User Reviews

The always excellent Stacy Keach stars in this compellingly quirky mid 70's TV movie curio as a freelance photographer driving through the deep South who encounters a strange family of hillbilly kids who include John ("The Deer Hunter") Savage, Arlene ("The French Connection") Farber and Robby ("Ode to Billy Joe") Benson (the latter also heartily belts out the flavorsome folkie theme song!). The peculiar parentless backwoods brood want both Keach and Samantha ("The Brood") Eggar to be their surrogate father and mother, but Keach just ain't too keen on the idea of playing pa to these unruly and squabbling hick hellions. Tightly directed by Burt ("Support Your Local Sheriff," "Hannie Caulder") Kennedy, with a vivid evocation of the swampy remote marshland setting, polished photography by Gene Polito, a nicely harmonic country music score by Ron Frangipane, an off-beat and absorbing story, and uniformly fine acting from a solid cast (Savage in particular impresses in an early thespic gig), "All the Kind Strangers" is well worth checking out.

While not the most entertaining film in the world, "All the Kind Strangers" delivers the viewer an interesting look into the made for TV horror genre, which was essentially in its infancy during this era. The first thing that the viewer must understand is that this film was made in a time before slasher films as we know them today were common. Films in this era, and before (David F. Friedman, and Herschell Gordon Lewis not withstanding) typically relied on suspense as a method of scaring audiences - "All the Kind Strangers" is no exception to this.

The film is shot from the perspective of Jimmy Wheeler (Stacy Keach) a freelance photographer who is driving through rural America. While on a remote area of land he comes across a young boy who seems to be lost. Jimmy then offers the boy a ride home, as he notices the weather is starting to look rainy. Upon his arrival to the boy's remote home he comes across an entire family of young children, and one other person roughly his own age named Carol Ann. After gaining a sense of unease, Carol Ann warns that she is being held captive, and that he needs to get help as soon as possible. The remainder of the film revolves around Jimmy and Carol Ann's attempts to leave while more of the children's motivation is revealed.

The basic plot of the film is nothing that hasn't been told before - the lone traveler(s) riding in an unfamiliar place until they get stuck in a bad situation they spend the rest of the movie trying to get out of. While it may be lamentable that so many films take this "The Hills Have Eyes" story line, there is still something to be said about it. After all, even overused plot devices can still be looked at from new perspective, and I believe that "All the Kind Strangers," does this.

The desperateness of both Carol Ann and Jimmy in their attempts to escape captivity from a group of children genuinely cause the casual viewer to reconsider the pros and cons of helping strangers. Additionally, the atypical plot device that this film uses is still effective, because the human condition demands it to be - all people fear the worst of being stuck in a place or with people which they are unfamiliar with.

What this film lacks in is variety. The protagonist gets stuck in a situation, and he has to get out of it, and that's the entire story. "All the Kind Strangers," would have benefited greatly from allowing Jimmy to enter a position that gets from bad to worse. In the case of this film, from the second the car won't start you know Jimmy is in a very bad situation.

Some have criticized the ending to this film for its lack of climatic gravitas, I however do not believe that to be fair. While the film lacks in a over the top style ending, the motivations of all the characters come full circle, and in the way the children abductors kind of get what they wanted all along, someone who cares.

While I wouldn't outright recommend this movie, I can commend it for its constant levels of creepiness, and its attempt at an original ending. It's certainly worth a watch among other 1970s made for TV horror movies, such as "The Evictors," for example. If its a rainy day and you have nothing better to do, I say check it out, I don't think you'll be disappointed, but you certainly won't be blown away. Slightly recommended.

Let's not judge Burt Kennedy for directing the Hulk Hogan vehicle Suburban Commando. Let's remember him for something much better - All the Kind Strangers.

Written by Clyde Ware - a writer/director/producer who worked on shows like Airwolf and Gunsmoke, as well as TV movies like The Hatfields and the McCoys and The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd - this film reeks of backwoods menace. No wonder - Ware was born in West Virginia and his second novel, The Eden Tree, was a semi-biographical read which scandalized his hometown.

Jimmy Wheeler (Stacy Keach, Butterfly, Mountain of the Cannibal God) is a photojournalist traveling through via car to Los Angeles. He runs through a small Southern town where he sees Gilbert, an adorable child, walking on the side of the road. Seeing that the kid is hefting some heavy groceries, Jimmy offers him a ride. As the road goes further and further into the woods, the rain increases. Soon, he realizes he's trapped in a house of seven children.

The oldest, Peter (John Savage, Hair, The Deer Hunter) has hidden the fate of his mother and father from the town, using various resources to keep their power on and training vicious dogs to protect the children. Their father was a bootlegger and mother a schoolteacher (what a match!); when she died, he drank until he fell from the roof.

The rest of the children - John (Robby Benson, who sings two songs on the soundtrack), Martha, Rita, James and Baby (named because their mother died before they could name him) - need guidance, so Peter sends the younger ones out to lure people to their home. Then, they evaluate whether or not they'll be good parents. If they're fit, they stay. If not, they're free to go. Or that's what the kids think. Evidence points to another more grisly fate.

There's a new mother already in the house. Carol Ann (Samantha Eggar, The Brood, Demonoid Messanger of Death, Curtains) has been taking care of the children for some time. She has seen plenty of other father figures and while she asks for help, she also knows that everything seems pointless.

Jimmy has to convince the kids that he'd make a good dad while trying to find a way to escape. But between the multitude of kids and dogs, as well as his car being sunk in the swamp, he starts losing hope as well.

I have two issues with this film. Things get wrapped up with way too neat of a bow. Jimmy gives a speech to the kids which saves his life and Peter asks him to walk him into town so that they can get some help. Jimmy doesn't even talk about the police and when you know that these kids have murdered numerous "kind strangers" you have to wonder if he traded his freedom in for some complicity in the crimes. Second, for being a photojournalist, the only camera that Jimmy has is a Polaroid, which would not be good enough to be printable in the 70's. I know that it makes good theater to have him show Gilbert the photo as it develops, but it's a stretch.

All the Kind Strangers is a small screen Deliverance, yet it has some fine acting from Keach and Eggar. It's restrained, but there is more not seen than seen that makes this movie slightly scary.

Lots of spoilers.

So awful, I don't even know where to start. Okay, let's start with the horrible folksinging soundtrack. OMG. I forgot they used to do that way back in the 70's. They would do these terrible songs that were supposed to mimic the plot. And that's what we have here.

We also have a plot so tame, it could be a Disney movie of the week. This movie can't decide if it wants to be The Waltons or a murder mystery. Except there really is no mystery as it's all given away very early on.

The movie has a good base plot that could actually be a horror film, if done properly. But unfortunately, it wasn't. Basically, the kids kidnap adults and try to force them to be their parents. And when it doesn't work out, the eldest one kills them. But not this time. As the hero of this film makes them see just how wrong killing is just by talking to them. Seriously, I was like WHUT? And they walk off together toward town so he can supposedly get the family some help. Then we get treated to more of the awful folksong. The end.

There was no blood and guts in this film. There were no killings. All we get is the knowledge that they have done this many times as there are many cars at the bottom on the creek and a lot of people's stuff left in the house. It's not a horror film. It could be remade into a great one, but as this film stands, it's like a terrible watered down Disney movie of the week.

If you're looking for horror, you will be really disappointed here. There's nothing to see.

I enjoyed the movie but have to say that the dad and mom were both clever and stupid. Clever is enticing the dogs into a room with biscuits. Stupid in not taking the horse to escape,

But I suppose I can't expect everyone to behave sensibly in a movie. Even one that is almost 50 years old.

Made my point so I'll repeat to get the required number of characters.

I enjoyed the movie but have to say that the dad and mom were both clever and stupid. Clever is enticing the dogs into a room with biscuits. Stupid in not taking the horse to escape,

But I suppose I can't expect everyone to behave sensibly in a movie. Even one that is almost 50 years old.

there's something to be said for Seventies made-for-TV movies, they have an air of mysterious charm to them with their soundtrack and grainy film effect. All the Kind Strangers is a great one, and if you're lucky enough to find a copy with the little psychedelic intro from Cinemation Industries, it's even better. The plot follows a photojournalist who picks up a small boy by the side of the road (back when you could trust adults in cars), and is invited to the boy's home. There are several kids, most of whom aren't very memorable, but a couple are, and it is evident that there is something weird about them. Martha can't talk, and is a good-natured girl but she knows the truth and can't tell anyone. John is a strange teenage boy who acts like a redneck seven-year-old with no discipline and a creepy personality. Baby is a child with no other name (his mum died during his birth)and he has little or no ability to reason. The leader of all these kids is Peter, a bizarre young man with an insane plot that involves murder and lies.

The acting wasn't the best, but it still is a pretty good film, especially with its eerie scenery. It does have some suspenseful events, also not a bad ending, and for a seven-year-old the actor playing Gilbert did a decent job. It's worth watching once or twice.

A journalist, indifferently played by a certain Keach, whom I first disliked in his Hemingway impersonation for the TV, is lured into a house in the woods; and there he finds Snow—White and the seven midgets. The dwarfs take him hostage, as they did the lady as well. And when I write dwarfs, I mean the seven orphans. Is she their momma? She says she's not. So that a couple of adults falls prey to some kids. Keach looks more threatening than the kids; at first, he's a bit supposed to (because the movie initially tricks you into believing he's the stranger; in fact, he's the strangers' victim)—then, he's not—but he still does. The lady also looks distressed in a scary way. The opening tempest, though, was uninteresting. The attempts in this flick to make ordinary scenes look threatening are involuntarily funny. The score may enhance the suspense, but it can't generate it. The suspense music, used in the opening scenes, is rather useless, over an unconvinced storyline. Here, the songs also give the flick an extremely uncalled—for sentimental note. Then, the script switches, and here's a 2nd twist (the 1st was that the menacing strangers were the orphans, the seven dwarfs; the 2nd is that they're in fact willing to talk—they're orphans, etc.)—and we're into family melodrama; now there's no need of conspiracy anymore, the distressed lady ain't their momma, etc.. 'My car is at the bottom of the creek!' As a matter of fact, this is not a very good movie; it's slapdash. The kids use dogs to guard their hostages; this is a zero—budget flick, so what did you expect anyway—laser guns? Most of the movie, Keach's character looks rather clueless, rather dizzy; which is annoying. The script is extremely meager and underdeveloped; one could expect a liaison between Keach and the nubile girl, etc.. The storyline, poor as it is, keeps switching between the unconvincing thriller and the melodrama. It sometimes reminds of a western with heroic orphans, etc.. So, not a movie to be very fond of. Otherwise, another mystery of a house deep in the woods. The actors are unlikable. Stacy Keach plays the lead, Mrs. Eggar is his sidekick, John Savage impersonates a grim cereal killer.