While seeing names like Rod Steiger and Kim Hunter in the cast may have seemed daunting, upon first release The Kindred was praised as a nifty little shocker with an offbeat premise, some interesting effects, a great cast and Joseph (Psycho, The Outer Limits) Stefano in the writing credits. With the release of this Blu-ray the film holds up as an oddball winner.

A young man (David Allan Brooks) returns to his hometown to see his dying mother (Hunter) who is a scientist. She pleads with him to return to the home he grew up in where she had been conducting private experiments and destroy everything pertaining to her work. In a last-minute panic she tells him of a brother he knows nothing about before she is sedated. Another scientist played by Steiger hopes to covet her work and continue on with it. Her son disregards her request and goes to the house with some young assistants to take notes. He meets a young woman (Amanda Pays) at his mother’s funeral who claims that she had followed his mother’s work and asks to join in. She is full of intrigue and as the mystery behind the science research unfolds people start getting killed and it becomes clear there is a dangerous creature in or around the house.

If you don’t think too much about the proceedings The Kindred is a nice little monster thriller with some slimy creature effects and the scene between Steiger and Hunter where he radiates pure evil and she just throws back total vitriol is fairly intense. This Blu-ray features a new 4K high-definition remaster with the option of a new surround mix or the original mono theatrical mix. There is a commentary with the two directors and a compilation of creature effects not used in the finished film. Also included is a 52 minute documentary on the film that is quite fun and informative.