When a new sci-fi drama produced by the people who brought us Stranger Things and Arrival, one wouls expect to see a solid mash-up of nostalgic ’80s flair with the harrowing adventure of a youthful hero, right? Right?
Kin almost achieves this, but is often a little shaky with the big steps it tries to take.
The best way to describe Kin is that it basically gets better with time. It doesn’t start off on the best foot as it stumbles with introducing characters and their relationships. There really isn’t much to say about the film’s protagonist Eli (Myles Truitt) as it focuses more on his daily struggles and issues stemming from a rocky relationship with his adoptive father (Dennis Quaid), rather than give him much personality. He’s pretty lifeless for the start of the film, but with time he grows and Truitt gets a little more comfortable in the role.
The rest of the cast surprisingly rides the line of being of satisfactory. That’s not to say that anyone was a complete train wreck, but when you have some solid talent, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Kravitz, James Franco, and Jack Reynor, satisfactory really isn’t saying much. This is especially true for Franco as he is clearly just phoning in a more toned version of other antagonists he’s played from films like Homefront and Spring Breakers.
Kin is more drama than sci-fi and which gives a little more focus to the characters. Their relationship become a bit more fleshed out over the course of their escape from Franco’s vengeful Taylor and otherworldly beings that are hunting Eli down after he takes a mysterious rifle.
However, it’s hard to let go of the fact that Reynor’s older brother ex-con character, Jimmy, is very tough to root for. He makes terrible decisions that make him unredeemable. He also seems kind of uncaring of all of the wrong he’s done. Every time that Eli grew a little closer to him, I wanted nothing of it.
When the sci-fi aesthetics finally came to the surface, Kin actually upstages many films in the genre in recent years. The sci-fi genre has always set the precedent on creating unique worlds and an atmosphere that is fun for audiences to see on the big-screen. Kin successfully does this as it explores more of the mid-western U.S. that isn’t often seen in films.
This setting felt perfect for the film’s neon-colored tech, solid camera work, and little pieces of ’80s nostalgia. (I mean, come on, it’s a film made by the people who made Stranger Things.) These people are not above including Joust arcade cabinets or ’80s cartoons in their stuff and it works for the most part.
Kin also succeeds at establishing a growing sense of mystery with its otherworldly pursuers and Eli’s incredibly powerful rifle. It’s never necessarily clear what these beings are, but their looks and actions are eye-catching. Not to mention, they are a part of film’s finale which is without a doubt extremely predictable. However it’s done in such a unique manner that it left me leaving the theater thinking about theories I had for future films and what the ending meant. I can’t say I’ve said the same about other film’s in the genre recently.
It’s tough to say if Kin will land in the hearts of audiences and get the word of mouth it needs, but after watching it definitely deserves some credit. It’s definitely not a perfect work of sci-fi, but it is something that audiences could enjoy. While I don’t see it garnering much mainstream love to fund a sequel, it has the makings of amassing a cult following that could voice their opinions for more.
Review Score: 6 out of 10
Kin is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
-Tom Moore
