A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.
- Frankie Dunlan
- (as Ricky G)
- Terry - Strung-Out Junkie
- (as Ed Pepitone)
- Social Worker
- (as Carmine Giovinazzo)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll the Vietnam flashback scenes were shot in the swamps of Staten Island.
- GoofsWhen Frankie inspects the revolver drum magazine after loading it, some of the cartridges have a dent in the primer made by a firing pin, meaning that they've already been fired.
- Quotes
Cathy Dunlan: I can't take much more of this!
Frankie Dunlan: Much more of what?
Cathy Dunlan: This! Living like rats! I'm starving! The baby's starving!
Frankie Dunlan: So? I'm hungry too.
Cathy Dunlan: Then do something about it!
Frankie Dunlan: What do you want me to do?
Cathy Dunlan: Get a job!
Frankie Dunlan: There are no jobs!
Cathy Dunlan: Then look for one!
Frankie Dunlan: I am! It's not just us, it's the whole country! There's a recession on!
Cathy Dunlan: The whole country manages to eat! You're out on the streets every day like a zombie! You're not looking for a job! You're waiting for the world to end!
Frankie Dunlan: Hey, good! That should be any day now!
Cathy Dunlan: Go ahead and make jokes, but it's true! You don't care about us! You're off on another planet somewhere! It's not fair! It's just not fair!
- Alternate versionsThe R-rated version is HEAVILY CUT.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)
To begin with, let's talk about the setting. How in the world did this world exist? For historical sake, we all knew Reagan's America had a dirty underbelly, but dang. Every place in this film looks like it needs a serious cleaning, and one wall even begs "clean me." It seemed like they didn't have to do any dress setting. It would not surprise me. In truth, the setting is the real star of the film. You can't naturally reproduce this kind of world, which really immerses you in this place the main character named Frankie has to traverse. I felt like I could smell the rotting meat in one scene. I felt the discomfort of the people walking around the junk in only cheap, old Converses. I had this fear running through me that they might step on a nail or some glass. All I can say is you can feel the dirtiness and edginess.
The only complaint I have is a minor one, which was the acting. You can only ask so much but there was a lot of scenes where the acting was really natural and good. So while the unevenness is evident, it honestly never jarred me out of the flow of the film. This ain't Birdemic or some other intentionally bad film. And while the acting might not have been professional, the camera work certainly was. I was really impressed with how the film flowed. There weren't too many out of place shots or weird edits. Overall, a pretty decent film.
Now is this a perfect movie? Absolutely not. Is this a movie worth saying you have experienced? Yes! Go to YouTube and fins this movie.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- American Nightmare
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000 (estimated)
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