De Johnsons

Twenty-one years after the birth of seven siblings, Professor Keller (Kenneth Herdigein) is summoned by a government agency to give support to the treatment of the seven men that became killers since they were seven years old. Professor Keller finds a connection with an ancient Indian cult to bring evil to destroy Earth. Meanwhile the photographer Victoria Lucas (Monique van de Ven) is invited to take pictures in an isolated place and she travels with her fourteen-year-old daughter Emalee Lucas (Esmée de la Bretonière), who is under psychological treatment due to gruesome nightmares she has, and they camp nearby the facility where the seven brothers are. Out of the blue, the seven brothers escape and hunt Emalee. What is the connection among them?

I saw "De Johnsons" on 05 September 1998 and I liked this Dutch horror movie. Yesterday I decided to see this old VHS again and I found a film with great potential if a higher budget and better conclusion were available. Vader Keller, for example, is the awful father of Professor Keller and a silly unfunny character. The destruction of rare footages and notes is ridiculous. The idea of an incest to bring evil on Earth is magnificent; but the stupid conclusion with explosion is terrible. The photographer Victoria Lucas lives in a building apparently alone since there is no movements of neighbors or people on the street. But the story is dark and the main idea is interesting. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Filhos da Morte" ("The Sons of the Dearh")

This is a real Dutch treat for horror fans.. not. I bought this film after reading some internet hype about it. The only cool thing about this movie is the little frozen fertility dude, and even then you only get to see him briefly. The black professor and his father really suck and the dad is especially stupid and unfunny. The seven bros story is made weak by a script that feels only half complete. The most glaring weakness that shows that they needed filler material is a long retarded scene about finding a file in a hospital. Stay away from the horror genre you crazy dutch ! Just kidding man, but seriously some good ideas get drowned in bad acting, filler material.. the result is a long mentos commercial of pure sucktitude. This is a really bad, really slow, really boring flick. I love horror and I know my horror from cult to cheese to giallo to the elite films and this movie blows. One star out of Four.

"De Johnsons" is a rare Dutch horror gem and actually a lot better than the negative-minded reviews around here suggest. It has an original and oddly compelling storyline, involving anthropology myths, incest and teenage-sexuality. The complex and ambitious script tells the story of seven portentous brothers that have only one goal in their life: impregnate their virgin-sister so that she can give birth to a creature that'll bring the world to an end. Their father once went along with a scientific expedition near the Amazone, and he got obsessed with a local monster called "Xangadix". The subject matter seems far too complicated for a modest Dutch production like this, but director Rudolf van den Berg upholds the tension and credibility surprisingly well. The film contains several disturbing moments and there even are a couple very well-mounted gore sequences. Especially the scenes inside the fort (where the septulets got institutionalized after butchering an entire nursery home) and Emalee's nightmares result in very powerful horror cinema. The cast is good, with some 'famous' Dutch stars (Monique van de Ven, Kenneth Herdigein) as well as convincing new talent (Esmée de la Bretonière). Sure, it also has its flaws (like the somewhat disappointing climax-scene) but it's definitely recommended. Tip: invite some friends and organize a Dutch horror night! You can program this film, alongside "Amsterdamned" and "De Lift".

As a huge fan of b-movies, horror and especially non-Hollywood horror, this movie shocked with just how badly a movie can be acted. I feel confident that the people who did the english dub had never actually witnessed human beings speaking to each other. This is the way space aliens might imagine dialog if they found a script. Seriously, compared to this your sister's second-grade Xmas play was Oscar-worthy.

Also several really stupid plot techniques were used. The main characters father would be the stupidest of all, with a performance that has to be seen to be disbelieved. I spent the better part of the movie hoping his son would bash him on the noggin with something evil.

Again, I have serious suspicions that this movie isn't really Dutch, but from another planet. The sad thing is it really quite an original storyline and could have been a great flick. There were several sequences that were downright chilling, but not enough to make up for the chicken suit.

This Dutch variation on the Native American legend also used in the William Girdler film, 'The Manitou', is very often better, and in a few spots worse. Never marketed as in any way related to or inspired by Manitou, nonetheless several involved in the film have stated that the Girdler film was partly inspirational for 'The Johnsons', yet the films are different enough to maintain a distance.

If you see both, you will see the similarities easily enough, such as the names Manitou vs Manixou, and the whole Native American legend of the demonic god who initially appears as a fetus.

This variation is extremely promising most of the way through the film. There's a very nicely developed plot line with a mystery involving 7 brothers who are mute psychopathic murderers. They are under some sort of spell to search for a sister with the end result being the birth of the demonic god. I won't give away more to the story, except to say it is a well-done sequence of suspenseful events.

Up to the ending, this variation is better than Girdler's Manitou, yet the ending here deflates all of the great buildup. It's the weakest moment in the whole film, and ends in a abrupt and rather silly manner. It's too bad, for everything up to this point is fine. In this respect, the ending to Girdler's Manitou is much better and if I had to choose between the two, the nod goes to Girdler by a very small margin.