The Kindred (1987)

When I was a kid the VHS tape of this movie was one of those ones where the awesome cover art would always catch my eye and make me really want to watch it. The version with the monster, not that baby bottle crap. Okay, so Kindred is a movie that I really do want to love or even like that much, which I suppose I should, as it does feature a lot of the required criteria that I usually do tend to go for in what I'd consider a fun horror movie, it has an eerie atmosphere, it was made in a time in the 80s that more often than not tended to be very kind to flicks of this nature, it's got a neat grimy monster, two pretty great scary sequences and some very impressively done grotesque practical special effects for a low-budget, in fact I'd say they are the film's best quality today, with globby gunk being liberally spewed just about everywhere in one climactic moment.. But I don't know, overall it just doesn't do that much for me, it's good in stops and starts but I'm mostly just bored by it, it's tone is very dull and dreary, and it drags along at a soap opera's pace with a weak cast of characters who's dramas I couldn't care less about. Especially David Allen Brooks who I thought was awful and his boring acting was stiff as a board. The only one of the group that I did like was the clown-faced Peter Frechette who was really naturally funny and I was glad that he got to live as the obnoxious 'comic relief' type is usually the first to go. He brought a little much-needed lightness into this weirdly dour movie. Some things about it that I found distracting was the drab and murky quality of the picture, and actually the music score which I thought was very wrong for the film and gave it the wrong kind of vibe, didn't go along with the imagery and story and wasn't doing it any favours.. I'm not saying it's bad exactly, just that its components don't gel together well for me at all. There were some things about this unnerving tale of good old-fashioned genetic manipulation gone awry that I liked. Like Rod Steiger, who despite rather hilariously overdoing it at points, was very good as a merciless mad scientist from hell - he's so horrible! Not only does he cold-heartedly perform cruel surgery on helpless animals in his laboratory of horrors, but he also organises fatal accidents so that he can procure the victims to experiment on to transform them into mindless freaks, which he feeds his right-hand goon to early on in the story when he makes the mistake of crossing him! Now that scene I do love because it's so nightmarishly creepy, gives me major chills! Some other bits that genuinely got under my skin was when the watermelon girl literally gets (one of) the creature's tentacles shoved under her skin, seriously nasty stuff. And also when Melissa the terribly British scientist is revealed to be another one of the fiendish Doctor Lloyds mutants as she painfully changes into a hideous half-fish woman, and dies! They did a terrific physical effect there, the flick's almost sure to deliver to the body-horror/creature enthusiasts. I like how they dropped a few none too subtle hints about her secret beforehand. Something that was interesting and different about the monster was that there wasn't one, but many of it stalking the decrepit old house in various stages, including cute little ghoulie-esc baby ones that pop out of nowhere at the end in what I thought was a really silly and tacked-on scene that made the ending seem overly drawn-out. Not quite good enough for me, I thought it started out promising but didn't live up to its sinister themes and use them to the fullest and it ended up going for the gross-out extravaganza and dumb explosion ending where, much like Anthony as it melts and reveals the guy's twin inside(!?!) and drags the real villain back down into the murk from whence it came, everything just falls apart into piles of gloppy-goo! Well that was fun.. Oh my god, I'm so glad that I don't have a single gill!

A young doctor named John Hollis (Brooks) is asked by his dying mother (Kim Hunter) to go to her country house and destroy her experiments. She also mentions a brother who is at the house named Anthony that he knows nothing about. Hollis brings along a team of scientists, including his girlfriend Sharon (Balsam). Once at the house, Hollis is too intrigued by his mothers' experiments to end them like she asked. Using John's genes, mother has made a hybrid which has mutated into a gooey monster hiding in the basement and under the house. It doesn't take long for the monster to attack and the effects are great for the low budget involved here. Director's Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter deliver a much better horror film here than their two previous efforts, "The Dorm That Dripped Blood" and "The Power". The Kindred is basically an old fashioned monster movie told with modern effects. The simple story of people in a secluded house facing an unknown monster is turned loose and much fun is to be had. The characters are likable and the cast is quite good at making the somewhat silly premise work. Obrow and Carpenter wisely keep the monster in the shadows for the first half of the film showing a tentacle peeking through a crack in the floor etc. The design of the monster is great and once the effects start they keep coming. One great scene has a girl driving by herself when a watermelon in the back seat opens up and she is attacked by tentacles that slide into every opening the girl has. The style is that of an old 1950's monster movie with a quicker pace. Tons of gooey slime hit the cast from all directions and poor Amanda Pays character turns into a fish with gills before the audience's eyes! Rod Steiger is the villain who steals the scientist's secrets. His over the top acting brings the movie down a little, but the rest of the cast is certainly a high point. It would be hard to not have a good time with this scary and fun monster movie.

This movie is really cool. The monster is very slimy, the music is eerie and it is all good. My favourite part was when the monster got electrocuted. The thunderstorm was a good effect. The monster first got destroyed by a wire. Then body parts and slime flew everywhere. Then a tentacle burst open. It was hideously gooey.After a while, you see a man covered in white goo. The man also had some white liquid pouring from his mouth. It was a slimy meltdown to end all meltdowns. I find it all fascinating and good.but what was the point, because it is a slimy monster movie.It is a good creature feature for all. I wish it would come out on DVD though. Anyway, I give it an 8.

Dr. John Hollins is called to the hospital bed of his mother. She advises him to finish the science projects she started involving something what seems to be a long lost brother of Johns. When she dies, John and a few of his colleagues and friends drive up to her old house to clean up the place and to find out more about her science achievements. But, a horrible monster dwells around the place. This creature (referred to as Johns brother because it sprung out of his tissue) It's some sort of disgusting fish-creature since his "blood" contains a lot of hydrocyanine (or however that is written) John and the rest want to destroy it asap, but an old colleague of John's mother wants the creature to be his. I must admit this film was rather a pleasant surprise. Sure it stole some elements of classics like Alien and even a bit of "The island of Dr. Moreau. But overall, I didn't care much. What is original these days ? It's much better than I expected it to be. I was familiar with the earlier work of director Stephen Carpenter...I saw The Dorm that Dripped Blood and was angry for a week because I wasted time to that crap. So, in that theory, the Kindred is an improvement of 250 %. A lot of credit has to go to the actors, though. The leading role is played by David Allan Brooks. I'm not familiar with this guys career but his haircut sure is impressive. This film also stars Amanda Pays !! There, I just gave you an extra reason to see it. She's gorgeous as always and that British accent of hers makes her one of the sexiest horror females in history. I also noticed a blond babe who's face I've only seen before in Revenge of the Nerds...I don't know if that's a good thing. And I saved the best for last...Rod Steiger is in it !! This great actor, who recently deceased, plays the role of the evil scientist. He over-acts very much, but in a good way. He's great ! The part of Johns ' mother is played by Kim "Planet of the Apes" Hunter. That's a very interesting Trivia element, but her role is rather brief.The kindred is a nice attempt to make an enjoyable over the top monster film. It's got a few major holes in the plot (like for example the chick who got killed in the road accident...she never get mentioned again and HOW did Anthony return home ???) but you'll forgive the film for it. At least I did. Enough gore to satisfy the more extravagant horror lovers too, by the way.