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A Masterpiece!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Next of Kin was something of a disappointment to me in terms of the horror quota of gore. There are long periods throughout this film where virtually nothing happens. A 24 year old girl, Linda, slightly creepy looking too, takes over her mother's business, a elderly restoration home in this big old building. Strange things start happening as mentioned exactly in her mother's diary. Yes something evil looms in the eerie hallways and empty rooms of this old historic place, that takes the lives eight patients if I can remember, none of the deaths hardly violent. A much younger John Jarratt, way before his Wolf Creek killing days, adds some spark as Linda's loopy, laid back boyfriend, you feel thankful for his presence, which is not that much. The teaser for it, is a teaser, showing you all the good bits, a real deception in what was a real horror disappointment for me.

I first saw Next Of Kin on television years ago. I had not heard of it before so I sat down more out of curiosity than anything else. I was captivated from the start. The eerie atmosphere and restrained acting set the mood perfectly. Jacky Kerin was perfect as Linda, a young woman who inherited her mother huge old mansion that was converted into a nursing home. The dreams and flashes of memory add to the Gothic feel of the film and help set up the also dreamlike state of terror that she begins to feel. The ending was spectacular and Not Quite Hollywood mentioned it specifically. Especially the mistake with the explosion going off too soon. It added the perfect touch. This is Aussie cinema at it's best and I would love to see a return to this kind of film making. Real suspense instead of blood and real storytelling instead of needless sex violence and gore which seems to be the driving force behind so many horror films today. *Yes Hollywood, I am looking at you.*

If this film was an American release it would be held in the same esteem as The Omen, Halloween and Last House on the Left. The fact that is better than any of the aforementioned films is mind boggling. My main criticism is that the tension is drawn out a little too long for most contemporary audiences to deal with. But perhaps this was the director's intention so as to make the biggest impact possible in the closing scene. And to be fair it was made back in 1982.Next of Kin is not genre specific. It is not simply a horror film and utilises elements of surrealism and thriller to good effect. There were even aspects that reminded me of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper. It is not without fault but has a sense of style and confidence that many other American classics fail to comprehend.

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!