Scott LeBrun
A different sort of slasher film, this one. It concerns three young couples who head for an island vacation in the Pacific Northwest. Plane troubles force them to land on a different island. Unfortunately, this one is dominated by stereotypical backwoods redneck type senior citizens, Pa and Ma (Rod Steiger and Yvonne De Carlo). They live with three middle aged children, Fanny (Janet Wright, 'Corner Gas'), Woody (Michael J. Pollard, "Bonnie and Clyde"), and Teddy (William Hootkins, "Hardware"), who all have the mindsets of children. They're also murderous, laying waste to most of the interlopers in various ways.Although there's some excellent atmosphere (this was filmed on Bowen Island, the same Canadian locale utilized by "The Food of the Gods"), and some decent enough gore, "American Gothic" gets most of its strength through characterization. You sure don't care about most of the victims. In fact, you're happy to see them die. The screenplay is by Burt Wetanson and Michael Vines, and not only does it make these people insufferably obnoxious, it's patently absurd. Who in their right mind gets on a swing that's perched right at the edge of a cliff? The most sympathetic victim is Cynthia (Sarah Torgov ("Meatballs"), in what appears to be her last acting credit). Cynthia just got out of a mental institution because she wasn't able to deal with the tragic death of her baby.Steiger and De Carlo have a field day as the rigid, religious, backwards yokels, and Steiger has a priceless, memorable monologue right at the end. Wright is rather endearing, Pollard is his usual self, and Hootkins is solid as the twisted Teddy. Familiar faces among the victims also include Stephen Shellen ("The Stepfather" '87) and Mark Lindsay Chapman ("Titanic" '97).The outcome involving Cynthia is somewhat intriguing, offering up at least two possible reasons for her actions. And this brief but generally amusing little movie does teach us one lesson: if you're stuck on an island, with little to no chance of getting off, it might be wise to respect the ways of your hosts, however antiquated they may be.Seven out of 10.
Wizard-8
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.
merklekranz
In a way it is sad to see a talent like Rod Steiger relegated to playing these psycho-eccentrics, as he does here and also in the absolutely amazing "Guilty as Charged". "American Gothic" lacks the fully developed script of "Guilty as Charged", although it is not your standard slasher in the woods. Other films have been "borrowed" from, but somehow there is enough originality to maintain interest. The character development is scatter shot, and the acting ranges from embarrassing (pick any of the stranded friends), to stereotyped (Steiger and Michael J. Pollard). Nevertheless, "American Gothic" rises above mediocrity, because of the presence of Steiger and Pollard, some intriguing, though underdeveloped ideas, and a smattering of dark comedy. - MERK
WarpedRecord
For reasons they took to their graves, Rod Steiger and Yvonne De Carlo star as Bible-thumping, apple pie-eating, guest-killing inhabitants of a remote island. When some young Seattle adventurers crash their plane en route to a camping trip, they stumble upon Ma and Pa and their strange family of middle-aged "children." The family doesn't take kindly to swearing, fornicating or smoking, and many of the guests meet unfortunate ends when they don't follow the family's rules. But one guest has a tragic past that she turns to her advantage."American Gothic" is interesting strictly for its big-name stars plumbing the depths of their careers. As a B-movie, it rates a C. I was never bored, but I was never captivated, either. "American Gothic" is so bad it's ... well, just very average.
AD
