Review of American Gothic (1987) by Chris M — 25 Jul 2008

Creepy, but downright strange shocker about a group of yuppies stranded on a temperate island (the premise would be moot in 2008 what with cellphones), inhabited by a murderous, bible-thumping family stuck in the 1920s backwoods, and their mentally backwards middle-aged children.

The plot is interesting, but not the most original thing in the world; that would be the poster and it's parody on the Grant Wood painting of the same name, but the film does feature some interesting twists and some great, over-the-top acting from Lily Munster and the priest from "On The Waterfront".

You'd never expect them in this kind of movie and their kids are pretty obnoxious but play their parts well. While the film is effectively disturbing, it is blighted by moments of high camp, and general awkward weirdness, which I guess was it's intention.

But it's better than a lot of the horror being regurgitated out by studios, these days.