The Kindred (1987 film)

The Kindred
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJeffrey Obrow
Stephen Carpenter
Screenplay by
Produced by
  • Jeffrey Obrow
Starring
CinematographyStephen Carpenter
Edited byEarl Ghaffari
John Penney
Music byDavid Newman
Production
company
Kindred Limited Partnership
Distributed byF/M Entertainment
Release date
  • January 9, 1987 (1987-01-09)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.5 million[1]
Box office$2.4 million[2]

The Kindred is a 1987 American science fiction horror film directed by Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter. Obrow also produced the film, and co-wrote it along with Carpenter, Earl Ghaffari and John Penney. Starring David Allen Brooks, Amanda Pays and Rod Steiger, The Kindred was released on January 9, 1987, and grossed just over $2 million.

Plot

Amanda's deathbed request to her son, John, was for him to destroy all the lab notes from her last experiment. She also blurts out he had a brother. At the funeral John meets Melissa, who claims to be his mother's biggest fan. Together with some of John's friends they go to Amanda's house, but none are prepared for what they find there: his monstrous, tentacled baby brother. Now he has to get to his mother's greatest advancement in Human Evolution before a mad scientist gets to him first.

Cast

Production

In order to obtain the needed financing for The Kindred, Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter (who along with their producer Stacey Giachino had worked together since their days at UCLA) looked through their script for the most exciting seven minutes worth of moments and used them to film a trailer to show to potential investors.[1] The production was picked up F/M Entertainment.[1] Along with directors Obrow and Carpenter, the film's editors Earl Ghaffari and John Penney also provided input in the writing with Joseph Stefano hired by F/M Entertainment following the acquisition.[1] The monster "Anthony" was designed by Michael McCracken Sr., who had previously made the gremlin for the fourth segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie[1]

Principal photography began and wrapped in California, United States.[citation needed]

Release

The film began its theatrical release on January 9, 1987.

After over a decade of work and legal tangles, Synapse Films announced in September 2017 that they would release the film for the first time since its VHS run. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD in a limited SteelBook edition of 3 500 units on December 14, 2021, from a new 4K resolution scan.[3]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 5 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 4.5/10.[4] Caryn James at The New York Times called the film "a disjointed, jigsaw-puzzle movie that is constantly announcing its borrowed characters and subplots and special effects."[5] TV Guide awarded The Kindred one out of five stars, criticizing the film's plot as "overly complicated and unengaging" and its special effects as uneven.[6]

Brian J. Dillard from Allmovie stated that The Kindred "remains watchable in spite of its weaknesses," commending the film's visual effects, music, and Gothic trappings. However, Dilliard criticized the film's numerous plot holes.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Clark, Jim (March 1987). "The Kindred". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  2. ^ "The Kindred". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Kindred Blu-ray SteelBook Edition".
  4. ^ "The Kindred (1987) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Flixer. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  5. ^ James, Caryn (January 10, 1987). "SCREEN: HYBRID MONSTER HAUNTS 'THE KINDRED' - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "The Kindred - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  7. ^ Dillard, Brian. "The Kindred (1987) - Stephen W. Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow". Allmovie.com. Brian Dillard. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
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