The Hamiltons is a 2006 American horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers (Mitchell Altieri – Star Light; The Night Watchmen – and Phil Flores) and starring Cory Knauf, Samuel Child, Joseph McKelheer and Mackenzie Firgens.
A sequel, The Thompsons, was released in 2012.
Plot:
A picture-perfect suburban family harbours a particularly dark secret. When their parents are killed in a tragic accident, eldest Hamilton sibling David (Samuel Child) relocates the surviving family members to a quiet California suburb and assumes the responsibility of caring for his orphaned siblings Wendell (Joseph McKelheer), Darlene (Mackenzie Firgens), and Francis (Cory Knauf).
While twins Wendell and Darlene seem to share a bizarre bond that separates them from the rest of the siblings, Francis acquires a video camera that previously belonged to his deceased parents and sets out preparing a school project about his family.
As the all-seeing lens of Francis’ roving camera begins to reveal that something malevolent is going on inside the Hamilton’s picturesque abode and his reluctant siblings find their decidedly unconventional existence suddenly threatened, the youngest sibling is forced to choose between following his family into a murderous tradition or sparing the lives of future victims by betraying the only people who ever seemed to care for him…
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Reviews:
“The Butcher Brothers have deftly crafted a horror film that has an honest storyline about family and growing up … downright shocking violence … one of the best indie horror films in a great long while.” Film Threat
“The Hamiltons remains effectively grim and often unpleasant – definitely not an entertaining roller-coaster thrill ride of a movie – and in some ways it is not particularly enjoyable (unless you have a masochistic streak). But it is engrossing, in a disturbing kind of way (like watching a bloody car accident – you cannot look away), and it earns some respect for the conviction of its docu-horror approach.” Hollywood Gothique
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