http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/MastersOfHorrorS2E12TheWashingtonians
Directed by
Peter Medak and based on a short story by
Bentley Little. Mike Franks (
Johnathon Schaech) moves with his family into his late grandmother's house in rural Virginia. There he finds an ancient portrait of
George Washington, and hiding behind it a fork made of human bone and a letter where the first president of the United States declares his love for eating children. Soon they are targeted by the Washingtonians, a secret society devoted to keep alive and hidden the cannibal "tradition" set by the founding father.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Heroism: A mild example, but in the original story, Harkinson is part of a Redcoat-styled group who are implied to be a likewise clandestine (but not cannibalistic) organization that does unspeakable things to The Washingtonians. Here, he's a regular educator who summons a SWAT team to take them down.
- Anachronism Stew: The Washingtonians follow the fashion of the late 18th century in the modern day.
- Ancient Conspiracy: Parodied and somewhat downplayed, considering the original story also revealed things like Benjamin Franklin being a Composite Character.
- Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: George Washington became a cannibal at Valley Forge and wanted to found the United States as a "cannibal republic". The secret clique he founded ate Thomas Jefferson.
- Big Damn Heroes: At the last minute, Professor Harkinson (Saul Rubinek) brings a three-person SWAT team to rescue the Franks family and kill all the Washingtonians.
- Cannibal Clan: A whole village of them.
- Cannibalism Superpower: One of the Washingtonians says that Washington found cannibalism gave him great physical strength and clarity of mind.
- Child Eater: The Washingtonians prize children as a meal, due to having a particular... fondness for virgin meat.
- Historical In-Joke: The reason for that torn section of Washington's famous portrait? It contained his confession to cannibalism.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: President Washington was apparently a cannibal. A cannibal enthusiast.
- Human Resources: Washington used cutlery made of children's bones.
- I'm a Humanitarian: George Washington as well as several other founding fathers and their descendants, after acquiring a taste for it at Valley Forge.
- Karma Houdini Warranty:
- While Washington seemingly never suffered any repercussions for his actions during his lifetime, his cult and legacy (which he intended to perpetuate through a nation of cannibals) are utterly destroyed by the story's end.
- The Washingtonians themselves face karma by means of an armed SWAT team.
- Never Bring A Knife To A Gunfight: When the SWAT bursts into the Washingtonians' dinner, some go for their swords and are promptly shot to shreds.
- No Party Like a Donner Party: Washington's cannibalism began when he ate some of his soldiers to survive the winter at Valley Forge.
- Police Are Useless: Because the law enforcers in the village are Washingtonians themselves, naturally. Averted when Harkinson brings in a SWAT team from out of town.
- President Evil: George Washington became a cannibalistic madman after he was forced to eat some of his men during winter at Valley Forge. He started regularly killing and eating people (including several members of his own administration), ate children and made household items out of their bones and skin, and was apparently intent on founding the United States as a "cannibal republic". A reporter claims that Washington's monstrousness was covered up by his followers.
- Rock Beats Laser: Averted. While The Washingtonians do prove a threat in their numbers and lack of restraint, they're decidedly no match for a SWAT team with automatic weapons.
- Slasher Smile: A Washingtonian scares Mike's daughter by looking at her from the window and smiling.
- Wendigo: Obliquely referenced. The leaders of the Continental Army turned to cannibalism to avoid starving at Valley Forge and Washington personally found that eating human flesh gave him great physical prowess and clarity of mind.
