“The Thompsons” is one of those films that has been able to capture my attention through the various horror websites. The film is the sequel to the 2006 film “The Hamiltons”, which was apart the first After Dark Horror Fest. I haven’t seen that film yet, so I’m going blind into this film. What drew me to this film was the fact that I really liked The Butcher Brothers last film “The Violent Kind”. So, I figured I give this a shot, since I liked this film’s trailer.
The film follows the Hamiltons, after they’ve become one of America’s most wanted. They flee the authorities, by traveling to England. There, they’re looking to find an ancient vampire clan to live with. Instead, things are not what they seem. What the family finds is something that could divide them and tear them away from each other forever.
Going into this film, I was expecting this film to have more action. But surprising, this felt more like a chamber drama than a typical action packed vampire film. Still, I enjoyed watching this film.
The direction from the Vicious Brothers was very good. One of the things that I liked about the direction was their ability to make the dramatic scenes work. The Vicious Brothers did a very job making the tone of the film very dark. Whether it’s the drama scenes or the action that takes place, the scenes helped establish the film’s tone. It’s was needed to make the film interesting. The other thing that the directors do so well was to get the performances to fit the film’s dark tone. I thought, the performances help made this film very interesting. The directors did a very good job making the performances engaging, as the actors brought personality to their role. You need performances to be that way, if a film like this is going to work.
The screenplay written by the Butcher Brother and Cory Knauf (who also plays the film’s lead) does a very good job making the bloody action and dark drama work. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay, the main character is fully developed here. I liked how the writers put a focus on the main character. Whether it’s the character’s narration to the conflict that he is in, everything was interesting. Never did I ever get bored with this character. The other thing that this screenplay does well was the way the story was set up. This could have easily been a boring film with the brooding elements, but I liked how they balance it between that with the film’s bloody violence. It allows the story to be entertaining than boring or over the top.
If there was one complaint that I had with the screenplay, it was the fact that the film was focused more on the main character than the rest of the family. Even though I liked the main character, I wanted to be little more focused on the other members of the family. Still, I enjoyed the main character enough that this is just nitpicking.
“The Thompson” is a very good film that blends chamber drama with bloody action. Worth checking out, if you’re a fan of horror dramas.
Review Rating: Four Stars
