Family Reunion

Having waded through the thousands of free horror titles on my cable system, I am naturally drawn first to Family Reunion (1989). The reasons? I had never heard of it, it came out in 1989, and it had no cover art. And, most importantly, my stupidity. Like a delusional fool panning for gold, I ended up with a so-so story about a family stranded in a ghost town. Tom Andrews (Mel Novak) drives the family - wife, two kids, and chain smoking grandpa - to the in-laws on Christmas Eve with a detour in the ghost town of Sutterville, Nevada ("Billy really wants to see it."). Grandpa reallllllly doesn't like this idea, but a supernatural force drags the station wagon into the town. The cause of all of this? A weird dude who looks like a bug-eyed early '80s Lars Ulrich who was picked up by the cops (including Jack Starrett) in the abandoned town (why the cops are patrolling a ghost town is never explained). Seems he ran a Satanic cult back in the day and was murdered 40 years ago. Writer-director Michael Hawes has only one other behind-the-scenes credit, co-writing the great One Dark Night (1982). He is in love with psychic abilities as the bad guy here has them too. But it is all handled so poorly. It is the kind of film where the wife wanders the abandoned hotel, finds a pentagram necklace and a ghost woman says, "Put it on" and the wife immediately asks, "Um, listen, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to our car battery, would you?" No "who the hell are you?" nonsense here; this woman wants answers! The kind of movie where I realize 12 hours later that the grandpa character leaves one scene and we never, ever find out what happened to him! The Christmas setting serves no purpose except for an end scene stinger where the family gets a present from the cult leader a year later. Ho ho boo! I liked the ghost town location and wish a better film had been made there.

This movie has many enigmatic actors, and the acting isnt brilliant but its watchable. The fx arent up to scratch either. There are scenes in the film that drag a little so if your not the one with patience dont bother with this!

This film was obviously made for next to nothing. I've seen bigger budget films that were much worse. It's a good exorcise in 'down and dirty' film making. It creates a fair amount of 'ghostly tension' and managed to hold my interest. I especially liked the lack of blood and guts. But if that's what you like then wait for the final conflict. But just don't eat anything for at least an hour before ;-)

Christmas Eve, 1948: thirteen people are massacred while trying to sacrifice a child during a Satanic ritual. Forty years later, the ghost of the devil worshippers' leader attempts to complete the ritual.

Family Reunion feels a lot like writer/director Michael Hawes found a cool location - an abandoned town in the desert - and wrote a film around it. A bad one.

There is very little in the way of real plot, the majority of the film consisting of strange, supernatural occurrences experienced by the main characters - the Andrews family, who encounter the ghost town of Sutterville while on a seasonal road trip. The car breaks down, their luggage goes missing, a rattlesnake threatens to bite the daughter, the son meets a mysterious little girl, and the father starts to behave irrationally; meanwhile, a young man arrested by the local police escapes from his cell and makes his way to Sutterville...

The film attempts to wrap things up neatly in the final act by explaining why things are the way they are, but it's an extremely weak and unsatisfying resolution to a forgettable and very bland movie. To make matters worse, Hawes tacks on a silly final scene that makes no sense whatsoever.

Very little gore. No nudity. No scares. 2/10.

Action Film Star Mel Novak Sheds His Martial Arts Gi to Battle Devil Worshipers , Satanists , & even Demons from Hell in this Suspenseful Horror Hit as 'Tom Andrews' , Loving Father & Husband to 'Kathy Andrews' , Played by Pam Phillips , His Devoted Wife & a Caring Mother ! The Rambunctious Son 'Billy' is A.J. Woods & Young Teen Age Daughter 'Erin' is the Lovely Young Kaylin Cool , Both presenting Superior Performances ! In a Surprisingly UnderStated Performance Ken Corey is Evil Personified as The Drifter 'Clarence' : & The rest of the Cast is comprised of some Great Character Actors : There's Buddy Daniel Friedman as the Dangerous 'Skinhead' , Jack Starrett as the Local Law-Enforcer 'Charlie' , Janet Lee Orcutt as the Christmas-Spirited 'Bronson' , & Lovely Lucy Michelle as the Well Equipped 'Hooker' ! Of Special Note is the Interactions among the Andrews Family Members , especially between the Husband & Wife . Pam Phillips exhibits a wide range of Intensity & Emotions ; & Mel Novak's UnHoly Transformations in Character are a Pleasure to Behold .... The Work of a Consummate Actor ! There's Not too much Blood , & absolutely No Nudity , So It's a Family Friendly Christmas Horror Film , with a Fantastic Cast , which Results into a Very Under-Rated & Un-Appreciated Cult Horror Classic ! Well Done Michael Hawes , The Writer , Producer , & Director of this TimeLess Christmas Classic !