Granted, Shaun ‘Hardy Boys’ Cassidy’s landmark American Gothic
had much more than fashion sense. Yes, it may have had a shorter life
than a pet mouse, but it also gave us one of the most memorable, most
evocative and most well performed TV creepfests in years. Maybe it was
just too ahead of its time. Today, it would unquestionably find a home
on an audacious cable station.
Much like the recent Firefly (FOX), 1995’s American Gothic
was treated appallingly by the network that aired it. Not only was the
show taken off after only a few episodes – but also when it did run, it
ran in the wrong order episodically.
Funnily enough, the episodes are shown out of order here on DVD too. Crazy. But at least they’re all here I suppose.
Set in Trinity, South Carolina, the creepy serial stars Gary Cole (then famous for his stint on late-night series Midnight Caller)
as a Sheriff with an indiscernible set of horns. Yep, seems he’s Satan
– or a close enough relative. The charismatic but strange law-enforcer
is always up to something dodgy, and damn you to hell, if you’re going
to get in his way.
Cole’s a powerhouse as Sheriff Lucas Buck.
It’s easily his finest role. He’s perfect at playing the charmer, and
just as sublime when it’s time to turn on the malevolence.
Lucas Black also made his big entrance here. The Sling Blade
star plays Caleb, Lucas’s easy-swayed son. He can only turn the madman
on quite well. The rest of the cast, including Paige Turco, Jake Weber
and Brenda Bakke (rrr, break me off a bit of that!) are also peaking
here.
American Gothic
does start to run out of steam towards the middle of the series, so it
might not have even managed to get to a second season, but one thing’s
for sure – it deserved a lot better treatment than it did on telly
first time around.
Not the best set we could have hoped for, but still fans, it’s here. Finally. EXTRAS The discs could be better – but they’ll do. There’s noise, there’s
grain and those that hate DVD-18’s will probably get rather mad with
this offering as it tends to jump, involuntarily pause or sputter
sometimes. The mono soundtrack isn’t that crash hot either. Extras
on the disc include an amusing and enlightening commentary from Shaun
Cassidy (creator/writer/producer) and David Eick (producer), as well as
four episodes that never aired on TV in the states (on it’s original
run). Conclusion:
Movie: 70% Extras: 60%
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