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American Gothic (1988). Composer: Alan Parker.
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“Don’t you want to be a member of the Clean Plate Club?” ~Yvonne de Carlo in American Gothic.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his film wasn’t a favorite of mine when I saw it two decades ago. That aside, this movie’s sick interpretation of family values makes it a perfectly morbid compliment to 
the holiday season. The score’s suspenseful music in the main titles is dampened by synthesizers but augmented excellently with a twanging harmonica. The harmonica playing in this score creates a similar atmosphere to what listeners will hear in Jerry Goldsmith’s score to the film Magic. Magic‘s score cues the harmonica quite a bit, but this Goldsmith score utilizes the harmonica like a smug taunt, while Parker’s score uses the instrument in a way that is both morose and malicious.
The music is muted for a chunk of the next part of the film, but shrieking strings slice that silence nicely during Terri’s close call with drowning. The harmonica pipes as the group of marooned city-based travelers wanders through the woods. This is one of the harmonica’s morose moments. It asserts that nothing good is in store for these city folks. The somber piano melody heard in the beginning of the film and again throughout can be interpreted as Cynthia’s theme. It is strangely heartbreaking and gives an accent of sensitivity to the score. The choral voices cued during Rob’s ill-fated romp on the family swing are as effective as similar choral voices that can be heard in the film, Sleepy Hollow (1999).
American Gothic‘s score is subtle, but it curdles with twisted sass. The film aggressively depicts contemptuous violence, which erupts between the marooned city travelers and the family of Ma and Pa living with their adult children in the woods of an isolated island. This makes the sensitive presence of the piano in this score seem a little out of place when compared to the distorted sound effects, but the piano is usually an interpretation of Cynthia’s emotions. Cynthia is the only one of the city travelers that Ma and Pa’s family do not treat with wariness.
This film wasn’t much of a success when it was first released or when I first saw it. Today, I would classify it as an average horror film. However, as a bleak and cruel musical exploration of physical and psychological isolation, the score is one that listeners are unlikely to forget.
If anyone is feeling daring enough to become a member of the Clean Plate Club during the holiday season, look for American Gothic on DVD and listen for a slice of that score. Happy feasting.
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American Gothic is available on DVD at: http://www.amazon.com/American-Gothic/Rod-Steiger.
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