Montclare - Erbe des Grauens

Though the pacing can drift over to the sluggish side at times, Next of Kin is a very effective Australian thriller that deftly makes use of the spooky retirement home setting to creep out the audience. Once the action packed finale rolls around, any pacing issues will be forgiven.

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.

"Next of Kin" is a cult horror classic from Australia.

It is effective at building suspense, and has some genuinely frightening, shocking moments.

The plot concerns a young woman who inherits her mother's nursing home. Strange deaths occur at the home and when the lady reads her mother's diary, finds that events in the past are mirrored in the present.

The movie is less a slasher than an Aussie giallo. It's a violent murder mystery with Hitchcockian suspense touches, rather than the typical hallmarks of the slasher genre, eg. a masked killer stalking victims who split up to be offed one by one, and sex leading to a grisly death.

The film is far more interested in atmosphere, which it provides really well.

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...

This Australian horror film is a fine addition to the massive genre. The story is about a woman named Linda who comes back to her home town in order to take possession of a home for the elderly which she has inherited as a result of her mother's death. As Linda adjusts to moving back home and catching up with old friends, her troubled past begins to haunt her. Things get even harder for her when she finds her mother's diary and begins to read through it. She learns that her mother had feared that someone was watching and following her. Also, some of the patients had died under suspicious and mysterious circumstances. Soon Linda begins experiencing the same fears and events her mother wrote about in the diary. She is now being watched, followed and her patients are dying off as well. She learns the truth of what is happening in the films tense and devastating conclusion.

Next of Kin's plot is handled very well by the entire cast. Although dismissed by some as a basic slasher movie, co-writer/director Tony Williams use of music, shadows and slow-motion add much style giving the film a unique edge. The stalking scenes and action laced conclusion are very well done and bound to satisfy any horror fan out there. This is one film to seek out. Happy Hunting!