Review by Quin
In the fall of my first year of high school, my best friend and I decided to turn my backyard into a haunted house for Halloween. During September and October, we spent every day after school planning and building our own haunt. We had ropes and pulleys, we hung a maze of white bed sheets, we turned a small dirt area into a cemetery, and we had bowls of grapes and spaghetti noodles which were supposed to be eyeballs and guts (hee hee bowls of bowels). I know it all sounds pretty typical, but we put a ton of work into it and we did it all ourselves. It cost us practically nothing, because all of the supplies we used were things we had around the house. When Halloween night came, my friend got sick and was unable to go out. So, this left me on my own. Luckily, my parents were there to help out. My dad dressed up like a mad man, while I stayed out of sight and worked on the pulleys. The turn out was good, probably 30 or 40 people over the course of the evening. Generally we got less trick r’ treaters in previous years but I think word was spreading about it – it was definitely something different at the time and most people seemed to think it was worth checking out. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but I would never do it again. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the whole process taught me about hard work and getting a job done on literally a budget of zero. I also learned about disappointment, but not to wallow in it. Making the most of what is happening, even when it’s not what you expect, because if you see it through, chances are the disappointment will eventually be forgotten or not seem as important. These are the feelings that came rushing back to me when I saw Michael Stephenson’s documentary The American Scream.
Hunter S. Thompson may be most remembered for taking his readers on a savage journey to the heart of the American dream – The American Scream follows that same dream, but it’s savage in a much different way. Take out the drugs and the Vegas road trip, leave in the bats and clowns, and you have something that probably could have just as easily been titled Fear and Loathing in Fairhaven. Fairhaven, Massachusetts is where we find three different families following their American dream of turning their yards into an annual Halloween haunt for the neighborhood kids to enjoy.
When we are first introduced to them, it’s 30 days until Halloween. The Beriteau family is at their kitchen table, which is covered with Halloween junk. At one point the dad, Victor, says to his daughter, “Can you get the eyeballs upstairs?” The Beriteau’s certainly don’t look like the Addams Family; they are a normal looking family with an obsession for all things Halloween. Actually that’s only half true. Victor and one of his daughters are both really into it, but mom and the other daughter just seem to go along with it. However, they do all seem to appreciate that they are doing something together as a family. Sacrifices must be made though. No, not those kind of sacrifices. For instance, the house Victor and his wife purchased was picked specifically because it was in the right location and had the right layout for a Halloween haunt. His wife wanted two stories and two bathrooms, but she sacrificed those desires so her husband could fulfill his dream. She remarks sarcastically, “The kids can’t have a swing set, ’cause where will we put the cemetery?” Now before you pass judgement and call Victor an asshole, he really is genuinely grateful that his family puts up with him. The Beriteaus seem like an all around great group of people and I wish they lived on my block.
The Beriteau clan is definitely the focus of the documentary, but the two other families include an elderly guy and his son. For a living they dress up like pirate clowns and make balloon animals at parties and events, but like the Beriteaus, they spend more time getting their house ready for Halloween. Their relationship is quite touching; dad is diabetic and needs help with quite a bit, and the son is content with taking care of his dad. They bicker in a comical way, but their love for each other shows through. The son, who’s probably in his 30s, has one friend who comes around occasionally. She’s an attractive young lady who obviously likes him more than just a friend, but he’s either too wrapped up in his Halloween stuff to notice, or he’s too freaked out to admit it. Either way, it adds another human touch that everyone can relate to.
The film also profiles an older gentleman, who has a unique approach to setting up his haunts. He puts it best when he says in a thick Boston accent, “I’m not here to make it look real. It’s the thought.” He explains that he finds most of his supplies dumpster diving and spends very little money on his project. He does it because he enjoys it and he knows that the kids enjoy it. He’s even known as The Halloween Guy.
The common thread throughout all of the individual stories is that juggling family and your dream is difficult. But when people team up and work together, whether it’s a family or a community, the sky is the limit. Victor points out that Christmas and Thanksgiving are family holidays, but Halloween is for communities. All of the people involved in The American Scream feel like they have an obligation to their communities to come through every year with another haunt. There is a payoff for one family, as far as the American dream is concerned. Some viewers may be disappointed by the lack of a payoff in the way of a finished product. Don’t expect to go through the mazes and see everything that these people have spent so much time working on. There is a little of that, but not much. But that’s not the point. The American Scream is an emotional story about what it takes to make it, and how people find fulfillment. This movie left me smiling and with a lump in my throat – which is kind of nice, since so many of the movies we review around here are downers, either leaving you feeling depressed or grossed out. The American Scream is fun, uplifting and entertaining. Perhaps it will inspire more people to make home made haunts of their own.