The Hamiltons

Another one of the eight films that was part of After Dark's Horror Film Festival, "The Hamiltons" is an intriguing little horror film/twisted family drama that will have you interested and disgusted at the same time. This independent horror film focuses around a family of four, consisting of three brothers and a sister, their parents both deceased. Francis is the youngest, who is withdrawn and spends most of his time filming his unconventional life with his camcorder. Darlene is a wild goth girl with an attitude, and her twin brother, Wendell is a bit of a tough guy and a ladies man. David is the oldest, the "man of the house", who is struggling to take care of his siblings and deal with being a homosexual. The Hamilton family may seem like a basically normal bunch on the surface - but little does anyone know, they also kidnap innocent people and tie them under their house and proceed to murder them.

Interesting premise, eh? I thought so myself. Far from your conventional horror flick, "The Hamiltons" contains one of the most twisted suburban families you'll see on screen. The story itself is pretty original - well, at least I can say I've never seen a film quite like this before. The film balances itself out, teetering on the brink between a horror/crime film and a psycho family drama. Script-wise, the film is really quite impressive. It has a few faults here and there (this would mainly be the trouble finding any sympathy for a couple of the characters of the family, when it seems the writers were poking at that), but overall the writing is clever and keeps a couple of important plot-twists pretty well hidden until the appropriate time to reveal them. It does drag it's feet a little during the middle of the film, which could have been a problem - luckily it isn't necessarily uninteresting because the character interaction is really compelling.

The acting here is surprisingly good, the leading actors are mostly unknown (besides Brittany Daniel of "Club Dread" and "Joe Dirt", who has a small role in the opening scene of the film), but I thought everyone performed well and the characters were pretty believable. The film is shot in a strange fashion, and it gives it an almost documentary style, which puts the audience in the moment. The picture is very bright and clear - it captures a realistic effect. There are a few shaky, jittery camera movements, and while I felt they were over used in some areas, they add a nice effect to the film. The big revelation near the end of the film was near genius, and the conclusion is almost perfect. I won't spoil it for you, because it would essentially ruin the biggest plot twist of the movie.

Overall, this is an interesting little flick with some great things to offer. It's not your typical horror movie at all, so don't expect one - but if you want to see a different type of horror film (a little slow moving, but heavy on character development), check it out. It's not a perfect movie, but I thought it was pretty good. If you thought your family was different, wait until you see "The Hamiltons". 7/10.

Plot

Trying to move on with their lives, and keep their family together after the untimely demise of their parents, the four Hamilton siblings are left all alone to fend for themselves. At first glance, the Hamiltons seem like an ordinary family, and they will do everything in their power to adjust to their new neighbourhood; however, troubled Francis' video camera reveals that there is more to the grieving newcomers than meets the eye. After all, is it normal to keep people captive in your basement

Cast

Nobody I was familiar with.

Verdict

I made a booboo, I watched The Thompsons first, I didn't realize it was a sequel! That I quite enjoyed so upon booting The Hamiltons up I was fairly excited, whoops that was another booboo.

The Hamiltons focuses on this dysfunctional vampire (Of a sort) family. The trouble is the film is cheap, looks cheap, sounds cheap, is cheap and though I watch a lot of indie movies and am generally unphased by this The Hamiltons came across unforgivably so and was very distracting. I wish it had distracted me more then I might not have noticed how terrible the rest of the film is, it's lifeless, it goes nowhere, the characters are wretched and the narration is so tacky it takes you away from what you're watching (But not in the way you'd want).

This isn't a vampire film, this is barely horror.

Rants

Let me be clear, I'm not overly fussed about budgets. A few years ago I remember watching one called Rednecks vs Aliens? I think. It looked like it had been recorded on the oldest VHS recorder imaginable and by someone who was having a seizure from start to finish. But this didn't matter because the film was oddly enjoyable. I don't care about budget but I've always said, keep in line with your budget. If you have a three figure budget, don't make a movie about aliens invading earth.

Breakdown.

Ugly Lifeless Poorly made.

This was one of the films from the After Dark Horrorfest and like most of them it was incredibly poor. The film is painfully slow. It might have worked as a 30 minute short but as a feature film it bored the hell out of me. The film tries to set up this mystery as to what it is they are doing and why they are doing it but by the time it was revealed I had already lost interest in the story.

Also, the acting in this film is incredibly poor, especially the older brother, who at times is laughable. This film was obviously made on a low budget but I can forgive the low production values. You work with what you've got, lots of great films have been made on a tiny budget (night of the living dead). However, what I can't forgive is a lack of talent. The writing and acting were downright horrible and if that's the case then the budget is irrelevant because the film is going to suck. They were clearly trying to make this an art house film but instead they just made a stinker that will put you to sleep before the first hour.

Without effective indulgence of the supernatural or the poetic motivating nuances of humanity, all this creative team has to hope for is effective usage of its middling, unoriginal elements. 'Party of Five' gone maniacal then genetically unescapable there's little rooting interest because the singular non-homicidal element is a second-rate bland awful-acting 'Wes Bentley' mopester. In fact, all of the acting is skin deep. Even though the dark-haired women appeal, the salaciousness is kept to a minimum. No nudity here. Also lacking are sufficient buckets of blood. All sensations are kept at a teasing, safe distance...an unfortunate fact considering the given name of the directors is 'butcher.' Only the soundtrack, the droning angsty alt-country and the tense fluctuating score provide any palpable tension. Sometimes some static storyboarded compositions add appealing low-angles that adds to the malaise...but for a film that calls itself horror, I did not even get close to flinching once. Perhaps a greater emphasis on societal rejuvenation through blood intake, scenes directed with varying geometric shapes outside the square, and a sustained focus on playfulness through the family's maliciousness or traps sympathetic characters need to escape in order to escape their dilemma would have improved my opinion, but this was not a good start to my excursion through horrorfest.

The Hamiltons 2005 (Theatrical "R", After Dark Horrorfest) – Directed by The Butcher Brothers, Winner of the Santa Barbara Intl Film Festival and the Malibu Film Festivals.

The Hamiltons are an unusual family that recent lost their parents. The family now consists of older brother David, who is struggling with his homosexuality and the pressures of running the household, the twins Darlene & Wendell, who are devious troublemakers, and younger brother Francis, who is coming to terms with his family and his place in the world.

The film starts out explaining that The Hamiltons siblings recently lost their parents and they have moved several times within the past couple of years. Twin Wendell soon kidnaps two young girls and it becomes apparent that The Hamiltons are not as they seem. Sensitive Francis grows weary of their ways, but is scared to be alone. Does he decide to do the right thing or stick by his family no matter what?

This is not by any means a typical horror film, but a thinking person's horror film. Those looking for gore and scares will be disappointed. It has an original story with great dialogue showcasing real problems within every family. It is ultimately a very accurate portrayal of a real family dealing with growing pains that features a slight twist at the end. During the end scene, you hear Francis giving a creepy voice-over almost giving it a documentary feel.

Cory Knauf gives a solid performance as Francis, the young man that has so much to say, but cannot. He really shows how torn Francis was in his decision and the isolation felt by many teens struggling to find their place as they hit adulthood. Mackenzie Firgens gives a great turn as twin Darlene who is vicious and sexy at the same time. You will love the scene where she chases Kitty through the house. (And maybe the one where she kisses her own brother!?!)

My only quibble is there is minimal gore and violence. During violent interactions, the camera turns away, so very little is caught on film. There is also an opening scene with Brittany Daniel that looked frightening at first, but there were some jittery camera movements and it fizzled with no pay out.

Bottom Line: The Hamiltons is a subtle "horror" film with a slow pace. This is more of a thinking man's (or woman's) horror film. Gorehounds should pass.

Rating: 7/10

Molly Celaschi www.HorrorYearbook.com MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook