provided by: Nine Inch Nails (“Last” from The Cabin in the Woods soundtrack)

The American Scream – a documentary that pulls back the curtain on home haunting – is a wonderful, heartfelt celebration of Halloween.  And what it excels in is its restrained focus.  It’s not a wide-reaching look at the haunted attraction business, which it could have easily been.  Instead, director Michael Stephenson wisely narrows his vision, creates more emotional depth and heightens the intimacy of the subject matter but he never loses out on “the moments” that make home haunting so damn fun.

Stephensen previously helmed Best Worst Movie, a look at the cult phenonmenon that is Troll 2, and applies that film’s sense of warmth, energy and sense of humor to The American Scream.

On the day of The American Scream’s premiere at Fantastic Fest, an official one-sheet has made its premiere.

The film is the second documentary from Best Worst Movie’s Michael Paul Stephenson.  The synopsis rolls like this:  Every Halloween, sleepy Fairhaven, Massachusetts erupts with the most ambitiously creative spookery in the world.  Endless styrofoam tombstones and backyard beasts come courtesy of a few supremely dedicated local “home haunters” who’ve devoted their lives to the art of handmade monster making.  THE AMERICAN SCREAM follows three of these horrific households to uncover the triumphs and tragedies that come with carrying the blackened banner of true Halloween spirit.

Stay tuned for our review and interview.  In the meantime, check out a larger version of the poster inside.

Shock Till You Drop has scored 15 exclusive photos from The American Scream, the latest documentary by Michael Stephenson, who previously directed Best Worst Movie.

The American Scream is making its premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 23rd and we recently caught up to Stephenson to discuss his latest film which touches on one of my favorite subjects: The haunted attraction industry.  

When we spoke to the director, he was in incredible spirits, excited to show off the film and was in the midst of doing a bit more sound mixing on the picture.

Shortly after the release of Best Worst Movie, Stephenson was approached about the idea of doing a documentary focusing on hometown haunt.  He told us he immediately connected to the idea, thinking about a house in his own neighborhood.  “I grew up in a small town and every Halloween we had this one lady and she would transform it into a witch’s house.  So, when this idea came to me, I got really excited about it.  It’s such a great sandbox to play in in terms of making a documentary because – theatrically – it’s creative.  People do these amateur haunted houses because there’s passion over profit and they enjoy it.  Arguably, there are people to do it to the level of obsession and that just felt like a great place to find characters and have a lot of fun.”

One of the films we’re very much looking forward to at Fantastic Fest later this month in Austin, Texas is The American Scream, from Michael Paul Stephenson, the director of Best Worst Movie.

While a blurb about the film was previously released with a Fantastic Fest announcement, we now have more details on this documentary.

Magic Stone Productions (Magic Stone), the team behind the critically acclaimed documentary BEST WORST MOVIE, and Brainstorm Media are pleased to announce that their feature documentary, THE AMERICAN SCREAM, will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., on September 23 in Austin, Texas.  THE AMERICAN SCREAM is the second documentary from director Michael Paul Stephenson.  His first documentary BEST WORST MOVIE was a critical success when it was released in 2010.

Michael Paul Stephenson is back with a new film entitled The American Scream, a documentary that looks at the haunted attraction industry.  There have been a few indie docs that explored the subject, all with their own unique focus (Hell House, anyone?), however, this one comes to us from the director of Best Worst Movie, 2009’s look at the cult phenomena surrounding Troll 2.

The American Scream concerns a small Massachusetts community where three Halloween-obsessed households transform into neighbor-terrifying supernatural wonderlands and it’s going to make its world premiere at Fantastic Fest.

We have two images from the documentary which you can find after the jump.  Shock will be at FF this year, so stay tuned for coverage.