NEXT OF KIN (1982) (Severin Films Blu-ray Review)

NEXT OF KIN (1982) 

Label: Severin Films
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 89 Minutes
Region Code: All
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.77:1)
Audio: English DTS-HA MA 2.0 & 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Director: Tony Williams
Cast: Jacki Kerin, John Jarratt, Alex Scott

Synopsis: It’s been hailed as “skin-crawlingly real” (Horror News), “a jaw-dropping achievement” (Moon In The Gutter) and “a giallo that rivals Argento’s DEEP RED” (Scary Minds), yet has remained largely unseen in America. Now experience “one of the greatest horror movies of the 20th Century” (Goomba Stomp) for the first time ever…and like never before: When a young woman inherits a creaky retirement home, she’ll find herself in a waking nightmare of murder, madness and a legacy of evil that may be inescapable. Jackie Kerin, John Jarratt (WOLF CREEK) and Alex Scott (ROMPER STOMPER) star in this “stylish and creepy must-see” (The Digital Fix) – featuring an intense synth score by Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream – now transferred from original Australian vault elements and packed with all-new Special Features.

After the passing of her estranged mother a young woman named Linda Stevens (Jacki Kerin) inherits a sprawling Victorian mansion, which her mother turned into an assisted living home for senior citizens. The place is now being run by her mum's businesses manager and long time friend Connie (Gerda Nicolson, Gallipoli) and a doctor named Barton (Alex Scott, The Asphyx).

Linda takes over the running the place with Connie's kind help, but struggles emotionally, plagued by nightmares related to her upbringing there. It's not al nightmares though, as Linda begins rekindling a relationship with an old flame named Barney (John Jarratt, Wolf Creek), a local firefighter who seems like a good guy. While exploring her mother's office Linda discovers her mom's diary begins reading through it, learning that her mom believed the place was haunted by a sinister spirit. When Linda starts experiencing her own strange happenings around the place she too begins to suspect something evil might be lurking in the shadows of the home, and she's not wrong! Her foreboding feelings are bolstered by the strange deaths of the elderly residents, beginning with the drowning of an old man in a bathtub. The discovery of his water-logged body is well shot, surreal, and dripping with atmosphere, which is something this creepy film has in spades. 

One of the home's current residents is the properties former gardener/caretaker Lance (Charles McCallum), a kindly old man seemingly lost in a fog of senility, but during a moment of clarity he tells Linda a family secret that make her begin to question the truth about the disappearance of her aunt years earlier. 

Next of Kin is a bit departure from the high-octane exploitation coming from down under at this time, what we get is an atmospheric murder mystery  with the trappings of a ghost story, peppered with a giallo-worthy amount of potential culprits. The film is visually stunning, a stylishly crafted chiller, but at times it can feel a bit sluggish, even though it clocks in at just 89-minutes. However, all sluggishness is forgiven with the amped-up final leg of the film that sprints to the finish line with a pulse-pounding fervor that I found highly satisfying, it really gets the heart racing and looks wonderful.
 

The film is shot with an artful eye, lensed by cinematographer Gary Hansen (Harlequin) who brings a lot to the film, plus we have a tasty electronic score from from composer Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream, which adds another layer of atmospherics to the proceedings, both of which help distract you from a film that's very light on plot development, it's more of a visual and atmospheric stunner than a tightly scripted thriller, but I dig it a bunch. 

Audio/Video: Next of Kin (1981) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Severin Films with a new 4K scan and restoration from the original camera negative, this looking to be the exact same restoration as issued by Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, which is good news, because it looks fantastic. The framing is identical, and the source looks phenomenal aside from some minor white speckling. The colors here are nicely saturated, blacks are deep and inky, and the grain looks unmolested, appearing very filmic and natural throughout. 

Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono and Surround 5.1 with Optional English subtitles. Both are strong, offering crisp dialogue, with the electronic score from composer Klaus Schulze (Manunter)of Tangerine Dream) having some very nice presence on the surround option.

Extras for this release mirror the extras from the Umbrella release with one notable exception, Severin kick off their release with an exclusive House of Psychotic Women intro by Kier-La Janisse that was recorded for Morbido TV running about six-minutes long. The mirrored extras include a pair of audio commentaries, the first with Director Tony Williams and Producer Tim White, which covers the origin of the film, it beginning as a bit of a horror-comedy, the casting, and the technical aspects of the film, including the influence of European cinema. The second is with cast members John Jarratt, Jackie Kerrin, Robert Ratti, moderated by Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood), with the cast sharing lots of stories and anecdotes about the making of the film. 

We also get extended interviews from the Not Quite Hollywood doc, the first with director Tony Williams talking about the origins of the project, how it evolved, and getting into the technical aspects of the film, how certain scenes were achieved and how a tracking shot during of the finale of the film was flubbed, with audiences assuming it as a bit of artful restraint. Then Jon Jarret shows up for about four minutes, speaking of how this was the first horror film he'd ever worked on, praising the cinematographer, and recalling the flubbed pyrotechnic tracking shot from the finale of the film.

There's also a 10-min 'Return to Montclare: Next of Kin Shooting locations revisited', providing some nice footage of Overnewton Castle, and other locations, there's no dialogue or narration on this one, just some fluid-looking drone footage with score from the film, this one being produced and partially lensed by director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend). 

The video footage of the deleted scenes for the film are assumed lost and/or destroyed, but what we have here in there place are a series of still images shot during production of those scenes with text describing each of them, truly a shame that this footage seemingly no longer exists. 

We also get some vintage film work from the director, beginning with the complete ballroom dancing footage used in the film which was shot by director Tony Williams back in 1978, plus a pair of half-hour black and white short film he shot in the early 70s. 

This disc is buttoned-up with a 10-min image gallery comprised of posters, promotional art and home video releases, behind-the-scenes stills, storyboards and press clippings. The disc is buttoned-up with the original theatrical trailer, a VHS trailer and the German trailer and German opening credit sequence. 

The single-disc release comes housed in one of those fine looking black Blu-ray keepcases that Severin are fond of using as of late,  with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring the original artwork and the more horror-centric U.S. artwork for the film, with the disc featuring an excerpt of the original artwork. Severin use the same artwork options as Umbrella did, with only some very minor differences by way of font coloring and branding logos. 

Special Features: 
- House of Psychotic Women intro by Kier-La Janisse for Morbido TV (6 min) 
- Audio commentary with Director Tony Willams and Producer Tim White
- Audio commentary with cast members John Jarratt, Jackie Kerrin, Robert Ratti and Not Quite Hollywood Director, Mark Hartley.
- Return to Montclare: Next of Kin Shooting locations revisited (10 min) 
- Extended interviews from Not Quite Hollywood with Director Tony Williams (25 min) 
- Deleted Scenes (10 min) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3 min) 
- VHS Trailer (3 min) 
- German Trailer (3 min) 
- German Opening Credits (1 min) 
- 'Before the Night is Out' - Complete ballroom dancing footage from 1978 (2 min) 
- Image Gallery
- Tony Williams shorts from 1971: Getting Together (30 min) + The Day We Landed on the Most Perfect Planet in the Universe (30 min)

Severin's release of Next of Kin (1981) offers a phenomenal transfer with some excellent extras, including the exclusive intro by Kier-La Janisse, giving this one a very slight edge when comparing it with the region-free Umbrella release. I strongly recommended this to fans of a slow-burning, atmospheric thrillers with artful, lensing, a solid slice of ozploitation suspense through and through.