Kin Dread

I really found Kin Dread intriguing and it held my interest the whole time. It had an early Brian De Palma vibe with a mix of Coppola's Conversation paranoia with a dash of creepy Hitchcock. Great job by the cast of unknowns. It's nicely shot with a strong audio design. I think it could have benefited from some tighter editing in the finale but this is definitely one of the better little indie films I've seen in a while.

Kin Dread is a lot more polished than many of the indie films I watch. Ethan Smart does most of the heavy lifting, and he's quite believable in the role. The movie is well paced and passes quickly (nothing worse than a thriller that drags, that is not the case here), there is no unnecessary filler. The flashbacks are well done, the story is interesting and well written. I won't post any spoilers because that would ruin the experience, this is a movie that keeps you watching because you want to learn the whole story. A+ grade for the directing on this one, which is what really makes or breaks an indie movie. It's free to watch on Tubi right now, so what are you waiting for?

Amateurish, and badly acted, and quite nonsensical. Just not good at all really.

Due to the abysmal state of Hollywood cinema of recent times, I've been watching a lot of indie films - a sea change, if you will. But this hasn't been without a tidal wave of problems either. You know what I'm talking about. After reading the synopsis for Kin Dread, I thought maybe I was in for a Blow Out clone, but I like Blow Out, so in I go. That being said, it's pretty clear from the beginning that Kin Dread treads its own path in the uncrowded sound designer thriller genre. Erring on the brooding arty introspective side, Kin Dread actually looks and sounds surprisingly decent. Another pleasant surprise is that the leading player exudes a cinematic magnetism that's rare on the indie scene. Admittedly, there were a few times I wondered if the film was on the verge of confusing itself, but ye of little faith, we land on solid ground in the end. I especially loved the isolated hazy tone of this movie and had an enjoyable time watching it.

Kind Dread is a twisted thriller film that entertained me from the very start. It was interesting to watch how this story unfolded starting off with a large soundboard recording multiple lives from different people/families in the main characters' (Ethan David Smart) apartment complex. He is beyond disturbed which draws you in even more to see what will happen next. I did not expect anything that happened in this film and I really liked that feeling instead of knowing or already predicting what the outcome can be. Beautifully shot! A must watch movie!