Director – Mary C. Russell (Give Me an A, The One I Feed)
Starring – Marc Anthony Samuel (A Man on the Inside, The Merry Gentlemen), Rebekah Kennedy (That Damn Cat, V/H/S/Halloween), and Lestonja Diaz (Grunge, Play Dead)
Release Date – 2026
Rating – 3.5/5
I truly never know what is going to show up for review. I get such a wide range of films in my inbox. I see no budget slashers, decent budget zombie flicks, theatrical pop horror releases, indie sci-fi, exploitation, and even sexploitation from some of my favorite boutique label. Sometimes I will get something a bit different than your run of the mill cliched horror film that leaves me thinking about it days later.
Several weeks back I was asked to review the indie horror flick The Otherkind from director Mary C. Russell and starring Marc Anthony Samuel, Rebekah Kennedy, and Lestonja Diaz. The title didn’t really peak my interest but I did like the poster attached to the press release so I agreed to check it out. I’m glad I did because I absolutely loved it.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a small lakeside town where some of the locals begin acting lethargic before becoming extremely violent. A cop trying to piece together his life after a tragic accident and a young woman trying to navigate her own path in world soon uncover that there is a woman in the lake and those that come in contact with the water become extremely violent. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one blind which is my favorite way to review a movie. I try to avoid spoilers and typically will skip reading the synopsis and watching the trailer if I plan on reviewing the film. I really liked the poster for the film and knew I would be reviewing it eventually so I ignored most of the press release on purpose. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed this one.
The acting in this one is a bit uneven but it’s not bad. A good bit of the characters in this one a very unlikable. The cast does a decent enough job with bringing these characters to life but several of them have horrible personalities which makes it damn near impossible to feel any sort of sympathy for. With that being said, there was a few scenes where the dialogue deliver was extremely flat. I don’t know if it was from inexperience, lack of direction, or what but the dialogue just flies out of their mouth with zero conviction. It doesn’t make the acting bad but it does throw the tone of the film off a bit.
The story for this one really pulled me in. It almost felt like a beautiful blend of Tommyknockers meets Mayhem. I really enjoyed a new spin on the infected sub-genre without it being a zombie flick. I would like to see more backstory about the woman in the lake and where she came from but it’s fine just the way it is.
Finally, the film has some blood and light make-up effects but the kills are not that memorable. The kills could have been a bit ore original but they do fit the film fairly well. Overall, The Otherkind is a solid film that does something a little different. The characters are difficult to like but I still had a lot of fun with it. I highly recommend it.
