American Gothic Films: An Incomplete List
Addendum to The Original American Gothic Series
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This is a list of films with American Gothic elements. Obviously there are a wide range of films here. Our basic criteria is that that the American Gothic Film is a dark take on America with special reference to traditional American images and activities. To understand the criteria for this list please read our original American Gothic series. Keeping in mind that American Gothic has little to do with ‘Goth’.
American Gothic History
Gone with the Wind
Grapes of Wrath
It’s a Wonderful Life
Miller’s Crossing
Moby Dick
Sleepy Hollow
Little Women
Black Robe
Last of the Mohicans
Civil War Gothic
Cold Mountain
Andersonville Trial
Beguiled
Ride with the Devil
Dead Birds
Vietnam & US Military Gothic
Apocalypse Now
The Deer Hunter
Hamburger Hill
Black Hawk Down
Carnival Gothic
Funhouse
Nightmare Alley
Freaks
The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao
Hippie Gothic
Easy Rider
Gimme Shelter
The Trip
El Topo
Southern Gothic
Adaptation
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wise Blood
The Apostle
Sling Blade
Cabin in the Cotton
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Monster
Deceiver
Winter’s Bone
O Brother Where Art Thou
Rainmaker
The Night of the Hunter
New England Gothic
Affliction
Ethan Frome
Beautiful Girls
A Simple Plan
Spitfire Grill
Storm of the Century
Dolores Claiborne
The Perfect Storm
Nobody’s Fool
New York City Gothic
Taxi Driver
Stranger Than Paradise
Requiem for a Dream
Pi
Last Exit to Brooklyn
Kids
Bringing Out the Dead
New Jersey Gothic
Jersey Girl
Dummy
Being John Malkovich
Garden State
Western Gothic
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Brigham City
The Wild Bunch
Unforgiven
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Tender Mercies
The Searchers
Ravenous
Dead Man
Jeremiah Johnson
Latin American Gothic
Sante Sangre
Men with Guns
From Dusk Till Dawn
Suburban Gothic
Wicked
Twin Peaks
Poltergeist
Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door
Fun
Rebel Without a Cause
Promised Land
Blue Velvet
Bully
West Coast Gothic
The Big Lebowski
Vertigo
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Donnie Darko
Gothic Noir
(See most Film Noir)
Sleaze Gothic
Hardcore
8mm
(Taxi Driver could easily fit here as well)
American Gothic Horror
Eaten Alive
Carrie
The Birds
Blair Witch Project
Cabin Fever
Deadly Blessing
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Exorcist
Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers 2
Homicidal Killer Gothic
Psycho
Deliverance
Fargo
Maniac
Wrong Turn
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Penalty
Nightmare on Elm Street
Mother’s Day
Candyman
Last House on the Left
Joyride
The Hills Have Eyes
I Spit on Your Grave
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
American Perfekt
American Gothic Vampires
Near Dark
The Last Man on Earth
Carmilla
Zombie Films
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
The Walking Dead (series)
Science Fiction Gothic
Alien
Butterfly Effect
The Thing
The Book of Eli
The Road
Signs
Ghosts of Mars
American Gothic Docs
Crumb
Brother’s Keeper
Paradise Lost
Definitely American Gothic
(But hard to classify)
American Splendor
Kill Bill
The Village