Long before I became a contributor here, I was an avid viewer of anything remotely watchable (I blame this partly on being a kid of the VCR age), as well as a merciless critic. Happily, age has brought enough maturity to my knowledge and opinions that I like to think I can now recognise a truly class film when I see one–which brings me to Kin Dread.

I used to be totally ignorant of all aspects of filmmaking, so it never crossed my mind to think there may be more than one road to their production. Now, having discovered the Aladdin’s cave that’s the world of the independent film I know better, I also like to think I’m far less merciless. Something my view will never change on is the predictability factor. Being able to tell what’s coming next has always been the biggest reason for me to give a film the thumbs-down, and my habit of playing ‘Guess the Next Move/Line’ (and often being annoyingly correct) makes for  shocking viewing company.

Cliche being unavoidable even among big budget productions, an independent movie keeping its secrets bound in a tightly woven bundle till the last moment is worthy of respect, and in my opinion writer/director Adrian Leon’s Kin Dread (co-written with Steven Clayton) most assuredly is.

Whilst out running, Marie (Corinna Jones) happens upon Winters; a small boy covered in blood, dazed and wandering along the highway. The police are called, whereupon their arrival it becomes clear that whatever trauma the child has experienced has been repressed, resulting in retrograde amnesia; he remembers nothing about the event itself, nor anything before that.

Marie and her reluctant producer husband Alan (Patrick Cupo) eventually adopt Winters, and with time discover he suffers blackouts, during which flashbacks of his hidden trauma try to surface. When this happens, Marie prevents it by having Winters focus on various sounds (leading to the setting for the rest of the film).

13 years on, Winters (Ethan Smart) is an agoraphobic yet talented sound designer whose world view consists of sound recordings from bugs placed in other apartments in his building by sweetly childlike, subservient handyman Leonard (Kevin Owyang). Mysterious neighbour Jane (Elinor Gunn) snares Winters’ interest, especially when he discovers her passion for his line of work and her in-depth knowledge of it.

Things begin to turn sinister when disturbing sounds are picked up by the bugs and people in the building begin to turn up dead, reawakening Winters’ flashbacks with horrifying clarity

The sound and cinematography of Kin Dread are skillfully handled, and the acting superb; each character is so distinctly unique yet equally strong, the stealthy drawing in of the viewer suggesting there may be answers to the plot’s many questions there, somewhere as yet unsurfaced.

Winters’ vulnerable fragility and cold, superior intellect make him a likable yet sometimes unpleasant creature, and the development of the few other characters, equally well-thought out, only serves to add to the ever-growing mysteries of Winters’ past.

The second of Kin Dread began I knew I had to watch this till the end. The minute the young Winters ambles, empty-eyed, across the screen you already have your first question of many. There’s absolutely no telling what’s going to happen next, not even for those irritating friends we all have at least one of, who spot what’s going on about 3 seconds in and then look a bit smug and unctuous like an overfed cat when at the end they’re proven exactly right.

I challenge you to a game of Guess the Next Move/Line!

10 out of 10 Veiled Secrets