All the Kind Strangers

This movie is kind of like "Lord of the Flies". A family of children (no mother or father present) desire to have guardians (Mom and Dad), so they kidnap a man and woman to be just that. What happens next is (of course) the movie. One thing to note is that not every one of the children (in fact most of them are not) aware of the secret!

I really love TV-horror/thriller movies from the 1970s. They are short, straightforward and usually compensate in atmosphere and plot- ingenuity for what they lack in action footage or make-up effects. "All the Kind Strangers" is a decent example of such a 70s tale with a very murky and unsettling premise and a thoroughly unpredictable atmosphere of tension. Macho freelance photographer Jimmy Wheeler is driving through rural roads in his fancy and brand new convertible when he stops to give a lift to a 7-year-old kid carrying large bags of groceries. He quickly regrets this, however, as he ends up at the backwoods equivalent of the Von Trapp family with seven parentless children living in the middle of a swamp. Unfortunately, they don't sing of Do-Re-Mi and – under the eerie leadership of the oldest brother Peter – they have the nasty habit of forcing random helpful strangers to become their reluctant ma's and pa's. They already reverse-adopted the terrified Samantha Eggar as their mommy, and now they see the ideal role-model father in Mr. Wheeler even though he doesn't share their enthusiasm. "All the Kind Strangers" is very compelling and ominous throughout the first hour, with notably uncanny scenes at the dinner table or during the boat trip on the creek. The hopelessness in Stacy Keach's eyes, the fear in Samantha Eggar's eyes and the madness in John Savage's eyes are extremely realistic and make even the most hardened viewer feel uncomfortable. In fact, "All the Kind Strangers" easily would have ranked in the top 10 of greatest TV-thrillers of the 70s if only it weren't for the daft and utterly disappointing anti-climax. The bad ending alone costs this otherwise fine TV-thriller a mere 2 or 3 points in the rating.

All the Kind Strangers was one of the fifty films that came packaged in a box-set titled "Nightmare Worlds", and it was one of the rare films that wasn't science-fiction. Yet it probably has just as reason for being in the box-set as sci-fi flicks; it's got the premise, at the least, and from the description (wedged in with another movie on the one side of a two-sided disc) sounds like a cross between the Little Rascals and Deliverance. At least, that would be the first impression had it reached its potential. As it stands, All the Kind Strangers does keep a hold of its creepiness for a while, as Stacy Keach (playing well as a leading role, which he usually doesn't do) is a photo-journalist who picks up a little kid carrying a big bag of flour back to his home. Just a normal thing, it seems, to help the little critter out. But then it's a long trek through the backwoods, specifically through a creek, and then to a house where there are seven kids and one "mom", who really has been sort of kidnapped by the kids. He's kidnapped too, and made to be their dad as their parents are five-years gone. Dogs line the premises, and the pain kid Peter (John Savage) carries a shotgun. What to do?

There is actually probably a very good movie, even an extremely controversial one (maybe on par with Deliverance if not more-so) with the ingredients here. There's a whole power-structure element in place, the psychological unrest as Peter really is the head of the household- the kids don't know any better, least of all for wacky John (Robby Benson, maybe the most tongue-in-cheek kid actor of the 70s)- and how the kids, including Peter, *do* listen to Keach's 'dad' if he's forceful enough. And there's even subtext thrown in that is never quite cleared up with a mute girl in the bunch (obviously, as Frank Miller once wrote, grew up and filled out) who keeps on eying and making subtle advances towards her new father. This would actually be challenging in better hands, but unfortunately it's A) a TV movie, and B) in an odd way meant as a dark twist for the Little Rascals kid's club. So it ends up playing it safe with material that, in the end, becomes preachy and tacky as the kids all decide that it's better to give in instead of having a ready-made mom and dad at the helm.

Other things like the cars all drowned in the lake (and the fact that who-knows how many people have died is left up in the air), and little technical things with the production (i.e. do the kids really pay for the gas, and if not how come there are lights on in the house? do kids take care of candles that well?) Not to mention the length issue; at 74 minutes the holes are fairly abundant in the plot. But there are strengths here that do come out, even if seeing John Savage might inspire a "I believe in God" bit from Hair, as the acting is more than competent, and given how low the production values are the director gets a good amount of chills from the kids (awkward might be the way to say it) and chase scenes. It could make for a remake in good hands, exploring and altering some of the details. As it stands, it's an OK effort with an undercurrent that's sort of unique.

This is just a made-for-TV movie, but it is creepy fun. It is also the rare scary movie that you can safely watch with your kids, without traumatizing them. In fact the movie carries quite a strong family values message. There is no explicit gory violence, so those who watch movies looking for that would be disappointed. The thrills here are mostly of the anticipatory kind. I think kids from about 8 to 14 will find much in this movie that they can identify with and that will make them uneasy about how they would react in the situation. There is very good work from Stacy Keach and John Savage and a young Robbie Benson is as good as he ever gets.

The film does get a bit interesting - it hits a couple of lulls but that doesn't last long then it picks right back up again. There is a creepiness to these kids -- not like Children of the Corn creepy but more of a subtle creepiness to them.

Fun little trivia: The $60 shoes in 1974 would cost about $316 in 2019 according to the inflation calculator.

5/10