HAMILTONS, THE - DVD review

Every once in awhile the horror world needs a film to come along and turn established subgenres on their ears. "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" changed the way American murder films were made, "28 Days Later" gave a new voice to the slow-paced zombie films of the past, "The Blair Witch Project" changed what one could expect from a ghost story, and Korea's "The Host" took everything we knew about giant monster movies and threw it out the window. Now, with deft pacing and subtle hinting, the directing duo known as the Butcher Brothers have changed the face of another well established horror genre. But if I told you which genre it would ruin the impact of the film and undo all the hard work the Butcher Brothers put into "The Hamiltons," one of 2006's best horror films.

The Hamiltons are an orphaned group of siblings that seem to have had a hard time adjusting to life after the death of their parents. Eldest brother David (Samuel Child) has taken up the patriarchal mantle and does his best keeping the family together, when he isn't busy trolling for male hookers that is. Fraternal twins Wendell (Joseph McKelheer) and Darlene (Mackenzie Firgens) grew extremely close after their parents death. How close? Well…we're all familiar with the phrase "Keep it in the family"; I just think the twins might have misunderstood the actual meaning. Possibly the best adjusted of the family is younger brother Francis (Cory Knauf), who aside from his constant need to capture everything on his handheld camera seems to have escaped the bizarre problems afflicting his siblings. Oh, and then there's the unseen thing they keep locked up downstairs in the basement, padlocked behind a chained door. They lovingly refer to it as Lenny, while they shove raw meat to it through a small opening on the door. Just your typical American family, if you're a Manson.

Released as part of the eight-film After Dark Horrorfest that played in select theaters across the country last fall, "The Hamiltons" stood out from the rest of the rather mediocre pack of films immediately. While the other films focused on the well-trod road of gratuitous gore, T & A, or cheap scares, "The Hamiltons" took a path unused by most horror films of the past thirty years: character-driven plot. While "The Hamiltons" directors the Butcher Brothers pay close attention to the unique personalities in their film by showcasing the excellent dialogue and complex character attributes, they don't forget about the horror fans in the audience. Staying true to their name, the Butcher Brothers provide just enough gore to wet any fan's appetite and throw a little nudity and girl-on-girl kissing for good measure.

While all of the acting in "The Hamiltons" is good, the high points occur whenever the charismatic twins show up on screen. The seductive and sultry Mackenzie Firgens is fantastic as the diabolically devious Darlene. Firgens drops lines like "Shut up before I gut you myself" with such flair that it's like she knew they would end up as a part of horror-fan vernacular. But it's the infectious Joseph McKelheer who ultimately steals the show as the brutally sadistic Wendell. Nobody is safe from his self-consuming, egomaniacal rage, not strangers, not friends, and as proven by the way he smacks poor misunderstood Francis around, not even family.

Video:
One of the two faults of "The Hamiltons" is that it was shot digitally. While most people can get past that for the sake of an excellent story, it can be a large hurdle for less-developed viewers. But, realistically, for a film that literally had no budget, it still ends up looking better than most films shot with a digital camera. Cinematographer Michael Maley does a great job with the small amount of money had to work with, making the widescreen presentation with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio look as good as it does. "The Hamiltons" looks much better than David Lynch's recently released "Inland Empire," which looks horrible and was also shot using the same techniques, but with less success.

Audio:
Here is the film's other noticeable shortcoming. Both the 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital audio tracks sound muffled or have frequent echoes and require a substantial volume increase during the film's dialogue-heavy scenes. Just be careful to turn it back down once the screaming commences, unless you want the neighbors to think you've got somebody chained up in your bathroom, which I already did.

Extras:
"The Hamiltons" includes a lighthearted yet informative commentary with the directing duo of the Butcher Brothers (Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores) and actor Cory Knauf, where they go into great detail about the complex work that went into this deceptively simple film. Also included are nine minutes of deleted scenes, which were mostly better off getting the cut they deserved. However, the first scene would have added a little more background to the two main victims and could have padded out the film's short run time of eighty-six minutes. Last up is a four-minute blooper reel worth watching for the amusing antics of McKelheer alone.

Film Value:
The films included in the Horrorfest were all promoted as too gory or scary for mainstream audiences. While most of the films fit well with that description, "The Hamiltons" was something more. Of all of the eight (or ten if you were lucky) films showcased under the After Dark Horrorfest banner last year, who would have thought that the one with the shortest length, least gore, and most dialogue would have ended up being the most memorable. Films such as "Unrest" or "Wicked Little Things" will be forgotten mere moments after they're ejected from the DVD player. "The Hamiltons," on the other hand, has an unnerving edge that runs deep into its stunning climax that changes the film completely and demands an almost immediate rewatch. Which is an extremely rewarding task once you begin to notice all the signs you missed on your first viewing.