A couple of dumb-ass hicks decide to immolate and rape a bound woman that goes by the handle of Sylvia (Jackie Kelly)… which results in her going blood simple and murdering the yokels right quick before losing consciousness.
Enter: Paw (Victor Hollingsworth) who finds Sylvia and brings her to his farm. Being such an upstanding she helps with the chores in return for the favor as well as helping Paw’s son Caleb (William Ryan Watson) get his rocks off… hell she even tries puttin’ the moves on Paw! , The Dooms Chapel Horror). Since she has no place else to go Paw offers her a place at the farm. She’s soon helping with the chores and joining Caleb in the hayloft. And seducing Paw just for good measure.
As you can tell, ol’ Syl ain’t exactly what she appears to be, and when the brother of one of the shitheels mentioned in paragraph uno makes the scene the shit really hits the fan as things get downright batshit!
The first thing you may notice is that Tennessee Gothic is presented as a comedy, but as you can tell from the description above, the film plays serious most of the time. That’s not to say that there aren’t funny bits, ‘cuz there sure as shit is, but to label this as possessing equal amounts of ha-ha’s with the horror is a bit of a stretch.
So what is Tennessee Gothic then? Well it’s right there in the title folks; this is an amped-up Southern Gothic tale with a fantastic performance from Jackie Kelly that runs the gamut from innocent to anything but in the blink of an eye; and is consistently believable and uninhibited throughout.
Adding to the positives is that the film looks gorgeous. Cinematographer Eric Stanze shot on 16mm film, and along with Writer/Director Jeff Wedding at the helm, has delivered a picture that emulates a 1970’s grindhouse pic, but without all of the fakey cg film grain assfoolery that usually detracts from whatever flick it’s plastered on.
Also of note are the surprising twists the story takes, especially in the climax of Act 3. I have to admit, I didn’t see what was comin’ when it came, but I’m not telling you lot what it is, so this paragraph is complete shit… but yeah, surprising surprises await!
Bottom line, I dug the shit out of Tennessee Gothic, and I’d wager you cats n’ creeps will as well; it’s surprising, sleazy, and an all-together enjoyable time in front of the ol’ beastly boob tube!
