"American Gothic" features a group of three couples who venture to an island in the Pacific Northwest after one of the women has tragically lost her infant in an accident. The getaway is supposed to be a time of healing, but becomes one of insanity when they are confronted by a backwoods elderly couple and their demented adult children.I've mentioned it in reviews of his other films, but I truly find John Hough to be a criminally underrated director, especially for his contributions to the horror genre. "The Legend of Hell House," "The Incubus," and "The Watcher in the Woods" are all extremely moody, atmospheric films that don't get nearly as much attention as they should. I had heard of this film before, but had no idea Hough was behind it—and honestly, I would have never guessed it had I not paid attention to the opening credits."American Gothic" is an all-out "backwoods crazies" horror movie that is heavy on the hysterics and light on just about everything else. The film boasts campy performances from veterans Yvonne De Carlo and Rod Steiger, both genre fixtures in their own rights, and lend the film some credibility, although they seem to be self-aware of what they're participating in. The script and pacing are amicable, but what I found the film to be truly lacking was a sense of atmosphere— something that Hough has, in my mind at least, been a master at achieving. In spite of the film's less-than-serious demeanor, opportunities to sap from the gloomy and remote setting are more or less left untapped; relatively flat cinematography leaves the film feeling even more muted.On a positive note, there really never is a dull moment to be had here, and that may be the film's most worthwhile element. It is admittedly fun—wacky, demented, and ultimately silly, but fun. The gory conclusion is also a bit of a surprise. All in all, I found the film amusing, but simultaneously lacking in atmosphere and tension, both of which I'd seen him achieve brilliantly in his previous films. On that level, I was disappointed, but for a late-eighties afterthought/retread on "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," this is fairly well done. 6/10.

This British/Canadian co-production had a lot of promise. It managed to gather some eccentric actors (Rod Steiger and Michael J. Pollard among others), a director (John Hough) who had previously directed some cult movies like "The Legend Of Hell House", and a premise that promised horror as well as touches of black humor. But the execution will leave most audience members unsatisfied for the most part. The main problem is with the screenplay - until near the end, scene after scene rolls out at a very slow pace, and the last five minutes suddenly are executed VERY quickly, as if the filmmakers were running out of money and time and had to wrap things up quickly. Also, there is no real explanation as to why the strange family on the island lives the way that it does. It's well lensed on eye-catching British Columbia locations, and the movie never looks really cheap despite its low budget, but a pretty look will only take a movie so far.

This twisted little number boasts some nifty variations on the killer family framework laid out in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but despite some often interesting ideas, the end result is only a modestly effective horror outing.The set-up works very well, and the isolation of the island our ultimately doomed party finds themselves stuck on makes the unlikely scenario play out as plausible. Things get a bit tricky when they encounter their murderous hosts, however, and the film stumbles a bit by not capitalizing on a great opportunity to build some suspense once our future victims find themselves in the family's lair. Our first introduction to Ma and Pa is pretty much enough to reveal that something is clearly out of whack with them, and once we meet their certifiably insane daughter Fanny it gets hard to believe that our protagonists would opt to stick around and let their impending fates play out. The film would work much better if it initially presented the homicidal clan as deceptively benign, and there might be some actual scares on hand if the macabre and sickening truths of the family were less thinly veiled. This seems like a wasted opportunity, and it's one of the main reasons this otherwise entertaining offering stays mired in the "decent" category.Once the predictable slasher elements begin to unfold, American Gothic loses some of the steam it builds up to that point. While the film's first death is certainly an original and mirthful bit of mayhem, the killings that follow it are largely rote, textbook fare and offer nothing that will get fans of the genre too excited, unless you've been jonesing to see someone have their eye gouged out by the lance of a pewter knight figurine. The splatter on hand is disappointingly paltry, and only Fanny's eventual come-uppance generates any shock value on that front.Far more impactful are some of the grisly nuances of the family's skewed domestic existence. Fanny's "baby" is a horrifying addition to the proceedings, as is the incestuous implications of a particularly unsettling conversation between her and one of her dim-witted brothers. Ma and Pa's brimstone-spewing religious zealotry is likewise a nice touch, and adds another portion of mental instability onto their already full plates.The film loses itself at times, especially in regard to Paul, the lone member of the stranded group who remains at their campsite instead of venturing into Ma and Pa's picturesque house of horrors, who isn't mentioned or checked on until after the gang has spent a full two days soaking in the family's sickness. It isn't until things get totally screwy and the body count has already begun that any of our unfortunate castaways even think of him, and by that point in the film, we've pretty much forgotten about him as well. Since he isn't noted during the course of events that play out in his absence, the eventual discovery of his body doesn't really pack all that much of a punch, even though he is granted one of the grislier deaths in the film.Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of American Gothic is that it is the only movie in the 80's slasher canon that features two actors with Oscar-winning fare on their resumes, Rod Steiger and Michael Pollard (from In The Heat Of The Night and Bonnie And Clyde, respectively). Predictably, their performances are the strongest of the ensemble, although Sarah Torgov ably holds her own as our lone survivor and heroine. Janet Wright should also be mentioned for her indelible rendering of Fanny, who pretty much steals the show as the most disturbing character in the film.The thoughtful back-story given to Torgov's Cynthia makes the rather abrupt shifts in her character easy to swallow, and seeing her align with the group responsible for slaughtering her friends becomes the most chilling aspect of the movie. Unfortunately, her eventual emergence from this trance to get revenge on Ma and Pa and their backwoods brood unfolds in a terse and hurried manner, so we don't really get as much of a payoff as we end up hoping for, save for the afore-mentioned brutalizing of Fanny. While Cynthia's rage toward Ma and Pa's "little girl" makes sense in the course of the story, from a viewer's standpoint the balance of revenge seems just a bit uneven when you consider how relatively easy her sadistic necrophiliac brother Teddy gets off.The film ends on a nicely bleak note, again echoing Texas Chainsaw Massacre by picturing our heroine as damaged beyond repair as the credits roll. This subtle and untidy finish leaves a sour taste behind, and provides a fitting denouement to a movie that relishes in its most unpleasant aspects.American Gothic is not a must-see, but in its best moments it is a largely intelligent and sufficiently original take on a tested formula. There are enough ghoulishly engaging moments to ensure that this film won't be forgotten as soon as you eject the disc, and for that alone it stands out amidst a very crowded decade for the genre. Definitely worth a look, but don't expect to find a classic here.

A group of twentysomethings are stranded on an island off the coast of Washington and find refuge with an odd couple named Ma and Pa (Yvonne De Carlo and Rod Steiger). Things get odd quickly as the family introduces a trio of infantile adult offspring (Janet Wright, Michael J. Pollard and William Hootkins) that like to play and kill. With a cover riffing on the famous Grant Wood painting, you can pretty much expect this one to be tongue-in-cheek. And while the story isn't anything beyond cliché, it is worth seeing for the performances of Steiger and his demented family. I mean, how can you not appreciate a film that casts Michael J. Pollard and William Hootkins as retarded brothers? Or features Steiger whipping Hootkins with a switch; not because he killed a girl but because he killed her and then had sex with her. Wright is the stand out as the creepy Fanny, who is in her forties but thinks she is Shirley Temple and dresses accordingly. Gross. Director John Hough gets good use out of the forest (British Columbia) location. Like I said, worth seeing for all of the actors as the villains.