I do not agree. This isn't a sermon on the nuclear family or a statement about the morals of "those hippie dropouts." It's about fear of the unknown as seen through the eyes of a child.
Steven is a normal, curious kid who feels comfortable talking to a half-witted, deviant farm hand because he happens to be connected with the familiar. At the same time, though, he can't bring himself to approach a black man because he's not. He becomes obsessed with the stories on radio and TV about Charles Manson - arousing unrealistic fears that curiously turn out to be a preview of reality.
The elders, for their part, have seen it all. They dismiss the unlikely as being the imagination of a child. Kind of like "There are no dead ladies in my cornfield." Then there's the vulgar grandmother who fears nothing - except, it turns out, the loss of the husband she treats with such seeming contempt. And let's not forget the snarky, contemptuous sheriff's deputy (who happens to be an in-law) who couldn't care less about what was obviously a very dangerous situation.
Steven is a kid who can't resist exploring things he's told to avoid, the "forbidden fruit." But his fascination with the unknown brings him dangerously close to something truly evil.
It's a captivating story about things that are unfamiliar, bizarre, repellent, and unnerving in the real world. It's one of the best films I've ever seen.
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