It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

An absolute waste of money

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

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.

I don't understand why this little black comedy has so many bad reviews! It's suspenseful, hilarious, cheesy and original, all leading up to what's not the greatest but still a decent movie.Cynthia lost her baby in a bath accident, and was sent to a mental hospital for a while. Upon getting out her husband takes her with his friends to an island of the coast of British Columbia. The plane malfunctions and the group is forced to land on a strange deserted island off their original course. While exploring they find a cabin belonging to Ma and Pa, an elderly couple who are a bit on the redneck side but invite the group to spend the night. They refuse to pay attention to things from any year past the 1930's and are strict with old-fashioned rules like 'no sex without being married' and 'no cursing'.Cynthia discovers the family of Ma and Pa, three 'children' who are all appearing middle-aged. As the film progresses the family begins murdering the group one by one and Cynthia might end up the last left standing.Yeah, this film has lousy acting, forgettable soundtrack and dull scenery. That's not really the point though, the point is, this movie is a laugh-riot! The characters' deaths are all funny, none are scary although some are pretty gross. The only serious moment was regarding Cynthia's baby, that was actually very sad. Aside from that this movie is everything a horror/comedy should be, and it's really worth watching at least once.

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.

How did director John "Twins of Evil" Hough sink to this dull, ponderous, by the numbers, 80's American horror fluff? Oh dear!The last 15 minutes picks up and opens up a suitably macabre world, but there is nothing here really. Low gore, rushed deaths and ending, tired direction, overly slow build-up, annoying acting (Michael J. Pollard is only slightly less awful than he was in "Sleepaway Camp 3"), slumming thesps (Rod Steiger and Yvonne De Carlo, though at least Steiger has a better wig this time than he did in "The Kindred").All in all it's just a passionless splodge of smelly blandness thrown at your TV screen, that was actually a good signpost to the (mostly) awful decade to come as far as American horror films went.