IMDb >
The Hamiltons (2006)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at
blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
blockbuster.com
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsThe Hamiltons (2006) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 8 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Tagline:
Every Family Has Its SecretsPlot:
Four young adult siblings try to fend for themselves after the mysterious death of their parents. But... more | add synopsisNewsDesk:
(2 articles)
A Second Trailer For Indie Thriller Godspeed (From Twitch. 23 April 2009, 5:35 PM, PDT)
The Hamiltons’ Joseph Mckelheer And Cory Knauf Return With Godspeed * Updated *
(From Twitch. 6 April 2009, 11:06 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Efficiently captures the spirit of 70s and 80s horror moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Cory Knauf | ... | Francis Hamilton | |
| Samuel Child | ... | David Hamilton | |
| Joseph McKelheer | ... | Wendell Hamilton | |
| Mackenzie Firgens | ... | Darlene Hamilton | |
| Rebekah Hoyle | ... | Samantha Teal | |
| Brittany Daniel | ... | Dani Cummings | |
| Al Liner | ... | Paul Glenn | |
| Jena Hunt | ... | Kitty Davies (as Jenna Hunt) | |
| Tara Glass | ... | Jenna Smith | |
| Larry Laverty | ... | Larry Davies | |
| Joe Egender | ... | Allen Davies | |
| Nicholas Fanella | ... | Lenny Hamilton | |
| Jackie Honea | ... | Mrs. Hamilton | |
| John Krause | ... | Mr. Hamilton | |
| Nathan Parker | ... | Hot Pants |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
86 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalFilming Locations:
Petaluma, California, USAFun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: When Wendell and David are carrying the blond girl; she has a denim miniskirt, then denim pants and different shoes, then back to the denim miniskirt and original shoes. When "she" has long pants, this is obviously the camera operator they are carrying to get the point of view of the person being carried. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Francis Hamilton: What does it mean to be happy? To be content in the world around you? Mom used to say it was family. That family was the heart of everything, even existence. Without it, there's nothing. She would always have these simple answers that somehow would sound so brilliant...
more
FAQ
What is the "Disease" that the Hamilton Family keep referring to?more
more
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Hamiltons (2006) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Halloween | Sleepaway Camp | Slaughter | The Outsiders | House of Wax |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |









I saw this film at Cinequest, the San Jose Film Festival, in March of 2006. The Hamiltons is a movie with writing and directing credit going to "The Butcher Brothers". I think this is a name we will be seeing more from in the future. They've managed to put together a good old-fashioned scare fest, with some very powerful shocks along the way, all while using very basic gore and makeup effects.
The movie is about a group of grown siblings, whose parents have died, who are living together as a family unit, trying to be a "normal" suburban family. But they have a terrible secret. Part of that secret is that they abduct and kill people (mostly lovely young women). The rest of the secret is what keeps us involved throughout the mayhem that follows.
They've managed to create an atmosphere similar to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, without being quite so gruesome or so unrelenting. Mixed among the powerful killing and torture scenes are scenes of banal domestic dysfunction. They are obviously big horror fans and sprinkle the movie with references to the movies genre fans love.
My only complaint is that they overindulge in camera tricks. Some of the tricks are very effective. In the pre-credit scene a woman is killed, but the violence occurs in a series of extremely rapid cuts (I'm guessing maybe 3 per second) which keeps us from quite seeing what's happening. This allows our bloody imaginations to do much of the work and keeps us from noticing how simple the make-up effects are. I would like to have seen them use this technique again, but instead they went on to try every camera trick they could think of.
The youngest brother is camcording much of the family action, he says for a school project. This gives the directors an excuse to have many square-cropped, bouncy scenes, with jagged edges around the objects and low resolution. Other scenes are grainy with a shot-on-videotape-in-poor-lighting look. Much of the movie is in high-resolution, beautiful 35mm. Then, even more distractingly, they start mixing up the resolution and cropping mattes, so that we get a high resolution square shot, supposedly from the camcorder, so the actor can look good in close up. There's a couple of scenes where the shot alternates between two actors in dialog and one of them is shot in the grainy tape-look format while the other one is in high-res 35mm. Nearly all of the violent scenes are augmented? by quick-motion, tracers, vibrating cameras, or something else to add impact not present in the action itself. I'm sure they had fun playing all these camera games. The problem is that it draws us out of the story. I spent much of the movie's time thinking about such things, instead of wondering what they were going to do to those poor girls next. There are a few soundtrack scares, but they don't overdo this.
If it ever gets released, I'll want to see it again. The camera tricks do not make the movie unwatchable, they're just distracting. It's a much better movie than a lot of low-budget horror and it left me with the kind of feeling I get from the old 70s and 80s slashers, but it's not as graphic.