The Kindred

The lead's doe-eyed discoveries after having a baby in a coma aren't enough to keep the tension this film needs to be an effective horror. The family secrets and plot twists slowly leak out instead of grabbing you.

I have no issue with the acting or the directing but the story was very drawn out and not thought out that well at all. By the half mark I had already grown patient and completely bored. At the end of the movie I didn't care about anyone not even the baby and missing kids there just was no connection to anyone or anything.

I really enjoyed this film. If you are looking for an out and out horror with blood spurting everywhere then this is probably not for you. But if you like a film with some depth, great acting and a smart storyline then give this a watch. A great British cast to.

This is one of those movies that suffers from sitting on the fence between two genres, and not fully satisfying either. Really, it is a thriller with slight supernatural overtones, which are never totally explored in any depth. The acting is good throughout, although I did find the leads constant state of helplessness a little wearying. In my personal opinion, I think it would have worked better as a straight out psychological thriller, as the supernatural side didn't really add anything to the story.

There's a lot of slow burn psychological thrillers / horrors floating around these days.

Some not knowing what they want to be, or what they really are?

You can go into these films having higher expectations and being sorely mislead.

'The kindred' is a refreshing example of doing everything right and not trying to over achieve.

It knows what it wants to be and with a few unexpected surprises.

Things kick off really quick and just when you think it's nearing a drag it really picks up and doesn't stop right up-to the end.

For me its the characters that really drive events, portrayed all round by some real talent. There's a lot of actors in this I really admire, some I'd even go to say are highly underrated who fit they're roles perfectly and turn in some insanely strong performances.

A slight misconception as being a 'horror' maybe, some ghostly shock moments (executed very well) add to what is more a very dark murder mystery / thriller that wouldn't look out of place next the likes of a series such as 'Luther' or an abundance of bbc / uk film successes.

That being said, for an independent UK based film it's looks well polished, well directed and executed.

The script is well crafted and well researched.

Loved the score, really adds to atmosphere in scenes.

Really glad I experienced it and highly recommended it.