NUTCRACKER: AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

Produced by Nick Aquilino
Written and Directed by Glen Grefe
Director of Photography - Victor Hallesteros

Carlton Fairfax II - Bill Bragg
John Gard - David Hess

I have a confession to make. I do most of my screener reviewing on the treadmill. Depending on how interesting the feature might be, it may take me anywhere from 2-4 cycles to make it through any one movie. Sometimes, important information gets lost between viewing gaps and I'll have to go back and watch a title a second time just to make sure I caught everything worth commenting on.

Then there are movies like NUTCRACKER: AN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE that get me coming back for seconds out of pure cinematic pleasure. As I watched NUTCRACKER, I was reminded of another recent shot-on-video horror picture that also placed story and character before exploitation, RAISING HELL. In my review, I stated that I feared it would be lost in a sea of new of pictures that never find national distribution, but fortunately someone heard my cry and offered to help. I have the same fear with NUTCRACKER, but with RAISING HELL I now hold some hope that viewers might get to see this one someday.

One element that gives NUTCRACKER true potential is the addition of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT's David Hess as a mental patient looking for a little clarity in his life. Unlike the low-key intensity that he brought to Wes Craven's brutal masterpiece, Hess is allowed to have some fun and ham it up. At times he comes across too goofy for the movie's own good, but it's always nice to seem him on screen. He's a fine actor who never gets the recognition he deserves in American cinema.

In NUTCRACKER, Hess is John Gard, a man who shows up at the office of Psychiatrist Carlton Fairfax based on the recommendation of one of Fairfax's peers. Extra marital affairs and recent allegations concerning his newest book, Fairfax is going through his own personal turmoil and doesn't feel anyone can benefit from his aid until he sees the chance to prove some radical new therapies in Gard.

There's an extremely European flair to NUTCRACKER, more specifically it had the look and feel of an Italian Giallo. At its heart, NUTCRACKER is a murder mystery where themes of sexuality and repression take center stage. If I had to compare, I would say NUTCRACKER is more Bava than Argento. The picture is more elegant than shocking and driven by story rather than visuals.

Never exploitive or formulaic, the characters are motivated into their actions through common human shortcomings such as: greed, lust, jealousy, and revenge. The bottom line is they are all drawn out and three dimensional. Perhaps the films only shortcoming is that all the characters possesses so many negative frailties that none come across as likeable. That's something that can be distancing for an audience, but never a deterrent from viewing. When a movie's good, it deserves to be seen

Every few months a new screener comes across my desk that, for me, illustrates the potential for shot on video storytelling. Sometimes those movies make me want to be a better filmmaker myself, such as with RAISING HELL and PHOBIAS. NUTCRACKER is like that too, perhaps even more so.

Nutcracker: An American Nightmare