The Hamiltons – After Dark Horrorfest

This film was several years ahead of its time. In 2006 this was a unique premise for a film. If it had sat on the shelf for three more years it would have been made with a much larger budget and bigger stars.

When I first saw the trailers for the first after dark horrorfest, this film didn’t grab me. In fact, thanks to that very same trailer, it was the last of the original 8 that I purchased. It is far better than that horrible little trailer.

This film is a deep, intertwining character study of a family that has recently had to change its hierarchy and dynamic. The parents have died and the older brother has stepped up to the family reigns. Why does the family have so many issues? Why does the family move every so many months? Did I mention they were vampires?

Today in this post Twilight and Tru Blood world this movie would get the star treatment. The characters are flawed, interesting, and complex. The main character arc is that of the teenage boy in the house. He is struggling to come to grips with the fact that he doesn’t fit in at school, the loss of his parents, the matter of fact brutality of his older twin siblings, the refined and hidden monster inside his oldest brother, and the ever growing pile of corpses in the basement. The acting is as good as can be expected from no budget. The sound and picture quality are both on par with a fresh from film school production level. The narrative is flawed at times, but still easy to follow for what is an iceberg of a film.

The Nitty Gritty: Scale of 0 to 10

Camp Factor – 0 (The characters are portrayed as realistically as possible)

Gore – 3 (there are some corpses and the expected amount of blood, but this is tame even by a Tru Blood standard)

Creep Factor – 7 (the family itself is the creepy part. There are bonus points given for a twin brother and sister that share a little too close a bond)

Nudity/Sex – 3 (sex scene in a truck, and siblings making out)

Jump Scenes – 0 (not that kind of film)

Verdict: I got wrapped up in the dynamic of the family. This is a rare iceberg film. Every time you watch it you see that there is even more below the surface that you can’t see. The film disturbs, not through gore and violence, but due to the fact that you identify so with the main character. This film brings back the feel of George A. Romero's Martin without the “was he or wasn’t he” question.