This was a very disappointing drama about the bonding of Aunt Sadie and her niece Nicole, who are apparently the kindred spirits of the film's title. In fact, however, Aunt Sadie is mentally ill, and her strange behavior goes undetected by those close to her until it is too late.
At first, Aunt Sadie's behavior was simply bizarre, as she sought to emulate her niece to give the impression that they were sisters. But her motivation becomes clear when she wants Nicole entirely out of her life in order to receive the loving care of her sister Chloe exclusively.
Aunt Sadie is successful in seducing Nicole's boyfriend Derek. But she then brutally murders Alex, the lover of Chloe. At this point, the film has moved into the horror genre. The grisly details of Alex's death were nauseating. A ghoulish chase through the forest culminates in the slashing of Derek's throat by Aunt Sadie, who tries to pin in the crime on Nicole.
Aunt Sadie and Nicole both were prone to "famous temper tantrums." But it is clear that Nicole is much more balanced. But she is too slow in recognizing that she is being duped by her aunt. And, given the background that they were sisters, it was curious that Chloe never recognized that Sadie has never grown up, was suffering from infantile dysfunction, and desperately needed help. Instead, Chloe casually allows her sibling to drive a wedge between her and her daughter.
A visual metaphor in the film was the large toy house in which Aunt Sadie engaged in a ritual of communing with an idealized family. The dramatist Edward Albee used this image more successfully in his play "Tiny Alice." In the case of this morbid film, it is only the savvy police, who perform an investigation and become the first ones to conclude that Sadie and her niece were not wedded at the hip because the auntie was a documented case of being "fruit loops."
At first, Aunt Sadie's behavior was simply bizarre, as she sought to emulate her niece to give the impression that they were sisters. But her motivation becomes clear when she wants Nicole entirely out of her life in order to receive the loving care of her sister Chloe exclusively.
Aunt Sadie is successful in seducing Nicole's boyfriend Derek. But she then brutally murders Alex, the lover of Chloe. At this point, the film has moved into the horror genre. The grisly details of Alex's death were nauseating. A ghoulish chase through the forest culminates in the slashing of Derek's throat by Aunt Sadie, who tries to pin in the crime on Nicole.
Aunt Sadie and Nicole both were prone to "famous temper tantrums." But it is clear that Nicole is much more balanced. But she is too slow in recognizing that she is being duped by her aunt. And, given the background that they were sisters, it was curious that Chloe never recognized that Sadie has never grown up, was suffering from infantile dysfunction, and desperately needed help. Instead, Chloe casually allows her sibling to drive a wedge between her and her daughter.
A visual metaphor in the film was the large toy house in which Aunt Sadie engaged in a ritual of communing with an idealized family. The dramatist Edward Albee used this image more successfully in his play "Tiny Alice." In the case of this morbid film, it is only the savvy police, who perform an investigation and become the first ones to conclude that Sadie and her niece were not wedded at the hip because the auntie was a documented case of being "fruit loops."