By the time American Gothic had come out, horror fans were familiar with the “don’t go in the woods” trope. Trouble was, and still is, expected for anyone who trades city comforts for the great outdoors. John Hough’s 1988 slasher admittedly follows the same path taken by others before it. However, where many of these kinds of movies continue to complete the same old routine, American Gothic takes a delightfully twisted turn that helps it stand out, even after all these years.
With a tagline like “The family that slays together, stays together,” it’s not hard to figure out where American Gothic is heading. The classic poster art, a dark parody of Grant Wood’s famous painting, even puts Yvonne De Carlo and Rod Steiger’s villainous characters front and center. Yet before they show up, viewers first meet Cynthia (Sarah Torgov), the movie’s ostensible Final Girl. Her introduction occurs at, of all places, a psychiatric hospital. Upon being discharged, Cynthia goes on a camping trip with husband Jeff (Mark Erickson) and their friends. True to fashion, their transportation breaks down along the way, although in this case, it’s a plane that conks out rather than a car.
Like some other ‘80s slashers, American Gothic is shot in the Canadian wilderness. The natural scenery of Bowen Island during winter is certainly beautiful and gives this movie an almost fairytale quality. People get lost in the woods, only to then find trouble in the form of deceptively benevolent strangers. While looking for help, Cynthia and her friends come across the isolated cabin of De Carlo and Steiger’s characters, respectively referred to as Ma and Pa. The matriarch comes off as kind, whereas her spouse is openly crabby and suspicious.
Right off, Ma and Pa are strange. Their off-grid and unplugged home looks straight out of the 1900s, and they don’t even know about the moon landing. So it’s clear these two pious oldies have been on this island for quite a long time. Regardless of their limited resources and knowledge, the couple promises to help their guests with their plane problem the next day. In the meantime, Cynthia and the others stay and gradually meet the rest of Ma and Pa’s clan. This is where the movie starts to get even stranger.
American Gothic seems like one big gag once Ma and Pa’s kids show up. Their daughter Fanny (Janet Wright) and their two sons Teddy and Woody (William Hootkins, Michael J. Pollard) are clearly middle-aged adults, yet they are treated like small children. In fact, Fanny is set to have her twelfth birthday party soon. Cynthia’s friends have trouble keeping a straight face when in the presence of sheer weirdness, but the protagonist is more understanding. This being, of course, due to her stay at the psych hospital.
Whodunit fans may be inclined to sit this one out, with there being no murder mystery to solve, however the movie makes up for that with the macabre direction and general screwiness. Ma and Pa don’t get their hands anywhere as dirty as their youngins, who each derive great pleasure from their crimes. Over the course of the middle act, Fanny, Teddy and Woody gruesomely cut away the fat of Cynthia’s group before she’s the only one left standing. From there the movie inches closer and closer to its absolutely wild finish.
For those who haven’t seen this movie yet, below are major spoilers.
While American Gothic fails to have a kill in its opening scene like so many other slashers, a killer does appear at the movie’s beginning. Viewers just don’t know it yet. Kicking the story off with someone’s release from psychiatric care is something more associated with villains than heroes. But thinking back on past slashers, this moment is significant when remembering how this movie ultimately wraps up. Once Jeff and the others are all murdered, the story throws the audience a major curveball; Cynthia is adopted by Ma and Pa. Unlike Sally in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, though, Cynthia does not resist her captivity. She instead embraces her new family and settles in for what looks to be a long, long stay.
Why Cynthia adapts so quickly to her imprisonment has to do with why she was admitted to the hospital in the first place. Through flashbacks it’s revealed that Cynthia developed PTSD after accidentally letting her baby drown. And ever since she came to this island, Cynthia has been triggered again and again. Jeff and her friends’ deaths surely make matters worse, but it’s the sight of Fanny’s baby — really a long dead infant, which brings up other questions — that pushes Cynthia over the edge. Murders notwithstanding, Ma and Pa’s family-oriented lifestyle originally had great appeal for a woman whose domestic bliss was snatched away in an instant. Everything then changes once Cynthia tries to fix the past with Fanny’s baby. When that falls through, the movie makes good on its opening’s implication; a killer was indeed released that day.
The logic behind her breakdown doesn’t entirely make sense, but Cynthia’s brutal killing spree is something fans look forward to. She single-handedly turns the movie into a reverse-slasher and brutally slaughters her captors. This whole story has been a clash between traditionalism and modernism, with the old ways eventually becoming obsolete in the most violent way possible.
American Gothic is not consistently original and, with the exception of the villains and Cynthia, the characters are not too memorable. In spite of these and other quibbles, the movie’s finale is an all-timer that doesn’t get brought up remotely enough in conversations about ‘80s slashers.
American Gothic is currently streaming on Tubi and is also available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.
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