Excellent but underrated film

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Quite a fantastic little film, which revolves around the brutal killings of seemingly random victims, mainly prostitutes. It's hardly believable that a well to do, caring older brother would let his sister get into this much trouble, but in the end it becomes obvious why things turned out that way. Is it believable that the brother, a famous pianist, would fall in love with an exotic dancer from skid row? Maybe not, but it's portrayed with the necessary integrity. The nasty kill scenes and many gratuitous striptease scenes should clash with the serious themes, but they hardly do. The film maintains a certain amount of integrity, though I don't think it's for everyone - my love for gore and nudity admittedly helps a lot...The story (stories) evolves rather slowly, which leaves room for a believable way of Eric and Louise becoming more and more involved with each other. The ending may be a little far fetched (though I did have a feeling Uni-Save might have something to do with it), but it works well enough, even if the finale is a rather by the book way of concluding a thriller. It helps that Neil Dainard delivers a fine performance as the high and mighty baddie who believes he is just setting things right. The rest of the acting is rather okay, but nothing special.If a mix of gritty thriller and a good dose of exploitation elements might be your thing, check this one out! A good 7 out of 10 from yours truly.

One has to wonder why the makers of this film would dub it "American Nightmare" when in fact it's 100% Canadian, showing that those of us in the Great White North have what it takes to make dark and depressing trash cinema.The story is admittedly similar to that in the George C. Scott vehicle "Hardcore": a young man named Eric (Lawrence Day) frantically searches for his kid sister after having received a plea for help from her. This leads Eric into the underworld of Toronto (all shot on authentic seedy Toronto locations), including stop offs at a strip club. The characters, by and large, are kinky if not dangerous, and by the end there's going to be one hell of a disgusting revelation.Directed in a straightforward manner by Don McBrearty, the film can boast Canadian genre icon Paul Lynch (director of "Prom Night", "Humongous", and "Bullies") as one of the executive producers and none other than the original Wizard of Gore, Ray Sager, as the producer. Now, of course it's not going to be for all tastes, but those who enjoy the sleazy and sordid in movies are sure to get a kick out of the various goings on. Enhanced by a subtle Paul Zaza score, the movie does immerse one in its ambiance and tells a reasonably interesting tale that also involves Erics' strained relationship with his fat cat father Hamilton (Tom Harvey).Among the cast are Alexandra Paul ("Christine", 'Baywatch') in her first feature as the ill-fated sibling, Lenore Zann ("Happy Birthday to Me", "Visiting Hours") and Claudia Udy ("Savage Dawn", "Edge of Sanity") as strippers, Page "The Hitchhiker" Fletcher as Mark, Larry Aubrey as drag queen Dolly, and the always welcome Michael Ironside, who's unfortunately wasted in a boring part as the investigating detective. Day is unbearably stiff as the determined hero, but Lora Staley is appealing as the roommate who helps him in his journey and with whom he becomes smitten.The whole thing is pretty crude and reeks of cheapness, but it's still got good moments. For one thing, McBrearty and company know that you can never have too many strip numbers in a movie, and for another, there is one effective stalking / suspense sequence featuring Zann as she tries to defend herself with a pitchfork.Worth a look for hardcore enthusiasts of exploitation.Seven out of 10.

The fact that this one isn't easy to catch over here I was able to find me a copy. I thought it would be so creepy as Visiting Hours 'cause Ironside was involved, but he just plays a copper and nothing more. Is it scary, sometimes it has his moments but overall it's more about naked girls. But here the girls are in it for the nakedness and nothing more. Both main actresses have their strip act (eat your heart out Demi Moore) and that's the reason most viewers want to see this one. I watched it and after a few days i was already forgotten the plot of this movie, watchable, yes, gore or bloody, not that many. And don't do it for the sake of Ironside, you will be disappointed.

Wealthy pianist Eric Blade (Lawrence Day) tries to locate his missing runaway sister in an unnamed (and presumably US) metropolis. His journey takes him to seedy sex shops and strip joints. Of course, the police (include a detective played by one "Mike" Ironside) aren't really interested in a missing hooker until they find out she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Even then they spend their time following the "obvious he didn't do it" guy while the quick audience members have already correctly guessed the real culprit 10 minutes in. Despite being a tad predictable, this is still worth watching for the the sleaze factor. This ranks right up there with films like MANIAC and NEVER PICK UP A STRANGER in terms of on screen skank. I'm just saddened that my Northern neighbors think so lowly of us that they called this American NIGHTMARE. I guess Canadian NIGHTMARE didn't have that ring to it.