Like so many who write about film at my ripe old age, I’ve probably forgotten more titles than I care to remember.
I discovered my love of film in high school where growing up in a small town pretty much meant that Friday and Saturday nights were spent under the glow of the silver screen. I didn’t drink (didn’t smoke, either), I didn’t do sports or many extracurricular activities, so the bulk of that free time was spent watching just about anything that came through our little city. Sure, it meant that I saw many of the films of my youth more than once – movies were cheap entertainment back in the day – and I like I do now I tried to find something worthy in damn near anything I watched.
I continued following film very closely in college and after graduating. For a time, I thought I could make a career for myself as a movie critic or perhaps some kind of film historian; but it wasn’t meant to be. I did get accepted to a fairly exclusive graduate school program that would’ve set me on a potential path to working in writing about film; however that opportunity never quite developed due to circumstances way beyond my control, and I instead found myself gainfully employed in the world of work.
I bring this up largely because I’ve done a bit of research into The Kindred, a 1987 Science Fiction and Horror release from Kindred Limited Partnership that’s celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary on this day in filmdom. From what I’ve seen online, a handful of the pictures look familiar … but, for the life of me, I can’t seem to recollect if this is a flick I saw at the time or have stumbled across in my research or have tidbits tucked away somewhere in my vast reserve of films I’ve yet to explore in greater depth on SciFiHistory.Net.
In any event, it looks as though The Kindred was first released exclusively in New York City on this day in 1987 (Source: IMDB.com). Neither IMDB.com nor Wikipedia.org cite any full U.S. theatrical release, but Box Office Mojo does show a combined U.S. and Canada gross just under $2.5 million. It appears that the film benefitted from a directing team of Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow (who also scripted the feature with collaboration from John Penney). The film starred Rod Steiger, Amanda Pays, Kim Hunter, and David Allen Brooks in key roles. Lastly, it looks like there may have been multiple cuts – R-rated and the controversial ‘unrated’ – though I don’t see any indication that the film is currently available on DVD … a shame that’ll hopefully get corrected someday.
Here’s one of the plot summaries that’s listed for The Kindred on IMDB.com:
“Amanda’s deathbed request to her son, John, was for him to destroy all the lab notes etc. from her last experiment. She also blurts out he had a brother. At the funeral, John meets Melissa, who claims to be his mother’s biggest fan. Together with some of John’s friends, they go to Amanda’s house, but none are prepared for what they find there.”
I discovered my love of film in high school where growing up in a small town pretty much meant that Friday and Saturday nights were spent under the glow of the silver screen. I didn’t drink (didn’t smoke, either), I didn’t do sports or many extracurricular activities, so the bulk of that free time was spent watching just about anything that came through our little city. Sure, it meant that I saw many of the films of my youth more than once – movies were cheap entertainment back in the day – and I like I do now I tried to find something worthy in damn near anything I watched.
I continued following film very closely in college and after graduating. For a time, I thought I could make a career for myself as a movie critic or perhaps some kind of film historian; but it wasn’t meant to be. I did get accepted to a fairly exclusive graduate school program that would’ve set me on a potential path to working in writing about film; however that opportunity never quite developed due to circumstances way beyond my control, and I instead found myself gainfully employed in the world of work.
I bring this up largely because I’ve done a bit of research into The Kindred, a 1987 Science Fiction and Horror release from Kindred Limited Partnership that’s celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary on this day in filmdom. From what I’ve seen online, a handful of the pictures look familiar … but, for the life of me, I can’t seem to recollect if this is a flick I saw at the time or have stumbled across in my research or have tidbits tucked away somewhere in my vast reserve of films I’ve yet to explore in greater depth on SciFiHistory.Net.
In any event, it looks as though The Kindred was first released exclusively in New York City on this day in 1987 (Source: IMDB.com). Neither IMDB.com nor Wikipedia.org cite any full U.S. theatrical release, but Box Office Mojo does show a combined U.S. and Canada gross just under $2.5 million. It appears that the film benefitted from a directing team of Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow (who also scripted the feature with collaboration from John Penney). The film starred Rod Steiger, Amanda Pays, Kim Hunter, and David Allen Brooks in key roles. Lastly, it looks like there may have been multiple cuts – R-rated and the controversial ‘unrated’ – though I don’t see any indication that the film is currently available on DVD … a shame that’ll hopefully get corrected someday.
Here’s one of the plot summaries that’s listed for The Kindred on IMDB.com:
“Amanda’s deathbed request to her son, John, was for him to destroy all the lab notes etc. from her last experiment. She also blurts out he had a brother. At the funeral, John meets Melissa, who claims to be his mother’s biggest fan. Together with some of John’s friends, they go to Amanda’s house, but none are prepared for what they find there.”
I have read some indications that The Kindred very well might appear on home video again via Synapse Films (I've been privileged to receive some complimentary releases of theirs from time-to-time); so I'll keep my eyes peeled. This definitely looks like something in my wheelhouse, though I don't recall (as I said above) if I've seen it previously.
Whatever the truth may be ... Happy birthday, The Kindred! You're 35 years young today!
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
Whatever the truth may be ... Happy birthday, The Kindred! You're 35 years young today!
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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