American Gothic 1988

                                                                        American Gothic 1988

Directed by, John Hough

Written by, Burt Wetanson and Michael Vines

Vidmark Entertainment

Jeff takes 5 of his friends Rob, Lynn, Paul, Terri and girlfriend Cynthia on a vacation. Cynthia had just went through a traumatic event with the death of her baby was getting out of a mental institution. They all packed up and took a plane that Jeff flew. While on their way the plane started to fail so Jeff landed it near an island and let it pull in with the water. Trying to fix it they had to stay on the island overnight. Unable to fix the plane the next day Jeff says they need to see if there is anything on the island they can use or if by chance anyone else on the island. He tells Paul to stay behind and watch the plane and the rest went with him. 

The group comes across a cabin and investigates it. After going in they noticed it seemed to be set from the 1920s. They turn the Victrola player on and start dancing. They get into a closet and put on the clothes and continue to dance. Cynthia goes downstairs to discover a childs bedroom. The owners of the cabin arrive and somewhat frighten them. Jeff tells them they will pay for anything that was broken or damaged. The woman said everything is fine, Rob said he loves the scarf and the woman said it looks good on him and that she has always said "don't cry over spilt milk". The group laughs and then the man asked where did they come from and if that was all of them. Jeff explains the situation going on and then goes and get Cynthia. The woman and man go by Ma and Pa. 

Back in the kitchen Terri ask about a door and Pa tells her nobody goes down there and he should have locked it. It is very cold and that they would need one of Ma's scarves to go down there. Ma makes dinner for them all and when Terri grabs bread Ma tells her to have better manners. Then they say grace. After dinner Ma notices that Cynthia hadn't eaten her meal and tells her to join the clean plate club which makes the rest of them laugh. Lynn goes to light up a cigarette and Pa yells at her to go outside. Cynthia shows Terri the childs room and they meet Fanny. Fanny is the older couples daughter. She believes she is 12 but is really in her 40s. She tells them not to wake up her baby. After meeting Fanny the group is told they could stay there for the night that Pa had a friend possibly coming the next day with a boat. Pa tells them that the boys and girls would not sleep in the same room. So the girls got the bedroom and the boys got the living room.

Rob wakes up early and goes for a walk. He comes across Fanny pushing her brother Woody on a giant homemade swing on a cliff top. Fanny ask if Rob wanted to swing and he said yes. She started saying "Rob wants to swing, Rob wants to swing" over and over again. They get him in the swing and start pushing him. He goes higher and higher and asking them to stop. Woody climbs the side of it and cuts the rope causing Rob to fall off the cliff and dying. The group find out about Robs death as he is put in the shed. Woody shows up to the cabin and is introduced to the rest of the group and told by Ma to stay out of the shed. Cynthia goes outside followed by Lynn who begins to say how the family is a bunch of freaks and that Fanny is ugly. Lynn goes back inside and Cynthia walks around and sees Fanny crying. Tells her not to listen to Lynn she is just upset but doesn't mean anything. Fanny asked her if she would play a game with her and Cynthia agrees. Fanny goes and gets an ax which makes Cynthias eyes open wide just to plant it in the ground to play horseshoes. Fanny then takes Cynthia to her room to show her baby. Fanny gets her out of the cradle and it turns out to be a mummified baby. Backing to the stairs Cynthia backs into Teddy another brother. Fanny tells Teddy to leave her alone. 

Lynn going out yet again runs into Fanny, Woody and Teddy playing jump rope. They ask her to join she said no. They begin attack her tying her up with the rope while chanting "We're a bunch of weirdos". Jeff then ask Pa about the friend of which he said he may or may not be coming. After arguing with Pa, Jeff decides they are going to leave. He goes to get Cynthia while telling Terri to go back to the plane with Paul so he can get things started to leave. Terri makes it back to the site but Paul is nowhere to be seen. She grabs a flare gun and leaves. While Jeff is telling Cynthia, Fanny is watching and tells Teddy she wants Jeff. She goes into the room and stabs him in the eye. Cynthia runs out telling Ma and Ma tells her all bad kids need to be punished. Cynthia runs off as Ma gets her knitting needles and finishes off Jeff. Terri runs into Cynthia in the woods and they try to escape. Fanny starts screaming out for Cynthia and Terri captures her putting the flare gun to her head.

They take Fanny back to the cabin and tells the family to come out. Holding the gun to Fannys head Pa begs them not to do anything to her. Terri tells Pa to tell them where a boat is and he says on the other side of the island but not sure of its condition. She says they are taking them while keeping the gun to Fannys head. When they get there Terri is smart enough to tell them to tell the boys to come out. They take Fanny to the boat to find Paul dead in the boat. Freaking out Fanny gets away and Terri shoots the flare gun at the boys. Teddy ask Pa should they go after them and he says no because they know every inch of the island and will find them soon enough. Terri and Cynthia find a tree that is hollowed out and go in for the night. When they wake up they hear a radio. Knowing the family didn't have one they go towards it. They find another small cabin and when Terri goes in she finds Robs dead body on a radio and Teddy scares her. Fanny tells Cynthia she is okay while Teddy and Woody chase Terri. Woody finally catches Terri and breaks her neck killing her. He then proceeds to undress and presumed to rape her which Woody yells he is telling Pa. 

When Teddy gets back home he gets a beating from Pa with a stick for what he did to Terri. They began to chant "In the name of God" which Cynthia takes part in. Fanny then dresses Cynthia like a doll as it is now time for Fannys birthday party. Pa sits down to pray and says how he is happy god brought Cynthia to be the newest member of the family. After eating the cake Fanny and Ma take Cynthia to the basement to see the big surprise which is everyone they have killed hanging up with the scarves. Ma tells Rob she told him it looked good on him. While playing Cynthia likes a dress for Fannys baby and says she should put it on her. Fanny agrees but has to give her a bath first. Having flashbacks to her own baby she begans to yell at Fanny to put her baby down. Cynthia then hits Fanny in the head multiple times with the metal bath tub until she is dead. Woody walks in sees Fanny is dead and gets stabbed in the head. Cynthia goes upstairs and hears Ma tell Teddy to get her red yarn. While Teddy is doing it Cynthia stabs Ma with her knitting needles. Teddy sneaking a cookie finds Ma but gets a farming scythe to his head killing him. 

Pa returns home to find his entire family had been killed. Ma and Teddy on the front porch, Fanny, Woody and Cynthia in Fannys room. Goes to the living room trying to figure out why god let this happen. He goes outside leaving his rifle by the door. He tells god they need to have a conversation and that god needs to listen. He and his family did everything the way god wanted it but now he is denouncing god and giving his soul to the devil. Cythina shoots him. Cynthia goes back to Fannys room rocking the cradle while humming.

I give American Gothic 1988 a 3 out of 5. I thought the story was really good for its time. I liked the fact that characters kept getting introduced. After the scene in the basement I started to wonder if both Woody and Teddy may have been the remaining members from the previous killings or their actual children. Another reason I say that is even at the end after Pa finds them all dead he only mentions Fanny. The movie is cheesy/campy in a Motel Hell sense but still really good. I would recommend this movie to the horror lovers who aren't needing to be scared but want to see a decent story told with interesting deaths. I loved the double twist at the end. I didn't expect her to freely become one of them nor did I see her freaking out and killing them. You can watch this on Tubi for free as that is where I watched it.

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