Four young adult siblings, who harbor some dark secrets, try to fend for themselves after the mysterious death of their parents.Four young adult siblings, who harbor some dark secrets, try to fend for themselves after the mysterious death of their parents.Four young adult siblings, who harbor some dark secrets, try to fend for themselves after the mysterious death of their parents.
- Awards
- 2 wins
- Kitty Davies
- (as Jenna Hunt)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPart of the 2006 After Dark Horrorfest: 8 Films To Die For
- GoofsWhen Wendell and David are carrying the blond girl; she has a denim miniskirt, then denim pants and different shoes, then back to the denim miniskirt and original shoes. When "she" has long pants, this is obviously the camera operator they are carrying to get the point of view of the person being carried.
- Quotes
Francis Hamilton: The twins. They've always been distant from the family. Wendell is the main reason why we move a lot. He just got out of jail for biting some guy's ear off in a Cheesy Chuck's pizza parlor up north. Darlene is just as mean but more refined. Like when we were kids, she used to lock me in the closet just to hear me scream, and hours later would let me out, pretending she was the one who saved me. And I always fell for it.
- Crazy creditsJust after the ending credits roll, more home video is shown of what looks like a normal family having bought a new home, and then it fades to red.
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Thompsons (2012)
The fundamental flaw of "The Hamiltons" is that it's caught between being a serial killer film and a family drama, and unlike "Suburban Nightmare" - which was similar, also an indie, and much better in my opinion - "The Hamiltons" refuses to commit to its characters. It wants you to empathize with them at the same time it paints them as violent sociopaths. In doing this I found the ending disingenuous, and most of the movie was simply too scattered.
There ARE strong points to the film. The main character, Francis, is easily the most well-developed character. Although he gets too whiny and, frankly, useless at times, he's able to make the transition into action with aplomb. His relationship with one of the women being held in the cellar of the house is particularly well-written and potent.
The problem is that the movie feels forced to bend to genre conventions, and in doing so it makes the other three members of the family unsympathetic in the extreme. The characters of Wendell and Darlene are written well as sociopaths, but the problem comes when the film wants you to identify with them and accept them as part of this family, and you can't imagine why anyone would love them even if they WERE family.
The film is worth watching, but the script really could've used another run through editing to work out the kinks.
- Caustic Pulp
- Nov 19, 2006
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $321,875
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,482,000
- Nov 19, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $321,875
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1