The Kindred

"John's got a half brother... half human... half something else!"

1987 1h 33m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 83

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“John's got a half brother... half human... half something else!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

David Allen Brooks
John Hollins
Rod Steiger
Dr. Phillip Lloyd
Amanda Pays
Melissa Leftridge
Talia Balsam
Sharon Raymond
Kim Hunter
Amanda Hollins
Timothy Gibbs
Hart Phillips
Peter Frechette
Brad Baxter
Julia Montgomery
Cindy Russell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Carpenter
Writers: Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow, John Penney
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Carpenter, shot by Stephen Carpenter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Earl Ghaffari shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Allen Brooks and Rod Steiger and Amanda Pays carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "John's got a half brother... half human... half something else!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0091343 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 83 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Carpenter directs. Stephen Carpenter behind the camera. David Newman scores. Earl Ghaffari cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

139 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Stephen Carpenter, shot by Stephen Carpenter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by David Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Earl Ghaffari shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5David Allen Brooks and Rod Steiger and Amanda Pays carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "John's got a half brother... half human... half something else!".
7IMDB entry: tt0091343 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 83 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "monster", "experiment", "genetics", "mutant".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen Carpenter
Original score: David Newman
Editing: Earl Ghaffari
Production design: Chris Hopkins
Makeup / hair: Giuli Grattoni
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Kindred (1987)

Also by

Stephen Carpenter

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2024-12-19
★ 5/10
A rural house on the coast of SoCal and the genetic mutations thereof A doctor in Los Angeles (David Allen Brooks) is instructed by his dying mother, a revolutionary geneticist, to destroy her work at the family homestead. So, he leads a team up there, but their stay is interrupted by some… thing. "The Kindred" (1987) is similar in spirit to “The Boogens” from six years prior and the soon-to-come “Slugs.” It mixes HP Lovecraft with horror bits from “Halloween,” “Alien” and “Jaws.” For instance, there’s an aged doctor in the periphery who’s reminiscent of Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Loomis, just less noble (Rod Steiger). It’s okay, but seems off somehow and therefore is the least of these, which explains its obscurity. The female cast is decent with Talia Balsam (Sharon), Amanda Pays (Melissa) and Julia Montgomery (Cindy), but the director evidently didn’t know how to shoot women. While it won’t strike you at first, the movie ends up being a cabin-in-the-woods flick. It delivers the goods just enough if you’re in the mood for such a film but, like I said, it’s not exactly great or even really good. It needed another rewrite to flush out more entertainment. It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot at Laird International Studio in Culver City, but also nearby Los Angeles (the hospital) and Mentryville (Amanda’s house), which is an hour’s drive northwest of the city, just west of Santa Clarita. GRADE: C

Production companies