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AMERICAN GOTHIC (1988)
Directed by John Hough
Trinity Home Entertainment DVD
Reviewed 05.04.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
The world is scattered with adult
actors making fools of themselves
in “ironic” children’s
film roles. See: Martin Short in
Clifford, Robin Williams
in Jack, and of course,
David Mooney in The
Baby. Please welcome American
Gothic to the club.
A backwoods family. Lots of baggy
eyes and crushed denim. Death by
wooden swing. Essential elements
such as these have a good chance
of making beautiful music together.
American Gothic must be
tone deaf. In fact, it’s a
certainty. The Young Guns II
soundtrack cues only confirm my
suspicions. Time to drudge.
Cynthia is released from an asylum.
Naturally, her husband plans a weekend
getaway to an uncharted island with
a group of obnoxious friends. Billowing
black smoke, the private plane sets
down on a different uncharted island.
Flashback: Cynthia has a fear of
water; she left her baby to drown
in the tub while a pot of tomato
sauce overflowed. The group discovers
a quaint cabin, seemingly stuck
in the 1920s. After some embarrassing
Charleston stepping, everybody meets
bible thumpers Ma (Yvonne De Carlo
aka Lily Munster), Pa (Rod Steiger),
and their three middle-aged children
who (over)act like grade schoolers;
Fanny, Woody (Sleepaway Camp
III’s Michael J. Pollard),
and Teddy. Yes, the kids are killers.
Yes, they converse with school yard
chanting. No, we can’t catch
a break. Fair enough.
Too slick to be placed within a
gritty, low budget framework and
too colorless to pull off a round
in the big leagues, American
Gothic is stuck in a rut. Director
John Hough, a TV/Disney/Hammer vet,
gives us a ritzy context, but there’s
not much there to sustain interest.
The plot points are underdeveloped.
Characters chafe. Tension is nil.
The violent, sometimes interesting
kill scenes perk things up, but
that only passes the time. In the
end, there’s no impact; no
lasting impression. The dated score
and mugging “kids” don’t
help. Instead of pushing towards
trash weirdness or serious horror,
the film dips a little into both,
washing itself down the drain in
the process.
I didn’t cringe as much during
American Gothic as I did
throughout Clifford. Now
that's a compliment.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
For a budget DVD, the full frame
presentation is excellent. Colors
are vibrant, the picture is crisp,
and imperfections are next to nothing.
The stereo sound was just as nice.
EXTRAS
A few handfuls of chapter stops
and that wooden swing death scene.
Sorry, but it was neat!
FINAL THOUGHTS
American Gothic is a dated
slip-up. If you’re into the
film, the DVD is a definite boost
from previous VHS releases. Otherwise,
take a pass. |
Dear god, man!
I feel an intervention coming on
Ye ye Yvonne
Blood is thicker than sweaters
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