Anthony

The Kindred is just a monster movie-no more, no less. While not being Rod Steiger's finest moment (or wig), it does offer up a slim bit of originality. Steiger plays a mad scientist (what other kind are there?) who is searching for a genetically altered monster, Anthony. Also searching for Anthony are a group of 20-something medical students and one of them could be related him; Hence the title. Then it becomes a formulaic slasher movie with the kids being attacked one by one. It's pretty much downhill from there. The scenes in Steiger's lab are the eeriest and the movie should have spent more time there. The climax stands out and the acting is not bad considering two Academy Award winning "screen legends" were conned into starring in it.

This film is not the best around but is certainly worth a watch. The monster itself is very cool, it is like a hybrid of Alien and the monster from The Suckling. In fact the reason I got this film is because it looked similar to The Suckling. The story and characters take a while to develop which does get a bit boring, and it takes a while before the monster arrives on the scene. But it's worth the wait. The bit where the monster pokes a claw through the floorboards and the dog starts barking at it had me in hysterics. Rod Steiger, who was another reason I got this film (I thought he was amazing in American Gothic) was OK but not up to his usual standards. There's some cool special effects like when the monster pokes one of its tentacles through the skin of a woman, but they are used very little.

A doctor in Los Angeles (David Allen Brooks) is instructed by his dying mother, a revolutionary geneticist, to destroy her work at the family homestead. So, he leads a team up there, but their stay is interrupted by some... thing.

"The Kindred" (1987) is similar in spirit to "The Boogens" from six years prior and the soon-to-come "Slugs." It mixes HP Lovecraft with horror bits from "Halloween," "Alien" and "Jaws." For instance, there's an aged doctor in the periphery who's reminiscent of Donald Pleasence's Dr. Loomis, just less noble (Rod Steiger). It's okay, but seems off somehow and therefore is the least of these, which explains its obscurity.

The female cast is decent with Talia Balsam (Sharon), Amanda Pays (Melissa) and Julia Montgomery (Cindy), but the director evidently didn't know how to shoot women.

While it won't strike you at first, the movie ends up being a cabin-in-the-woods flick. It delivers the goods just enough if you're in the mood for such a film but, like I said, it's not exactly great or even really good. It needed another rewrite to flush out more entertainment.

It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot at Laird International Studio in Culver City, but also nearby Los Angeles (the hospital) and Mentryville (Amanda's house), which is an hour's drive northwest of the city, just west of Santa Clarita.

GRADE: C.

I really enjoyed this movie. It has some really original special effects, i.e. "fish-woman". It has remained one of my favourites. The cast made up of mostly little known actors are all likeable, (even when being obnoxious) and the setting is not your usual sci-fi horror laboratory deal.

If you like a scare, I recommend it and if you do see it and like it you might want to try "From Beyond".

Another "When science goes bad" themed b-movie film about a son who discovers the extent of his mothers experiments and the creature that lives within the bowels of her home.

Truth be told The Kindred has some good ideas, some of the practical effects are great and it's not entirely awful. Sadly on the flip side it's not very well made, for every decent sfx there is a poor one and the characters are instantly forgettable.

The Kindred is one of those very few films I'd like to see a reboot of, or at least modern sequel. The potential is there, it just needs a budget and a decent team to put all the pieces together.

In it's current form The Kindred is a barely passable effort that I'd advise only big fans of the genre give time to.

The Good:

Some great practical effects

A few good ideas

One decent death scene

The Bad:

Some poor practical effects

Weak construction

Doesn't meet its potential

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Had Japan made this film it would have been an entirely different movie, you know......the tentacles!