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American Gothic Streaming.
Movie Title: American Gothic American Gothic is available for streaming or downloading. |
American Gothic is a gash of 80’s slasher cheese that throws all fright clichés into a pot of boiling stew and offers no explanation for the absurdities shown on camouflage. Such as why would someone let a couple of lunatics push them on a swing at the edge of a rocky cliff? Why would a deeply religious god worshipper all of a sudden pledge to Satan when things are not going his map? After firing a gun at a maniac pursuing her, why would a woman plunge the gun to the floor and not bother picking it up before running away? In the midst of watching this flick, it didn’t catch me long to arrive to the realization that the filmmakers were simply throwing in every cliché in the book in order to manufacture somewhat of a horror/comedy hybrid, instead of a straight slasher film.
3 Seattle couples board a private plane en route to Jackson Island, a resort in the pacific northwest intended for rich yuppie types. During the hobble, the plane’s engine sputters and the pilot is forced to land on another island short of their destination. The island appears to be deserted at first, but upon further exploration, the travelers stumble upon an former cabin in the middle of the woods. The inhabitants of the cabin turn out to be an outmoded, deeply religious couple that go by the name of “Ma” and “Pa”. Also inhabiting their house are their three deranged children, all of them who appear to be at least in their forties but who don’t act a year older than 10. Ma and Pa appear at first very kind, though-provoking the travelers for dinner and to stop the night. The travelers soon rep out that there is a mountainous brand for this hospitality however, as Ma and Pa’s “children” turn out to have an insatiable appetite for cancel.
American Gothic doesn’t raze any time getting started, as the travelers land on the island only about ten minutes into the movie. Once the first cancel occurs, the lumber flies by as some of the travelers obtain dispatched with ridiculous ease. From then on the movie turns into a revenge flick as the sole survivor turns the table on the murderous inbred family. Most of the murders sadly happen off hide and there is not powerful in the matter of grue (which is not novel with 80’s slasher fare) . Yes, there is a cramped amount of blood but we only gather to peruse it after the abolish, once the victim is lying expressionless on the ground. One of the most clear flaws in the movie is that we’re never positive when Cynthia, one of the travelers recently released from a psych ward, is sane or not. Most scenes with her in it left me wondering whether she had become totally insane and joined the ranks of Ma and Pa’s family or if she was simply playing along so she could hasten. It would be nice to know but instead the viewer is left guessing.
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I found American Gothic effectively chilling but not for the definite reasons. There are no jumps or surprises or ancient anxiety movie scares. The spookiest portion is watching so many characters topple into voice depths of insanity. The view of parents raising their children on a deserted island their entire lives and never letting them leave in panic that they may be “despicable by the outside world”, all in the name of religious blasphemy, is something I found to be quite chilling. The acting was also surprisingly effective, especially the over-the-top performance of “Pa”, played by Rod Steiger and by Fannie of the 3 “children”. I don’t imagine it’s easy playing a 40-something with the mentality of a murderous 10 year primitive and trying to sustain a straight face through it all. American Gothic is a decent film for those looking for a stylistic 80’s slasher with grand scenery and a barrel of laughs both intentional and unintentional.
This sunless satire of the Religious Proper in rural America demonstrates how dogmatism can erase the thin line that separates sanity from insanity.
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Recovering from an emotional breakdown brought on by the bathtub drowning of her child, Cynthia (Sarah Torgov) goes on a camping scramble with her husband and two other couples. Mechanical problems strand the campers on island reach Seattle, where the troupe eventually runs up against Ma & Pa (Yvonne De Carlo & Rod Steiger), the demented backwoodsy parents of three murderous but mentally infantile adults.
There are some Gein-like goodies, including implied necrophelia, as the homicidal hillbillies hold off the campers one by one, but the film really focuses more on Cynthia’s descent into madness in the face of it all. Lots of subtle humor, not the least of which is the double-entendres in the names of Ma & Pa’s progeny, construct AMERICAN GOTHIC a fun diagram to destroy a few hours. And over-the-top performances strengthen the entertainment value, especially those of Steiger, De Carlo, and Michael J. Pollard (who portrays Teddy, one of the psycho sons) . Targov is also wonderfully whacko when her character, Cynthia, finally loses all ties with reality.
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The DVD from Trinity Home Entertainment offers the film in its new aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer looks a bit grainy at times but is definitely watchable. Alas, the disc contains no bonus features, yet it’s unruffled worth the very reasonable label of admission.
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