American Scary – Review

For the vast majority of us, we just don’t relate to tuning in on late Saturday night, for a creature feature with a horror host. I certainly don’t, I barely remember Elvira, and most of my memories are of a puppet in a basement with comic books. Horror host have come and gone, a product of a certain time, but those who remember them have found memories. My dad and uncle do. They tell me of Dr. San Guinary who hosted a show during the 1970s with Z-Grade films. The films sucked, they say, but he was entertaining.

Such nostalgia is apparent and prominent in John E. Hudgens documentary, American Scary, a film that not only chronicles the histories of many horror host, but has a fun time in doing so. Why shouldn’t he? The subject matter is goofy and niche, most of the people renting it are unaware of the horror host, shall I say phenomenon, so I think this works towards Hudgen’s advantage. Crafting the documentary without narration or a host, he hinges on the retired horror hosts themselves to tel their tales and chronicle the history.

While personalities like Elvira (not interviewed), Vampira, and Zacherly, are the stars of this field, the film doesn’t overlook other voices. Although some won’t resonant with all viewers, their inclusion is important. Fans are very loyal to certain hosts in their market, this is after all local personalities on an public access show, so for those who remember, this type of nostalgia will be a smile onto there faces. Also, it helps creates the wide-ranging collection of the hosts and their contribution to the field. Using a collection of old video from their shows, as well as interviews with Forry Ackerman, Leonard Maltin, Joe Bob Briggs, Neil Gaiman, and Tom Savini, this history won’t be forgot, even though in most of the recent generation, it has.

American Scary even covers the rise of corporate sponsors and programming that led to the horror host, public access show eventual demise. Hidden within all the stories is a sense of how this is an Americana subject. Baseball, apple pie, and horror hosts? This is why I love America. American Scary hovers on the niche, but its a fun history lesson many don’t know, and that’s its success. It brings attention to what was once fun on a Saturday night.

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