"God created man. Wait till you see what Amanda's done"
"We're not all the same creature under the skin"
Plot:
In this case Amanda (Kim Hunt) is a genetic scientist prone to working alone in her own home. She has created a human-aquatic hybrid creation, she calls Anthony, believes will help the world. She is involved in a car accident and has been in a coma.
John Hollins (David Allen Brooks), her son, comes to visit her after she has woken from this coma. She implores him to go to her home to end an experiment she was conducting and destroy everything. She implies to John that he also has a brother Anthony. She is visited later by an old colleague Dr Phillip Lloyd (Rod Steiger) who demands she gives up her secrets, who ends up murdering he when she does not cough up.
At the funeral for his mother John meets a Melisa Leftridge (Amanda Pays:elstare::D). Melisa tells John that she has followed all of his mothers work. He asks her to come up to his mothers place to help with collecting up the reseach. As well as her a couple of his other friends come as well to help.
Everyone comes to the house where the action picks up. The family dog dissappears and a female friend dies in a 'car accident' which has bizarre evidence left on the body. Another friend, this time male, is attacked and Melisa urges him to keep the real identity a secret. It becomes evident that she as ulterior motives which become apparent later on.
Eventually it becomes apparent that something deadly resides under the house and that this is what John's mother wants destroyed. Dr Lloyd ( who has been in the background all this time)shows his face to claim his prize, and the prize claims him. The final action is taken and thus ends the movie.
Review:
'The Kindred' was one of those movies I have been yearning to revisit for a long time. I must have seen this just after it was released in the late 80's as a young teen. I could always picture the creature effects of the tenticles moving under the victims face and body, sweat. So when I saw this on the shelf at a News Agent I was excited, as well as the price of $5.95.
At the beginning the picture quality is not great but improves. I remember the same thing viewing this on tape. Also the story IS full of holes but lets be honest, a lot of horror from this period are hole-ier than thou. That's a part of the charm of these pictures. It is the events that take place and the creatures, horror etc that matter.
The acting is not terrible but not great either. Some charactors believable while others are like 'please die already'. The creature effects were pretty good. Some of the shots brought to mind 'The Thing'. The way this creature killed was pretty cool I thought. What it did came out very effective effects wise.
Now my rating. I usually don't like to rate things as my mood may effect my rating at the moment of typing or the period I viewed the film. But this is a movie review so...
I give this a 7 out of 10. The effects were pretty good as well as certain aspects of the story and some of the acting. Give 'The Kindred' a try, it may surprise you.
