User Reviews

"De Johnsons" is a rare Dutch horror gem and actually a lot better than the negative-minded reviews around here suggest. It has an original and oddly compelling storyline, involving anthropology myths, incest and teenage-sexuality. The complex and ambitious script tells the story of seven portentous brothers that have only one goal in their life: impregnate their virgin-sister so that she can give birth to a creature that'll bring the world to an end. Their father once went along with a scientific expedition near the Amazone, and he got obsessed with a local monster called "Xangadix". The subject matter seems far too complicated for a modest Dutch production like this, but director Rudolf van den Berg upholds the tension and credibility surprisingly well. The film contains several disturbing moments and there even are a couple very well-mounted gore sequences. Especially the scenes inside the fort (where the septulets got institutionalized after butchering an entire nursery home) and Emalee's nightmares result in very powerful horror cinema. The cast is good, with some 'famous' Dutch stars (Monique van de Ven, Kenneth Herdigein) as well as convincing new talent (Esmée de la Bretonière). Sure, it also has its flaws (like the somewhat disappointing climax-scene) but it's definitely recommended. Tip: invite some friends and organize a Dutch horror night! You can program this film, alongside "Amsterdamned" and "De Lift".

Twenty-one years after the birth of seven siblings, Professor Keller (Kenneth Herdigein) is summoned by a government agency to give support to the treatment of the seven men that became killers since they were seven years old. Professor Keller finds a connection with an ancient Indian cult to bring evil to destroy Earth. Meanwhile the photographer Victoria Lucas (Monique van de Ven) is invited to take pictures in an isolated place and she travels with her fourteen-year-old daughter Emalee Lucas (Esmée de la Bretonière), who is under psychological treatment due to gruesome nightmares she has, and they camp nearby the facility where the seven brothers are. Out of the blue, the seven brothers escape and hunt Emalee. What is the connection among them?

I saw "De Johnsons" on 05 September 1998 and I liked this Dutch horror movie. Yesterday I decided to see this old VHS again and I found a film with great potential if a higher budget and better conclusion were available. Vader Keller, for example, is the awful father of Professor Keller and a silly unfunny character. The destruction of rare footages and notes is ridiculous. The idea of an incest to bring evil on Earth is magnificent; but the stupid conclusion with explosion is terrible. The photographer Victoria Lucas lives in a building apparently alone since there is no movements of neighbors or people on the street. But the story is dark and the main idea is interesting. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Filhos da Morte" ("The Sons of the Dearh")

Probably the first dutch horror movie I've ever seen, and I didn't even feel cheated or annoyed. The title revers to the 7 unknown brothers Emalee Lucas has. These brothers are being kept in a mental institution after having killed several other kids when they were 7 years old. One day they escape (probably the most stupid part of the movie) as they have to impregnate their sister according to some old myth...

Pretty cheap as you would expect, but not as bad as it sounds. A gutsy attempt by the director of Evenings to make it work and decent acting by Herdigein, Van de Ven and in particular by the young De la Bretoniere, who hasn't really been showing up the last couple of years.

6/10.

The first half of this Dutch horror movie is great. A 14-year old girl begins having horrific dreams about a group of strange children in a deserted building smearing blood on the walls. Meanwhile, a professor of anthropology is consulted by an FBI-type police organization about seven maniacs who, when they were children, slaughtered their schoolmates. The government doesn't know what to do with them & wants to know why they went crazy.

This first half of the film is great. The dream sequences are creepy & frightening & you are led to wonder what is the connection between the girl & her dreams & the maniacs in the prison. The fact that the film was made in Holland adds to the eeriness since everything is just a little bit "off"--it's not a standard formula Hollywood scare film & anything is likely to happen. Watching this part of the film at night, alone in the dark is guaranteed to terrify anyone.

Unfortunately, the second half of the film isn't nearly as good. As the secrets are revealed, they turn out to be fairly pedestrian & even silly. The addition of some foolish comic relief (in the form of the anthropologist's father, a voodoo priest) and some unlikely coincidences lead the film astray & throw away all of the spookiness that the early part of the film had created. The maniacs, so frightening and intimidating in the beginning, become laughably easy to kill as the film becomes just another cheap-o "slasher" film.

The film is a little different in that the leads are two women (the girl and her mother) and a black anthropologist. The guy playing the professor is good, the young woman is also good but her mother is kind of annoying.

This film is worth a try, but expect to be disappointed.

"The Johnsons" is basically the Dutch answer to "The Omen".

I caught it on TV one night when I was a kid back in the nineties and I have always remembered it. I rewatched it just now hoping that it would hold up, and it sort of did, but wasn't as good as I had hoped.

I have less patience now than I did as a kid, funnily enough. I've seen way more movies, so I notice call-backs and rip-offs whereas before everything seemed new and untouched.

I actually found the movie harder to follow this time, but I think that was because it often lost me. Some of the details of the plot still seem pretty cool.

It's something about a group of evil, bald-headed septuplet brothers who live in an asylum. I never forgot the scene where we see on surveillance tape where they all kill a guard while being sprayed down.

And who could forget the carving-knife blade through the skull?

Thing is, the movie takes too long to get going. It has one hell of a climax with a lot of memorable death scenes. But before that, it's only really the bits with the seven brothers that tantalised me. I never really understood what the giant baby in the vase thing was about, though it looked cool.

The filmmakers needed to let us in to the lives of the main characters. The actresses were up to the challenge. There aren't enough movies like this with young girls as protagonists. This could have been something special, but it's merely an intriguing timewaster.

Don't be fooled by anything that you have ever read about this movie, no matter how good someone has said it is. There is NOTHING good about this movie. I won't bother getting into the story, but I will say that the story is horrible, the end makes you say "who gives a crap?", there is barely if any gore at all in it, and this might very well be the worst movie ever put on film.

I bought the DVD for $3 (US), and I feel as though I've been ripped off...that alone should give you an idea how bad it is--and it's not the kind of bad horror movie that is so bad it's good. This just goes beyond bad. I could never explain how horrible this movie is.

creepy dream sequences... kids writing with blood... girl getting raped by tribal men with rocks on their heads... all off that alone wraps up into a pretty boss film. Plus the crystalized baby is cute (and by cute I mean evil)... and an old man pushes a chicken around in a shopping cart. i thought it was an interesting and creepy movie. And the death scenes were nice.

This movie totally lives up to its cult reputation. I saw it with a bunch of friends and it is AWESOME. Yeah, so the special effects are not as smooth as the ones in big US blockbusters... this movie has everything-- the acting is great (especially the young girl, wow), it's funny, and seriously freaky. Cult horror at its best. Definitely check it out.

This Dutch variation on the Native American legend also used in the William Girdler film, 'The Manitou', is very often better, and in a few spots worse. Never marketed as in any way related to or inspired by Manitou, nonetheless several involved in the film have stated that the Girdler film was partly inspirational for 'The Johnsons', yet the films are different enough to maintain a distance.

If you see both, you will see the similarities easily enough, such as the names Manitou vs Manixou, and the whole Native American legend of the demonic god who initially appears as a fetus.

This variation is extremely promising most of the way through the film. There's a very nicely developed plot line with a mystery involving 7 brothers who are mute psychopathic murderers. They are under some sort of spell to search for a sister with the end result being the birth of the demonic god. I won't give away more to the story, except to say it is a well-done sequence of suspenseful events.

Up to the ending, this variation is better than Girdler's Manitou, yet the ending here deflates all of the great buildup. It's the weakest moment in the whole film, and ends in a abrupt and rather silly manner. It's too bad, for everything up to this point is fine. In this respect, the ending to Girdler's Manitou is much better and if I had to choose between the two, the nod goes to Girdler by a very small margin.

Never read any reviews of this movie, until I called it up today. I'd thought it was fairly obscure until Anchor Bay put it out. (Never seen their version.) Had mine for years. Surprised by all the complaints about the dubbing, it's never a problem on mine. I have always liked this one, it's not the usual pile of cliches. It does try very hard to lose it's national character, and could easily pass for some more European origin. the acting is good, but seems stilted by some odd relationships, and a tendency towards cliche in some of the more minor parts. The payoff on the ancient ritual is played like most slasher films, but is elevated slightly by the backstory. And the image of the preserved Xangadix fetus in amber, is rather haunting in the conclusion. Probably aimed at an American audience, but possibly a bit much for some crowds. It's not everybody's cup of fungus, but it isn't bad.

As a huge fan of b-movies, horror and especially non-Hollywood horror, this movie shocked with just how badly a movie can be acted. I feel confident that the people who did the english dub had never actually witnessed human beings speaking to each other. This is the way space aliens might imagine dialog if they found a script. Seriously, compared to this your sister's second-grade Xmas play was Oscar-worthy.

Also several really stupid plot techniques were used. The main characters father would be the stupidest of all, with a performance that has to be seen to be disbelieved. I spent the better part of the movie hoping his son would bash him on the noggin with something evil.

Again, I have serious suspicions that this movie isn't really Dutch, but from another planet. The sad thing is it really quite an original storyline and could have been a great flick. There were several sequences that were downright chilling, but not enough to make up for the chicken suit.

I have watched a lot of movies in my time, but this, by far, is the single most HORRIBLE movie I have EVER watched. The Audio is not in synch with the lip movements in the LEAST. It's like a bad Godzilla movie! Not to mention the fact that the "gore" is not realistic, and the main villains whole course of action is to dress as potatoes. I watched this with a group of friends at a party and we, as a group, made so much fun of this movie it seemed to be an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000! Without "spoiling" the movie for anyone reading this--and if you consider seeing it, do yourself a favor and watch it in a group so you can laugh together--the entire movie centers around men dressed as potatoes. Save yourself the two hours and stay FAR, FAR away from this movie!!!!

This is a real Dutch treat for horror fans.. not. I bought this film after reading some internet hype about it. The only cool thing about this movie is the little frozen fertility dude, and even then you only get to see him briefly. The black professor and his father really suck and the dad is especially stupid and unfunny. The seven bros story is made weak by a script that feels only half complete. The most glaring weakness that shows that they needed filler material is a long retarded scene about finding a file in a hospital. Stay away from the horror genre you crazy dutch ! Just kidding man, but seriously some good ideas get drowned in bad acting, filler material.. the result is a long mentos commercial of pure sucktitude. This is a really bad, really slow, really boring flick. I love horror and I know my horror from cult to cheese to giallo to the elite films and this movie blows. One star out of Four.