The Kindred (1987)

"What are you talking about shrimp for!?" - John

A doctor must stop a biological experiment gone wrong.
Starring: David Allen Brooks, Amanda Pays, Rod Steiger, Peter Frechette

Link to IMDB

Dr. John Hollins is a busy genetic scientist, but lately he's been preoccupied with the impending death of his sick mother. She used to be a scientist too, and she makes John promise that he will go to the lab beneath her old house and destroy all her research, specifically any files on a man named Anthony. John's confused, but he agrees to fulfill her last wishes.
We also meet John's colleague, Dr. Lloyd. He's a well respected man, but he secretly experiments on stolen corpses and animals! Lloyd's one mad scientist, and he's pretty keen on getting his hands on the research that John is supposed to destroy.

After his mother's funeral, John and a group of friends go to the old house for the weekend, hoping to find what his mother was so worried about. Another scientist, Melissa, comes along to help John understand the data they're searching through.
It's not long before we see that the house wasn't left unoccupied, because there's a slimy shape lurking around and it just ate the dog!


The story starts slow, but builds suspense and a promise of twisted things to come. Once John and the gang get to the house, the movie starts delivering the prime slime times.
The research they find offers more questions than answers on who Anthony was, but that's the least of their worries now. Not only is someone in the group secretly working for Dr. Lloyd, there's a grotesque tentacle monster attacking them and it has a terrifying history of its own that science can't explain!

Dr. Lloyd

Melissa

This was quite more enjoyable than I expected, and although the story is formulaic it's delivered well and there are still surprises to be had. The spooky Lovecraftian atmosphere also has a touch of humour running throughout, which creates a nice balance in this fun creepfest. The acting is pretty solid and the character dynamics work well when the craziness starts. We get some excellent practical effects here, involving plenty of slime, tentacles, face-hugging fetuses, and a killer watermelon that needs to be seen to be believed.

Be sure not to miss:
- A watermelon for an anniversary present? Okay.
- Jar babies sound just like ospreys.

Internet review:
"This is a damn good movie, but I'm staying the hell away from watermelon!" - Swindall

Should I watch it?
It's a hidden gem of 80's horror.

Where can I find it?
Links here. veehd/vodlocker

The Kindred gets...