Next of Kin (1982)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Tony Williams

Writers:

Michael Heath (writer)
Tony Williams (writer)

Release Date:

30 April 1986 (France)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

There is something evil in this house.

Plot:

In a rest home for elderly people, a daughter reads her mother's diary. Soon events that are mentioned in the mother's diary begin to happen to the daughter. |

Plot Keywords:

Slasher | Death | Ghost | Murder | Blood

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jacki Kerin	...	Linda
John Jarratt	...	Barney
Alex Scott	...	Dr Barton
Gerda Nicolson	...	Connie
Charles McCallum	...	Lance
Bernadette Gibson	...	Rita / Mrs Ryan
Robert Ratti	...	Kelvin
Tommy Dysart	...	Harry
Debra Lawrance	...	Carol
Simon Thorpe	...	CFA Speaker
Alan Rowe	...	Service Club Man
Isobel Harley	...	Paula
Irene Hewitt	...	Maid
Myrtle Woods	...	Montclare Resident
Vic Gordon	...	Montclare Resident

Also Known As:

Hell House (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Australia | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Clarkefield, Victoria, Australia

Company:

SIS

Movie Connections:

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

A really superb white knuckle thrill ride

The one problem this film has is contrivance. I mention this in advance, because you have to turn your reality switch off and forget about that. The reasons you would do so, are because this was made on a minuscule budget, with very limited promotion and is highly ambitious for what it tries to accomplish. It's also very sincere. It's not schlock. The filmmakers gave this effort their all. So, YEAH, forget the holes in logic (some) and concentrate on the good acting, beautiful framing of scenes, above-average cinematography, lurid jolts and that slam-BANG ending. This one's a treat from beginning to end, for anybody who treasures superbly done horror (and let's face it, people, how many undiscovered gems like this remain out there?). It suffered from being released in the USA by a tiny video distributor (VCD) who was just about in bankruptcy when it came out. It had NO theater exhibition outside its native Australia and got confused with a Patrick Swayze pot boiler of the same name, which surfaced around the same time. I like this film SO MUCH, that I will not divulge details of the plot to you in any manner, whatsoever. Seriously, hunt around in the bins at your local video store and keep your fingers crossed, because you'll dig this one. Flaws? I took a point off for them, so you're good to go get this sweet Australian sleeper.