Theatrical Poster
Well, The Hamiltons was one of the first films I sat down in the theater to see in some time. I’m just not a theater person any longer. I’ve invested far too much into my entertainment center and over thousand DVDs to pay $9 for a ticket, $4 for popcorn, $3 for a drink and $3 for a box of Snowcaps. That’s almost $20 to sit down in a theater filled with coughing, munching, gasping idiots that have never heard of Seinfeld’s personal space rule regarding the one seat buffer zone. Thankfully, intelligent horror seems to scare off the knuckle-draggers and mouth breathers and there were only about 8 to 12 people in the 250 seat auditorium.
Unfortunately, I was still treated to two horror dweebs chattering away about ACTUAL creepy phone calls they received after watching The Ring and how demonic possession like the kind featured in Exorcist: The Beginning could be very possible. No, I’m not lying those were the conversations. There were even some people in front of me whispering about social issues they spotted in Wes Craven’s mangled monstrosity, Cursed. I kid you not…social issues. Apparently, Cursed has some kind of socio-political commentary I wasn’t aware of…or…the two fat bastards sitting in front of me were gnawing on a freezer bag of shrooms.
Anyhow, I initially came across the first mention of this film back when I reviewed MTI’s Sweet Insanity starring Rebekah Hoyle & Mackenzie Firgens and the concept definitely intrigued me. It sounded…hold for it now…ORIGINAL. Imagine my surprise when The Hamiltons actually turned out to be the original, and intelligent, horror film I was hoping it would be. What a shame there was only a handful in the theater to see it.
The Hamilton siblings are going through some things; life just isn’t what it used to be ever since their parents died. Eldest brother David (Samuel Child) is forced to take on the role of Father and provider in order to hold the Family together but it’s not easy. The Twins, Wendell (Joseph McKelheer) and Darlene (Mackenzie Firgens) aren’t making things any easier, Francis (Cory Knauf) is suffering through his teen years and trying to cope with a Family he doesn’t fit in with and the youngest Lenny isn’t one of the easiest children to raise. They’re are pretty much your All-American blue-collar, middle class family just trying to make ends meet and hold things together.
Not all is well in The Hamilton’s household though. Francis, unable to fit in, no longer feels like he’s a part of the family. We find Francis constantly “on the outside looking in” through the lens of his video camera while observing the peculiarities of his siblings.
David, poor suppressed David, is struggling with homosexuality. Wendell has a horrible anger issue that’s forced them to move from city to city in an effort to evade the legal repercussions of his lethal fits of rage and Darlene is obsessed with darkness and death.
While most of these issues may seem normal…the horrifying evil that takes place in the recesses of The Hamilton’s basement is anything but normal. There, in the cellar lies a box and something within the box demands to be fed and The Hamilton kids cannot ignore their nature nor can they withhold anything from that which lies within the box. They’re not raised to be what they are…The Hamilton’s were born this way.
A disease is about to be unleashed on a quiet California suburb. Can Francis withstand its call or will he give in to his own personal demons?
I apologize for being so melodramatic and cryptic toward the end there but it just wouldn’t be fair of me to go into any more details. Everything you think you know about The Hamiltons is wrong and just when you think you’ve got this film pegged…BLAMMO…wrong again. I cannot recommend this film enough to fans of intelligent horror. If you like to watch a film unfold and characters grow, you won’t be disappointed with this film.
I’m not sure what The Butcher Brothers have in store for us next but I’ll be gleefully awaiting their next film. The Hamiltons was a “thinking mans” horror film all the way which probably goes a long way to explaining why there was only about 12 people sitting in the theater watching this with me. It wasn’t exactly the usual insipid eye-candy Hollywood likes to hoist on us.
The Hamiltons effectively harnesses every ounce of tension from its characters and will have you feeling queasy despite the lack of gore. I’d be proud to add this to my collection once it hits DVD. I’ll be including this on my favorites list for years to come.
