THIS EERIE AUSTRALIAN FILM PROVES YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN
★★★★☆ (Worth the Watch)
Director: Tony Williams
1982
If you're a fan of Jane Eyre or The Turning of the Screw or any book set in the backdrop of English moors, you'll enjoy Next of Kin, a movie that takes full advantage of the isolated countryside of Australia. With a steady stream of thunder and howling wind and flickering candles, you'll have goosebumps long before you discover the identity of the lunatic viciously killing residents of a retirement home inherited by a young lady named Linda. Shady Pines, this is not.
After her estranged mother's death, Linda (Jacki Kerin) returns to Montclare mansion, an isolated nursing home long owned by her family. With help from the manager, Connie, she struggles to figure out the daily workings, and weighs whether to keep the place or sell it—kindly regulars like an old war veteran make the decision difficult. Not long after settling in and reconnecting with an old lover, she starts to notice strange happenings, much like the ones her mother wrote about in a diary. The first death after Linda's arrival appears to be an accident, but she slowly realizes someone is trying to scare her away. Lights in the house go out, there's an eavesdropper on her phone calls. All the faucets are turned on in a bathroom to flood it, triggering a repressed memory from her childhood. Whoever it is, they know her quite well.
This movie soars thanks to its unusual, dusty locale; the Australian roads kick up dirt, the gas stations are few and far between. The only problem I have with Next of Kin is that Kerin just doesn't make the part her own. Linda could have been played by any number of actresses, but that's nitpicking when it comes to a film with such strong visuals. They blend wonderfully with the movie's frightening tiptoe to the body count. Using natural shadow, the director highlights Linda's deteriorating thoughts; once she rules out her own mind as a culprit, she gives over to feelings of paranoia, questioning Connie's loyalty and bond with a doctor who seems to know more about Linda's mother than he's telling. Not one to take it lying down, Linda ignores their excuses and does her own investigation into the history of the house, eventually discovering a horrible family secret. While I completely understand how traumatizing these events would be, this is when she goes from tough chick to hysterical female reaching for a man—a flaw that must have been a result of the writer going too far with Linda's arc. I'm willing to overlook this only because she has a spine of steel during the first two acts.
Like most of us who have a feeling we're not imagining our dread, Linda finds out she's right, leading to a final massacre. Next of Kin's trickle of suspense culminates in a fantastic physical battle with an explosive climax at an unexpected location, and this sets it apart from typical gothic faire. Other books and films about mansions with whistling eaves, on vast moors, might make you believe you know who the killer is, but don't be cocky. Not all maniacs hide in attics.
GENRES: Feminist-Friendly, Psychological
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