American Gothic
The so called âbackwoods horror movieâ (as forever embodied by the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its various sequels and spinoffs) has been a staple of the genre for decades with numerous attempts to replicate the formula in several other films over the years, mostly without success and also without anything resembling good actors stepping up to act in these kind of things. This 1987 release was one of the most notable exceptions, helped along no doubt by featuring an Oscar winner for Best Actor, an Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor, one of the most glamorous female stars from The Golden Age Of Hollywood and a solid supporting lineup of familiar character actors as well. The added touch was to mix in a bit of the dreaded âBible Thumpers From Hellâ subtext also (seen perhaps to best effect in Wes Cravenâs People Under The Stairs) as while the Chainsaw family gleefully practiced a sort of pagan / ritualistic / voodoo dogma, the âevilâ family in this movie are really and truly followers of The Bible and Jesus Christ all the way, which makes their horrific actions in the name of their personal conception of God all the more compelling when one looks at the hypocrises of so called Christians today. At the front of the room, we have Rod Steiger (suffering through a reportedly terrible depression at the time which had temporarily knocked him out of the Hollywood mainstream) as Pa, head of his family who has turned his back on the modern outside world in order to live on a remote island with his wife (Yvonne DeCarlo, a long way removed from her prime as a sex symbol and as Lily Munster) and their âchildrenâ who are strictly schooled in the necessities of life and proper values. The (big) problem is that their âkidsâ are all well over 40 yet still conduct themselves as all having the minds and behavior patterns of children, almost as if Steiger and DeCarlo believe that raising them to STAY that way will shield them from the sinful impurities of the outside world by repressing them to the point of infantilism. Their private, secluded world will soon be turned upside down when a small private plane carrying 6 young people is forced to land on the island and are soon seeking help and shelter. Ironically, one of them (Sarah Torgov) has recently been released from a psychiatric hospital after the accidental drowning death of her baby in the bathtub when she tried to multitask the bath with answering the phone and preparing dinner, leading to a nervous breakdown through which her husband (Mark Erickson) feels that the trip can be good for her.  Also along is a VERY hot blonde (Caroline Barclay), her nice guy boyfriend (Mark Lindsey Chapman), a certified bitch (semi popular soap opera actress Fiona Hutchison) and her mouth breather companion (Stephen Shellen). It isnât long after they land that they find the familyâs house and Ma and Pa themselves, soon discovering that they have a strange tendency to stay locked in the 1920s in terms of their dĂ©cor and style of language (there are even Mary Pickford photos on the wall and dresses in the closet designed in her style). Steiger tells them that he might have âa friendâ coming through here that could possibly help them since he has no phone and the radio on their plane is dead, but first lets them know that the males will sleep in one room and the females in another since no âdevilâs playâ is allowed in his house, all part of Steigerâs enjoyable yet prickish performance where he constantly forces his beliefs and values on the younger people without there being even a hint of irony.  Eventually, the friends get to meet the âchildrenâ, starting with the absolutely ghoulish Fanny (Janet Wright), an overweight woman pushing fifty who nonetheless wears little girl dresses while talking and acting like a twelve year old. She also keeps a mummified âbabyâ which one would think she considers a toy unless she somehow gave birth at one point only for the child to die. Thereâs also Woody (Michael J. Pollard, who at one point seemed bound for quirky stardom after Bonnie And Clyde but then descended into a second life as a busy character actor who would also grab quick paychecks in roles like these) and Teddy (William âPorkinsâ Hootkins), the two brothers whom we are told are very rambunctious and also do most of the killing when it gets underway.  Despite their forced upon them childlike personas, these three VERY grown adults (who are actually older than their so called âguestsâ) suffer from the same sexual urges as the rest of us, with it being stated that both brothers have had sexual relations with their sister Fanny (incest) with Fanny herself becoming hot and bothered over one of the male guests and the obese Teddy being so attracted to one of the female guests that he breaks her neck in a fit of lust and then continues to help himself to her ample delights (necrophilia).  Thus, when the killing starts (and is considered justified under âGodâs Lawâ), itâs really because the arrival of these nubile young people have set off the hormones of the overgrown, middle aged âchildrenâ and that is what makes them âbadâ, even if at least a couple of the young people really are portayed as being kind, considerate, decent and respectful of Ma and Pa and the way that theyâve got their little world set up. The Hutchison character however (in particular) is shown to be a cruel, bullying, shit talking little asshole who just about gives Steiger a heart attack by disrespectfully lighting up a cigarette at his table in his house (an understandable objection on his part) and seems to almost be inviting these simple, God fearing folks (whom she has obviously underestimated for that very reason) to try attacking her when she disparages them (especially Fanny) to her friends. And attack they do, throwing one off a cliff, putting an axe to anotherâs head, stabbing another in the eye, hanging one from a tree and of course the aforementioned necksnapping and necro rape. Director John Hough (a once promising filmmaker who went downhill to lower budgeted stuff like this) smartly uses the storyline to expose the fatal flaw in all Bible Thumpers like Steiger, that his ways, means and methods are all really done to establish a complete level of CONTROL over his entire environment as well as the lives of all those who live in his house rather than actually enacting the will of God with DeCarlo willfully playing the enabling wife who NEVER questions her husbandâs word. When we see the cellar containing the poorly preserved dead bodies of all the people unfortunate enough to cross paths with them on the island, we seem to recall the first commandmant of âThou Shalt Not Killâ until we realize that these people are lunatic enough to consider any outsiders from the corrupt, sinful world beyond to be worthy of being murdered in order to âprotect their waysâ (even though these young people were in no way a direct threat to them and would have even preferred to have been allowed to leave the island as soon as possible) which I guess rules out âJudge not, lest ye be judgedâ and âHate the sin but love the sinnerâ from their philosophy as well, yet it still drives home the point that some people can just get so worked up in religious fervor (usually of the Christian variety) that they can literally turn themselves into the monsters whom they have always feared (at least initially) but at least they now have that sense of false empowerment (being as God is) and of course that wonderful, intoxicating CONTROL. And all this even as the âchildrenâsâ killing urges and instincts seem to stem from a need for sexual gratification as opposed to spiritual (although the necro rapist son is subjected to a severe beating when Pa Steiger gets wind of it). The final moments of the film are thankfully not in the business of setting up a sequel or a franchise or anything like that, but are rather an affirmation that God DOES exist and that He does NOT see too kindly on sick twisted fucks who do things like this, giving them all pretty much the righteous judgment that they deserve in a small little horror movie with a big name cast that puts the focus on making its villains and atmosphere as creepy and effective as possible from beginning to end and effectively casting Rod Steiger as the Boss Villain in such a way that whether he is acting like a rigid prick or ranting and raving at the skies or just cackling like the evil son of a bitch that he is over the innocent lives which he has ended, he winds up turning in a very underrated horror movie performance for the agesâŠ
8/10