Line #38 Film/NextOfKin1982


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/next_of_kin_cover.png]]
2	->''"There is something evil in this house... She should never have come back!"''
3	-->-- '''{{Tagline}}'''
4
5	''Next of Kin'' is a 1982 Australian horror film directed by Tony Williams and featuring a score by ElectronicMusic legend Music/KlausSchulze.
6
7	The plot revolves around a young woman named Linda Stevens (played by Jackie Kerin) who inherits the ominous but seemingly harmless Montclare retirement home from her late mother. At first, everything seems normal. However, while on a day trip to settle her mother's estate, strange deaths start occurring in the home. Eventually, Linda uncovers her mother's diary which details identical events twenty years earlier. It soon becomes apparent that [[HauntedHouse something evil resides in the house]], and that something wants Linda dead.
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9	While not exactly well-known outside its country of origin, it has generally received praise those who have seen it, most notably by Creator/QuentinTarantino, who has compared its atmosphere and pacing to that of ''Film/TheShining''.
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12	!!This film provides examples of:
13
14	* ActionGirl: Linda gets turned into one in the third act, when she is forced to defend herself from the homicidal Kelvin, armed with a hammer, and the vengeful [[spoiler:Rita]]. During the final confrontation, she picks up a nearby hunting rifle and [[spoiler:shoots Kelvin at point-blank range.]]
15	* ActionSurvivor: Linda is just a regular person forced to endure a terrible ordeal.
16	* BigBad: [[spoiler:Rita.]]
17	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Linda survives but is left utterly broken by her ordeal.]]
18	* BloodIsSquickerInWater: [[spoiler:Connie and Dr. Barton]] are found dead, having been stabbed to death, in a bloody bathtub. A few scenes earlier, the water in a fountain turns red and Linda comes across her friend Carol's dead body.
19	* {{Bookends}}: The shot near the end of [[spoiler:a bloodied and distraught Linda]] leaning against [[spoiler:her]] ute [[note]]pickup truck[[/note]] also opens the film.
20	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Kelvin is defeated with a single shot to the head, fired at point-blank range.]]
21	* BreakTheCutie: The entirety of the third act. Not only does Linda have to endure being nearly beaten to death by Kelvin and nearly run over by his van, but she is also forced to confront the terrible secret of Montclare.
22	* CarFu: During the climactic scenes, Kelvin [[CarMeetsHouse rams his van into the roadside café]] where Linda has taken shelter and attempts to run her down.
23	* CatScare: Just before the power goes out, Linda dozes off only to be immediately awoken by a loud noise. Fortunately, it's just the cat.
24	* CoversAlwaysLie: [[http://www.ozmovies.com.au/uploads/media/poster/0001/75/fe48d119d1594f720f50fb656017725aa24fbd97.jpg The official poster art]] makes the film look like a straightforward slasher flick rather than the suspenseful psychological thriller it actually is.
25	* CutPhoneLines: Shortly after all the lights in Montclare go out, the phone mysteriously goes dead while Linda is talking to her boyfriend Barney.
26	%% DeadlyBath
27	* DidNotDieThatWay: Linda finds suspicious markings on the neck of Mr. Collins indicating that his death was not, in fact, the result of drowning in the bathtub, but rather being murdered by [[spoiler:Rita]].
28	* TheDragon: Kelvin. He acts as the brawns of the two, while [[spoiler:Rita]] acts as the brains.
29	* DramaticThunder: Accompanies Kelvin and Mrs. Ryan [[spoiler:AKA Rita]]'s initial arrival at Montclare, during which a lightning bolt also strikes and knocks down a nearby tree.
30	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Barney is unceremoniously killed off after he goes into the old house to investigate some strange noises.]]
31	* EyeScream: Linda stabs [[spoiler:Rita]] in the eye through a door peephole using the sharp end of a metal comb.
32	* EveryCarIsAPinto: [[spoiler:The final scene has Kelvin's van exploding, taking the roadside café with it.]]
33	* EvilAunt: [[spoiler:Rita]], enough said.
34	* {{Gaslighting}}: [[spoiler:Rita]] plans to drive Linda insane as part of her plan, creating the intimation that her spirit is haunting the old retirement home.
35	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Linda is clearly in an emotional state during and after TheReveal.
36	* GoryDiscretionShot: With the exception of [[spoiler:Kelvin]], most of the deaths occur off-screen or only just.
37	* GreasySpoon: On her way to Montclare, Linda stops at a roadside café. The owner Harry reveals that Linda and her mother used to frequent the restaurant, and that her mom would stare out the window when they sat in their booth. It is at that same café where the film's climax takes place.
38	* HeroicBSOD: Linda suffers one while taking shelter in the roadside café after killing [[spoiler:[[BigBad Rita]]]] and fleeing Montclare. She copes by building a little wall out of sugar cubes.
39	* ILied: Linda overhears both Connie and Dr. Barton confess that they had both lied to her about the nature of the suspicious deaths, both past and present.
40	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Barney, Connie, and Dr. Barton]] all die in this manner.
41	* IntimateHealing: Shortly after the second NightmareSequence, Barney helps Linda deal with the stress brought on by her ordeal in a loving way.
42	* JumpScare: There are two over the course of the film. The first involves a hand grabbing Linda's face from behind that turns out to just be Barney. The second involves Linda finding a CreepyDoll under her bed during the scene where the power goes out.
43	* KnightTemplarParent: During TheReveal, we learn that [[spoiler:Linda's mother, along with Dr. Barton, had Rita relocated to a nursing home in order to get her share of the money and thus receive enough funds to take care of her daughter's future needs. This sets in motion a nasty chain of events that eventually leads to Rita's killing spree seen in the film.]]
44	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Up until TheReveal, it's a bit unclear if there really is something supernatural going on or not.
45	* MomentKiller: Linda notices a strange figure watching her during her little frolic with Barney, though he assures her "it's probably just the local ripper."
46	* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Barton acts in a suspiciously aloof fashion and is evasive of the details of Linda's past, including information on her unstable aunt Rita who may possibly be the malevolent presence residing in the house. [[spoiler:She is.]]
47	* NightmareSequence: Linda experiences two over the course of the film, both hinting at events from her childhood and the possibility of a family curse. In the first, she sees herself as a young girl wandering the deserted hallways of Montclare while carrying a red ball. In the second, she sees a recent drowning victim [[SurrealHorror swimming towards her window and tapping at it]].
48	* NotQuiteDead: One of the elderly residents of Montclare, Lance, tells Linda that her unstable aunt Rita did not die as initially believed but is in fact still alive. Later, while going through the family's financial records, she notices dubious payments made to Dr. Barton by Rita, further suggesting that her supposedly dead aunt is still alive. However, both Barton and the house caretaker Connie insist that she did die and tell Linda not to go digging into the past.
49	* {{Overcrank}}: Used to chilling effect when Linda flees from Montclare after stabbing [[spoiler:Rita]] in the eye. Also used in the scene where the Montclare staff recover the body of Mr. Collins after he drowns in the bathtub.
50	%% PassedOverInheritance
51	* PeekABooCorpse: After [[spoiler:Barney]] is killed, his body is sent tumbling out of a wheelchair and into Linda's arms.
52	* RecycledSoundtrack: Parts of the film's score consist of material re-used from Music/KlausSchulze's prior studio albums. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJk7nQFlZdU "Death of an Analogue"]] from ''Dig It'' is used as the main theme, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kume7iN1KHs "Georg Trakl"]] from ''X'' and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEHvTiq0QfU "Silent Running"]] from ''Trancefer'' also make appearances at various points in the film.
53	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:The new arrival at Montclare, Mrs. Ryan, is in fact Rita, who is not only still alive but is also the malignant presence alluded to in the diary entries and responsible for the strange deaths. It is furthermore implied that she [[CainAndAbel may also have been responsible for the death of Linda's mother]].]]
54	* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Rita's]] primary motive for the murders is revenge over [[spoiler:being placed in a mental institution by Linda's mother as part of a PassedOverInheritance and to protect Linda]]. Possibly also a case of MisplacedRetribution, as she attacks her niece for the actions of her mother, intending to frame her for the murders and take over Montclare.
55	* SanitySlippage: All the horrific events eventually take their toll on Linda's mental well-being. The entire third act has her pretty much teetering on the edge of completely losing it as she is forced to defend herself from Kelvin and [[spoiler:Rita]].
56	* SerialKiller: [[spoiler:Rita]] is the one responsible for the killing of the old folks in Montclare.
57	* SlashedThroat: Linda's friend Carol dies this way.
58	* SoundtrackDissonance: The slightly eerie-sounding Schulze composition "Georg Trakl" plays over Linda reading her mother's seemingly banal diary entries for the first time, suggesting that later readings will not be as pleasant for her. Later, the same piece plays over a rather romantic scene of Linda and Barney playfully frolicking in the woods.
59	* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Used in the scene where Linda is dressing (with a bit of {{Sideboob}} visible as well) and later just before she [[ShowerScene takes a shower]].
60	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never find out what happens to the cat living in the old home. Lance likewise is last seen fleeing from Montclare through a window onto an emergency escape stairway, his final fate unknown.
61	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Once her little secret is out, [[spoiler:Rita]] has [[spoiler:Connie and Dr. Barton]] eliminated.
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Context Film / NextOfKin1982