Horror Movie Review: Another Kind (2013)

A mystery horror/thriller that is sure to divide, Another Kind is all about atmosphere in favour of action. Resulting in a film that many will call boring, but many will also find quite engaging.

Written and directed by Jonathan Blitstein, Another Kind stars Patrick Woodall, Nate Miller, Laura Ramadei, and Jamie Law. They are four friends (and two couples) named Pat, Nate, Laura, and Jamie, who have decided to spend a weekend hiking and camping in the snowy Catskill Mountains. The plan is for the group to use this weekend to prepare themselves for an upcoming trip to the Himalayas.

Which seems like a good idea, except this is a group who excel at bad ideas. One being Nate’s reveal that he has no map as he knows the trails like the ‘back of his hand’. Another being the row he gets into with Jamie, his girlfriend, resulting in her storming back down the mountain alone to get a hotel room.

Awkward plot points, but story needs must.

Anyway, if the sight and sound of the foursome bickering and complaining hasn’t put you off, the good news is that Another Kind gets better, a lot better.

Suspense is the name of the game here as the group start to experience sinister things. Sounds in the night, strange lights, equipment going missing, it’s all very mysterious and creepy, and Jonathan Blitstein does a masterful job of creating the tension and leaving us wondering just where the true threat lies. Not just with his cast direction, but with his shot choices, in particular, how he holds on one. Letting our imagination run wild. It can often be quite unnerving.

There’s no doubt that Blitstein owes a debt to the likes of The Blair Witch Project, but his deft directing hand and avoidance of found footage make it less blatant.

All of this worked for me, and I found myself really immersed in the film, but I can also recognise what won’t work for others. The reality is that over 70-minutes, Another Kind hints that bad things are happening, but never actually says so. This kind of ambiguity will annoy people, especially as the ending leaves plenty of unanswered questions too.

If you’re the type of person who needs action, this is simply the wrong film for you. I really enjoyed it though. I found it to be creepy in all the right ways, and I came away impressed by Jonathan Blitstein’s directing talents.