The Kindred (1987)

I understand that people who know me through various social media connections may already be fed up of me going on about The Kindred, but I am going to spend some more time on it. Because it deserves it. Whatever people think of the quality of the film itself, this was something I had been wanting to see for about 35 years, all thanks (as so often happened) to a lurid and tempting VHS cover.

While his scientist mother (Kim Hunter) is dying, John Hollins (David Allen Brooks) is surprised by the news that he apparently has a half brother. Even more surprising, he is supposed to destroy this individual, named Anthony. Heading back to the old homestead with some firm friends to help him, John starts to piece together exactly what his mother meant. It is all to do with a load of illegal experiments, resulting in the creation of a life that really shouldn’t exist.

Co-written and co-directed by Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow, The Kindred is, especially in the first half, a clumsy and clunky piece of work. It often tries to be creepy and suspenseful while most viewers will be waiting for whatever wild practical effects are surely due to come along in time for the third act. In fairness, however, those practical effects DO come along, kudos to the team for them, and they are given plenty of screentime to ensure that nobody feels short-changed.

Although The Kindred is gloopy horror fun, most will be unsurprised to find that it is far from a showcase for great acting. Brooks is decidedly average in the lead role, outshone in any scenes that he shares with either Talia Balsam (who plays his girlfriend) or Amanda Pays (who plays a woman so happy to help our hero that she might just have a secret agenda). Peter Frechette is defined by the fact that he is trying to no longer be a smoker, and he’s stuck being the most annoying of the main group members, while Timothy Gibbs and Julia Montgomery have lesser, but also less annoying, parts to play. Hunter may not be onscreen for long, but she’s not the only established star to be involved. Rod Steiger is enjoyably over the top as another scientist who values results over ethics, and every scene that features him is a barmy delight, either thanks to his performance or the special effects around him.

Despite the runtime not being overlong, the pacing could be tightened up slightly. The special effects, as wonderful as they are, vary wildly in quality. And the score by David Newman feels like it should have been much more bombastic. But these are relatively minor criticisms, especially when you think of the many other horror films from this time that ended up being much less satisfying.

The Kindred almost comes close to delivering on the promise sold on that VHS artwork, and almost coming close is a damn sight better than many other horror movies manage. I am sorry that it took me over three decades to see it, but I am also glad that something I had given up hope of ever seeing turned out to be part of a very special viewing experience, one that kept a grin on my face for the duration.

7/10

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Girls Nite Out (1982)

A 1982 slasher movie that I didn’t have high expectations for, Girls Nite Out ended up being surprisingly enjoyable, despite not having any truly memorable set-pieces.

It’s a classic set-up, with the earliest scenes showing us a killer committing suicide. The two men responsible for digging his grave are killed by someone we don’t see. Is the killer less dead than anyone realised, or is there someone else with motivation to replicate his killing ways? This dark turn of events coincides with a scavenger hunt taking place throughout a local college campus, with plenty of young men and women heading away on their own, or in pairs, to potentially be picked off by a killer, who also manages to get their hands on a team mascot costume. 

Seeing the artwork and imagery from this, you would be forgiven for thinking that this is a horror comedy. It isn’t, which is a slight disappointment, despite the enjoyable ridiculous killer “outfit”. All you have here is a very standard, unremarkable, slasher movie that only stands out in one way, a soundtrack surprisingly filled with some great pop tracks from yesteryear (“Summer In The City” being an eternal favourite of mine).

Director Robert Deubel doesn’t really have anything else of note in his filmography, there’s a TV movie and some shorts/episodic entertainment, so he seems to have been one of the many people who decided they could jump in on the slasher movie craze and make a winner. Despite the attempts of the four people who worked on this script (FOUR!!!!!), this is no winner.

It’s no failure either, somehow managing to be consistently entertaining enough throughout without an abundance of gratuitous nudity or decent gore. The pacing seems to be the biggest positive, although it does, like so many slashers, have that slight lull between the halfway point and the third act, after everyone has been introduced and a couple of kills have occurred but before the bodies start to pile up in time for the big finale. 

The cast are fairly forgettable, with Hal Holbrook being the main “name” that genre fans will be happy to see. He is the local cop, and his character has a history tied to the killer (of course), but he’s not as involved with the main storyline as I would have liked, I am guessing for scheduling and budgetary reasons. Rutanya Alda, Suzanne Barnes, and Julie Montgomery are three of the main actresses featured, and James Carroll and David (son of Hal) Holbrook are two of the actors worth mentioning. Is anybody onscreen doing great work? Not really, but they’re doing okay with what they’re given, for the most part.

Here’s the thing, and it is arguably more important than my final numerical rating. I would watch this again, no problem. It has something, a certain likability, that allows it to edge ahead of so many other slasher movies from this time. That doesn’t mean the movie deserves to be nestled closer to the BIG names in this subgenre, but it is something I don’t often say about lesser slasher movies I watch for my own sense of attempted completism.

Will anyone else feel the same way? I don’t know, but I certainly recommend giving this one a watch anyway. Especially if you’re a fan of The Lovin’ Spoonful.

6/10

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