Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

A Brilliant Conflict

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Linda inherits Montclare, a retirement home that belonged to her mother. When she comes back to her hometown to settle her affairs, she feels unwelcome, with only Barry, an old boyfriend (John Jarratt, the evil Mick Taylor in the Wolf Creek series of movies), being understanding.Things certainly aren't helped by Montclare's staff, including Connie and Dr. Barton (Alex Scott, The Asphyx), who have been conducting a secret affair and may be conspiring to drive Linda insane. Or perhaps the house is truly haunted, as drowned corpses appear at will and windows mysteriously open. No matter what, there's something wrong and it's probably due to the years of madness and murder that Linda's mother has covered up.There's an amazing moment near the end where Linda has gone near insane, barricading herself within the diner, where she builds a pyramid of sugar cubes as the forces of evil gather themselves to do her in. It's strangely gorgeous. And not the only original sight in a film that seemingly would only be a rip-off.Throw in an amazing score by Tangerine Dream's Klaus Schulze and you have a film that's quite worthy of experiencing.Sadly, there's been no official U.S. DVD or blu-ray release of the film. You can find it on YouTube and through the gray market. And you totally should. It's nothing like the poster promises and is instead a psychologically rich trip through past sins and a family curse.

"Next of Kin" is a superior Australian horror film set in a large retirement home. A young woman named Linda returns to take ownership of it after her mother's death, but soon after arriving she finds that there are several mysteries concerning what happened while her mother was in charge, plus she begins to feel threatened by a malevolent presence that creeps about the house after dark.First off, this is a very good looking movie. Despite the unglamourous locations of scrubby Australian countryside, a shabby diner and the austere retirement home, the direction and camera work ensures that every shot counts. This may have been a relatively low budget venture, but framing, lighting and colours are all handled with considerable skill, with several particularly stylish camera angles every few minutes. Everything looks real, and I would bet that all the shooting was done on location in the big old house that serves as the retirement home. With all this confidence behind the camera, it's also a joy to watch the acting performances, as there isn't a wrong note among them. Jackie Kerin, who plays Linda, takes to the role with a calm maturity. Rather than playing up the glamour side of a "damsel in distress", she instead brings a quiet intensity to the part, showing Linda to be thoughtful, intelligent and resourceful. All the supporting players do equally well, from Linda's amiable boyfriend Barney, to the other staff and inmates of the home, and even a friendly teenage boy who lives in the local diner/gas station is well played.The combined effect of these achievements is that the film's plot is vividly played out, and the tension is really racked up as events start to turn increasingly more macabre. One of the elderly inmates dies unexpectedly quite early on in the film, and this scene and it's aftermath are filmed for maximum creepiness, which gives a running thread of weirdness to Linda's experiences in the house. I won't reveal any more of the plot, because the film benefits hugely from it's sense of bewilderment, but hold on to your seats, as, after building slowly the story finally culminates in a gripping struggle for survival as Linda finally learns the truth behind the mystery. Although the majority of the film works on a purely "mystery" level, if you're not sure whether "Next of Kin" qualifies as a horror movie, the final fifteen minutes alone should convince you.Once again, I find myself praising the quiet intensity of an Australian thriller. The ability to draw in the viewer without relying on action set pieces and pyrotechnics seems to be a particular skill of film makers hailing from this continent. I have a similar high regard for other films of the late 17970's/early 1980's, such as "Long Weekend" and "Picnic at Hanging Rock". "Next of Kin" should be ranked alongside the best of Australian horror cinema, and it probably would be, if only it weren't so darned hard to get hold of. Video releases have been very limited, and the only DVD release is a Region 4 domestic Australian one. I am lucky enough to have this ( it's easy to buy on the Internet but US residents will need a multi region DVD player - however it works on UK PAL DVD players - hooray!), and it's significantly improved by being seen in it's correct widescreen ratio, as many of the beautifully composed shots are clobbered in the full screen video version. Aside from that though, I would urge any horror fans to seek out any version they can get hold of, and experience this quiet yet vivid horror treat.

Despite popular belief, Next of Kin isn't really a regular stalk and slash flick. There isn't much of a death count and Tony Williams doesn't waste time with constant self references to other genre pieces. However, the plot resolves around a psychotic intruder that's murdering the inmates of an old people's home, although the deaths are sporadic enough (we only see one) to keep the heroine believing that they're actually accidents. The things that lift Next of Kin above its contempararies is the superb, noteworthy direction and great atmosphere. It's beautifully photographed, with some instantly exquisite camera movements that add a supreme energy and sense of professionalism that's rarely found in slasher movies from New Zealand or Australia. In fact, such a notable level of craftsmanship is rarely seen in any category addition. There are plenty of credible shots, the best being the woodland scenes in which we see the mysterious menace lurking in the distance amongst the trees, barely recognisable. It's fairly well acted - although not superbly -, and it works well to set up a creepy suspense fuelled environment. When the nut-job reveals himself, there's some brilliant chases and a few surprises.Like I said, don't expect slasher cliches by the dozen, but if you keep your options open, you'll find Next of Kin to be fairly rewarding. Worth a look...

just HAD to put my comment here. I think that the rating given to this movie is far below what it deserves. I first saw this film when i was 17 and it scared the pans of me. Now more than ten years later i still think it works well. The story is simple and has a few holes but it's got a great soundtrack and very nice cinematography. The acting is better than in your common horror film. I rate this one 8 stars out of 10. And i believe that anything below a five rating is given by people who don't appreciate a good horror movie.