American Gothic

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.

Cynthia (Sarah Torgov) leaves a mental institution, where she stayed after losing her baby in a bath accident. Her husband decides to join a group of friends and fly from Seattle to a camping in a small hydroplane. The craft has a problem and it lands in a lonely island in the middle of nowhere. There, they are hosted by Ma (Yvonne de Carlo) and Pa (Rod Steiger), a very religious couple, who lives like they were in the beginning of the Twentieth Century. When the group meets the two sons and the daughter of Ma and Pa, they realize that they are in the middle of very demented persons, who start hunting them.

"American Gothic" was a great surprise. Although having a low rating in IMDB, it is indeed a good and original horror movie. The scary story has many funny situations, and the direction and performance of the cast are very good. The contrast in the behavior of such a nice Ma and Pa when the secret of that weird family is disclosed, is really frightening. Highly recommended for fans of horror movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): 'Os Anfitriões' ('The Hosts')

Note: On 23 Sep 2022, I saw this film again.

American Gothic is a horror movie that is truly horrible and scary: Because what it portrays is a completely psychotic and homicidal family living on an isolated island in the Pacific Northwest who become the only beacon of help for several young people who become temporarily stranded on the island. The lighting in the film is almost nonexistent; it seems as though it were filmed in a basement, which adds to the creepiness. Even though there are some extremely cheezy elements in the film, there's a constant suspicion that something not just bad, but terrible and downright terrifying is going to happen. Rod Steiger and Yvonne de Carlo are absolutely brilliant in this film as "Pa" and "Ma" and are so extreme in their character portrayals that they almost become parodies of themselves and are therefore on the threshold of being humorous. But the 'kids' (who are actually 3 deranged siblings in their 40's and seemingly quite comfortable in their maritime never never land) are so creepy that they make not only your skin but lining of your bones crawl. On a scale of 1--10, I'd give this an 8.5.

Good campy horror movie that has 3 couples going for a little vacation and getting stuck on an island. They take shelter at an old couple's house whose "kids" are at least in their fifties. Soon one by one the couples get killed except for one lucky one who has a few little surprises of her own. Surprisingly good, with good campy acting by all. "Give me my baby Fanny!" Recommended

Yvonne DeCarlo's death a few days ago brings to mind her varied career. She may be best known for playing Lily on the comic-horror TV series "The Munsters", but in the movie "American Gothic", she went for straight horror. The movie portrays some young people flying out over the Puget Sound - on either a sunny or overcast day; the setting kept changing - and having to land on an island when their plane conks out. The island turns out to be inhabited by a family. Ma (DeCarlo) and Pa (Rod Steiger) are practically Amish, their daughter Fanny looks only a little younger, and sons Woody (Michael J. Pollard) and Teddy don't do much. But this family isn't what they seem. Every member seems like s/he has some nasty plans, and the outsiders had better not trespass.

There were some pretty gross scenes here, but I liked how they played everything out. Especially what Cynthia did at the end. I couldn't have predicted that even if I'd tried! So, it's mostly your average slasher flick, but still quite enjoyable. I wonder what Grant Wood would have thought had he known that the name of his famous painting would one day get used for this sort of movie.