Homicide detective Steve Carella is trying to solve the brutal murder of 17-year-old Muriel Stark. Her younger cousin Patricia, who saw the killer and barely escaped with her life, helps him. However, the case soon takes a bizarre turn.
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Title: Les liens de sang (1978)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Donald Sutherland | ... | Steve Carella | |
| Aude Landry | ... | Patricia Lowery | |
| Lisa Langlois | ... | Muriel Stark | |
| Laurent Malet | ... | Andrew Lowery | |
| Stéphane Audran | ... | Mrs. Lowery | |
 |
Walter Massey | ... | Mr. Lowery |
| Micheline Lanctôt | ... | Mrs. Carella | |
| Donald Pleasence | ... | James Doniac | |
| David Hemmings | ... | Armstrong | |
|
|
Kenny Ireland | ... | Bert Klinger (as Ian Ireland) |
| Guy Hoffmann | ... | Priest | |
|
|
Marguerite Lemir | ... | Helene Beck |
|
|
Gregory Giannis | ... | Sully |
|
|
Jan Chamberlain | ... | Grandmother |
| Tim Henry | ... | Captain Marriott | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Montreal: Late at night the teenage Patricia flees into a police department, covered all over with blood. She states together with her cousin she took shelter from rain in an entry way on their way home from a party, when an unknown man threatened them, forced her cousin to perform oral sex and then killed her. Patricia could barely escape. The police starts searching among the known sex criminals - but then Patricia changes her statement and states her brother Andrew, who had an affair with his cousin, was the murderer. Inspector Carella doesn't quite believe both the statements. Written by Tom Zoerner <Tom.Zoerner@informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
Plot Keywords:
murder of a teenage girl | sex | brutal murder | homicide detective | murder |Taglines:
The Most Intimate Act Of All Is... ...Murder!Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
October 1981 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Blood Relatives See more »Filming Locations:
Montréal, Québec, CanadaEdit
Box Office
Budget:
CAD 1,450,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Actress Stéphane Audran and director Claude Chabrol were married. They had been married for for twenty-two years around the time that the film was released in America . See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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Evocatively directed and slickly photographed psychological mystery thriller with an exceptional lead performance by a sombre Donald Sutherland, and potent support roles from Donald Pleasence and David Hemming. The material decides to keep it all glum, and moves from the investigation period into the back-story of the victim. The seldom, and quite sullen nature of investigation pulled me in, but when it flashback to the victim's side showing her final days weren't as compelling, and became somewhat stodgy and stock-like. While the script is strongly detailed and to a certain degree complex in stringing us along, however the final and surprising revelation should have been more bone-jarring and it's not helped out by its sloppy execution. Howard Blake's music score has an emotional sting to its cues that simply linger, and director Claude Chabrol's capable handling (well for most part) has a strong stylistic and tight manner, which gets the best out of moody locations and flexible cast. The young faces Lisa Langlois and Aude Landry do an incredibly good job as well.