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Film: Next of Kin
Year: 1982
Director: Tony Williams
Writer: Michael Heath and Tony Williams
Starring: Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt and Alex Scott
Review:
This was a film that popped onto my radar thanks to podcasts. From what I remember, this one was obscure until getting released on Blu-ray. It was one that I had also confused with another film that my father owned that had the same title as well. My first watch for this was thanks to the Podcast Under the Stairs’ Movie Club Challenge. I also watched it a couple more times to discuss with Mrparka on his podcast as well.
Synopsis: in a rest home for the elderly, a daughter reads her mother’s diary. Soon events that are mentioned begin to happen once more.
We kick this off at first with Linda (Jacki Kerin) standing next to her truck. She is disheveled looking. It then cuts to her driving to this location. It is a roadside diner. She gave a ride to a boy, Nico (Vince Delitto). His father is the owner and the two catch up since she’s been away for a while. It is during this visit that she builds a structure with forks, something we will revisit again.
Linda has returned due to her mother passing away. She must get her affairs in line and decide what to do with the nursing home that was left to her. It is here that she starts to read her mother’s diary. Linda has a good relationship with one of the residents, Lance (Charles McCallum), as well as a woman who has been working here since she was young, Connie (Gerda Nicolson). There is a doctor that comes to help as well, Dr. Barton (Alex Scott).
As she is looking into things, it takes her up to the attic. It is there she finds a window open. It doesn’t latch well and there’s a storm raging. It is here that she finds a ball and sees a red coat that brings back memories. Connie comes up and warns her to mind the wires. Due to the age of the place, it isn’t up to code and the floor is covered with water.
Something that upsets Linda is that they’re getting a new resident on this night. Money is tight and the fate of the place is in question. Connie went ahead with it, knowing that it brings in income. A van pulls up right as lightning strikes. It knocks down a tree, blocking the path. The new resident is Mrs. Ryan (Bernadette Gibson). She is brought here by her son, Kelvin (Robert Ratti).
Odd things then start to happen. Events that Linda vaguely remembers as a child are starting to happen again. It is even eerier that the more she reads her mother’s diary, there are even more coincidences. There are also deaths that are happening as well. She seeks solace with her boyfriend, Barney (John Jarratt). He wants her to leave. Linda is determined to figure out what is happening before it is too late.
That iswhere I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that this is an interesting. Australian, the country this is from, is one that I’m still limited in my viewing of their films, but the ones I have I tend to be a fan of. This film is interesting as it plays like a slasher, while feeling Gothic in tone. It is interesting that my first watch, I found it to be slow. I’m not even the biggest fan of the slasher sub-genre due to this reason. It might be seeing more movies in between, because I didn’t have that issue this time around.
Now that I’ve set that up, let’s delve into what we’re getting. This has a great setting. I love that Linda grew up in this old house and it seems like she’s been away for a while. There is history and character. Something interesting is that Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of this. I believe he’s the one that called it the Australian ‘The Shining’. I can see the comparison, while they’re still different. The screenplay is well written by showing different items that are important later. Then going along with this, Linda reading her mother’s diary. There are different things that she reads that happen in the present, almost like history coming full circle.
The last themes of this film that I want to discuss are ones that I want to tread lightly with to not spoil. There are aspects of these that I’ve already discussed, so I apologize if I’m repeating. There is the burden of the past. Linda wants to keep this place due to the memories and helping the residents. The problem is that financially it might be possible. Dr. Barton makes a comment that the stress and anxiety contributed to the mother’s death. That leads then to generational trauma and family secrets along with psychological deterioration. That fits with having a home for the elderly. There’s more to it as well, so credit to this for having more under the surface.
Where I want to shift will be with the acting performances. Since this does play like a slasher, we need to have red herrings as to who is the killer. This aspect carries the movie. Kerin is someone that didn’t do many features, but she’s great. She comes off timid, but as things fall apart and the bodies mount, she becomes our ‘final girl’. Her character arch is great. Seeing Jarratt was great. He’ll always be Mick from Wolf Creek for me. That is a slight toward him though as he’s a good actor and he works as the boyfriend who cares about Linda. He wants to help. Scott and Nicolson are good as these two who particularly run the home. I like McCallum, Gibson and the other residents here. Ratti is also interesting with his lingering looks at Linda. She seems intrigued at first, but then he comes off as odd. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I’ll start off by crediting the cinematography and framing. Even more so, due to listening to a commentary by director Tony Williams and producer Tim White. Things they said are also confirmed by Kerin, Jarratt and Ratti another one. They put so much time into crafting them and it shows. They bring this setting to life, giving it a gothic feel. I loved that. They also did well in giving this a dreamlike feel. That helps make things feel supernatural, especially due to the nightmares of the past Linda has. The soundtrack also helps to develop that atmosphere. Shifting to the effects, everything they did was practical. It had to when it was made. We are limited to what we see, mostly due to them being off screen. What we got though looked good so credit there. I’ll end this by saying this is well made across the board.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this the first time around, but I appreciate it even more with a second watch. This isn’t a traditional slasher. The filmmakers going for a more gothic feel made this work better for me. What helps is this great setting. That is captured through the wonderful cinematography and framing. Then we have a solid cast. It is led by Kerin. Everyone pushes her to where it ends up. I did like the red herrings that we got, to make you question what is happening. There are even vibes that could be supernatural. This is well-made to build the necessary atmosphere with a dreamlike quality. This is one I’d recommend to fans of Ozzie horror as well as to slasher fans, if you want to see an entry that has been more to it.
My Rating: 8 out of 10