According to many sources, one of the most vulnerable times in a woman’s life is while she’s pregnant. The movie Kindred reinforces that theory in a dark and disturbing way that will leave any mother bothered.
In the movie, Ben (Edward Holcroft) and his girlfriend Charlotte (Tamara Lawrance) break the news to his mother (Fiona Shaw) that they are movie to Australia, but this overbearing, demanding woman isn’t having it. When her son is killed right after finding out he’s going to be a father, she decides that she will do anything to keep her grandchild close, and I mean anything. When Charlotte wakes up after fainting at the hospital she discovers she’s now a prisoner in the manor where nine generations of Ben’s family have called home.
Both Lawrance and Shaw play their parts well, I think for what they were given. But their characters lack impact and I don’t think that’s all their fault. It comes across like they were playing safe. The character development was left lacking which is a problem. Charlotte, the mother, and Thomas never really grow or evolve. And there was next to no explanation given about why Charlotte’s friends, doctors, or nurses are participating in her captivity. What are they getting out of it? And why doesn’t Charlotte fight harder or smarter?
But there is something else that irks me. Lawrance is the lead in the film but on IMDb.com she’s listed behind seven secondary characters. It seems a bit disrespectful.
Writer-director Joe Marcantonio and co-writer Jason McColgan did a nice job of capturing the horror of Charlotte’s situation while keeping things relatively realistic. However, there was plenty of time and opportunity to take the film to the next level. It almost feels like they were holding back.
Kindred is listed as a horror, but I would say it fits under the title of thriller better. Don’t go into it expecting any scares, there are none to be found. This movie is all about tension and dread but lacks real intensity. There so many ways the movie could have brought in more action, horror, and drama, but the bottom line is it didn’t.
I’m giving Kindred a 2 out of 5 because I can’t get past the fact that it feels like there are so many key things missing, development, motives, passion, ect..
Kindred will open in select theaters and will land on digital and VOD on November 6, 2020, from IFC Films.
