A group of vacationing friends experience some engine problems with their plane and are forced to land on some Pacific Northwest island. There, they come across a rustic house inhabited by Ma and Pa - a pair of nutty, super-religious old timers and their three whacked out "kids", that all appear to be the same age as the parents. During their stay, they fall victim to the family's bizarre and sadistic lifestyle...
"American Gothic" has a few unique attributes that I'd say sets it apart from your average slasher customs. Rod Steiger and Yvonne De Carlo (Lily fucking Munster!) pull off their rolls pretty well and it carries the movie nicely. Religious freakos make for terrific horror antagonists. There's no real memorable gore or nudity to speak of, but the whole dead, dried out baby thing was cool and creepy and necrophilia is hinted at one point. I also dug how the main character didn't end up being your typical lone survivor heroine, which gave the film's final act, in particular, a bit more of an original turn. "American Gothic" isn't a spectacular horror movie, by any means, but I'd definitely consider it something of an unacknowledged 'gem' that's worth getting a hold of and checking out for genre buffs.
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