American Gothic

American Gothic (1987)

Genres - Horror, Thriller  |   Sub-Genres - Slasher Film  |   Release Date - Jun 10, 1988 (USA)  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Cavett Binion

This eccentric, amusingly sick Canadian production involves a group of annoying yuppies who charter a plane for a camping getaway, only to find themselves making an emergency landing on an isolated, forest-covered island. They are taken in by the only inhabitants, the rabidly-religious "Ma & Pa" (Yvonne De Carlo and Rod Steiger), who seem trapped in a Norman Rockwellian time-warp and are invited to stay the night. This proves to be every bit as unpleasant as it seems -- especially after the hapless campers are introduced to the psychotic, middle-aged "children" (Michael J. Pollard and Janet Wright) -- who appear to be pushing 50. Before long, it's crazed crackers 1, campers 0 and counting, as the warped, scripture-spouting yokels take sharp objects in hand... until one of the campers (Sarah Torgov) reveals her own homicidal potential and goes completely berserk. Despite delightfully weird performances from a top-drawer cast, this campy romp is slightly spoiled by a poorly-scripted climax that suggests a sudden loss of creative inspiration.

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Keywords

backwoods, camping, island, murder, psychopath, vacation, yuppies, zealot