2 Guys And A Chainsaw - A Horror Movie Review Podcast · Todd Kuhns & Craig Higgins

Next of Kin

August 21, 2025·59 min·2 clips

Film gradually reveals protagonist's psychological disturbance through ambiguous apparitions.

Todd opens by saying he picked Next of Kin because it felt like an overlooked 1980s horror movie. He points out that Tarantino has praised it and borrowed a couple of shots from it. Craig admits he had never heard of it. He also jokes that he first hoped it was the Patrick Swayze movie. The hosts note that it is an Australian film written and directed by New Zealanders. They settle into the movie with very little certainty. She returns to a place tied to her past. A ball, a house, and buried memories all seem to connect. The movie suggests that she may have seen a dead body as a child. That memory hangs over the whole setup. The hosts say the opening material is the most immediately spooky part. After that, the film shifts into a stretch where she meets Barney. John Jarratt's presence gets attention, and the hosts clearly enjoy his screen charm. She and Barney hang out, go swimming, and visit her mother's grave. The conversation keeps circling back to her mother and the secretive relationship she had with her. The hosts notice that the film never really explains why she left home or why she never came back. That gap becomes part of the mystery. They also spend time on the feeling that someone may be watching the couple in the woods. The movie keeps presenting figures that may or may not be real. Craig points out that the story makes her seem possibly unstable, at least for a while. The hosts work through the middle stretch by asking who knows what and when they know it. Their conversation stays loose, skeptical, and amused. They keep returning to the sense that the film is withholding something. The episode closes with practical listener info and a reminder that the movie can be streamed on Tubi.

As heard by us

A strange Australian horror pick with a sharp, unsettled discussion.

Todd and Craig spend this episode untangling 1982's Next of Kin, the Australian film Quentin Tarantino has praised as Australia's version of The Shining and tied to shots in Kill Bill.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want two horror fans wrestling with a very strange 1982 movie.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from 2 Guys And A Chainsaw - A Horror Movie Review Podcast