Lounging around this past weekend, I was looking through Netflix for something to fill my time before heading out to another haunt. Once I got to the “Halloween Favorites” category, I began to scroll for something I haven’t watched yet. Despite coming out in 2012, seeing The American Scream on the list was the first time I had heard of it.

What initially drew me into it was seeing it was directed by Michael Stephenson, who had previously directed Best Worst Movie about Troll 2. Reading the description pulled me in even more.

The American Scream follows three families in Fairhaven, Massachusetts who transform their homes into haunts on Halloween night. We’re not talking the professional kind; we’re talking about passionate people who work hard and then open their homes to scare friends and neighbors on Halloween.

The main subject of the film is Victor Bariteau, who has a wonderfully understanding family and a somewhat boring day job. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, Bariteau and his family go into overdrive, working on new projects, props, and scares to include into their upcoming display. While he is the driving force behind it all, his family does help out quite a bit. However, it is obviously his passion, and he brings his family along for the ride, for better or for worse.

What was interesting to me is that his upbringing lead directly to his obsession, nay love, for the Halloween season. His family was extremely religious, and he wasn’t allowed to celebrate holidays or birthdays. It seems as if he is trying to make up for that all now by devoting much of his free time, and finances, into getting ready for his Halloween display. That said, his level of commitment to it is quite impressive. His skills in carpentry, innovation, and scares are something to admire, especially in a home haunt environment. His love, and creativity, was clearly inherited by his oldest daughter, Catherine, as she is often seen helping him in construction, and coming up with new scares. The level of detail they, and others, commit to their set up is beyond anything I’ve seen, and it’s really impressive.

Two blocks away from the Bariteau household is Manny Souza, who fits got the bug while helping the Bariteau’s with their display. Whereas Bariteau aims for authentic and perfection, Souza is perfectly happy with recycling found parts (lumber, electronics, and so on) for his display. By crafting in a Frankenstein-like fashion, Souza has found a sense of community in his work, doing it more for fun than for authenticity.

The final family is the father and son team of Rick and Matt Brodeur, one a part-time clown, and the other a retired engineer. Their back and forth exchanges and bickering only show the deepening bond this family team has. Despite their fighting, they grow closer every year.

It’s incredible to me how Stephenson shows all three families and their enthusiasm. All of them speak of their insatiable drive to create, to do more, to make things look great for a single night every year. It’s hard NOT to be enthused by their excitement. They are all driven by the screams and laughter of neighborhood children and their parents, making it all worthwhile by creating memories. That said, the cost of creating and running these haunts it not only financial, but also emotional as well. The way it tears at, but also brings together the families is very powerful stuff.

The emotional core of this film is the heart behind it. In the end, you root for all three families to complete their set ups on time, and help create memories for future years to come. It’s a heartwarming, touching, and very often funny look into the lives of these home haunters.

For those of us who visit these haunts, whether home haunts or professional, we often forget that there are people, and their stories, behind them. This film does a wonderful job of reminding us of that. As a massive fan of these people, and the amount of work that goes into what they do, I very much enjoyed The American Scream, and really urge you to watch it. If you are a fan of Halloween haunts, this is a wonderful peek behind the curtain of what goes into making them.