The Kiss

1988 "Don't do it with your eyes closed."
5.4| 1h41m| R| en| More Info
Released: 14 October 1988 Released
Producted By: TriStar Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

After the death of her mother, a teenage girl is faced with bizarre supernatural occurrences when her mother's estranged sister arrives and begins to infiltrate her and her father's lives.

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BA_Harrison After her mother dies in a terrible accident, pretty teenager Amy (the lovely Meredith Salenger) finally gets to meet her mysterious Aunt Felice (Joanna Pacula) but soon twigs that her mom's globe-trotting younger sister isn't as perfect as she makes out to be. Using the power of sex and voodoo, Felice controls the fates of Amy's loved ones, before attempting to pass on a very unusual 'heirloom' to her unwilling niece.For a film about an ancient African parasite that is transmitted between female members of the same family by a kiss, this is quite the disappointment, a rather charmless movie with generic direction from Pen Densham, surprisingly poor effects by makeup wiz Chris Walas (Gremlins, The Fly), and flat performances from all except Pacula, who makes up for the other actors' seeming disinterest by really hamming it up.Densham desperately tries to spice things up proceedings with a little gore and sex towards the end (Pacula going topless to seduce Amy's father), and randomly throws a hilariously naff zombie cat hand-puppet creature into the mix, but to no avail. This one could have done with a lot more gore and general outrageousness throughout in order to do the silly premise justice.5.5 out of 10, rounded down to 5 for not going all the way with the 'necklace in the escalator' scene and for failing to get Salenger to take a shower (although, to be fair, she looks pretty great in that white swimsuit).
robert haynes It's 2013, and there's a distinct lack of originality in the horror field at present, what with all the remakes, reboots or re-imaginings. The Kiss is by no means a classic of the genre but it is a fun way to kill 90 minutes and (shock! horror!) it's original. The ever wonderful Meredith Salenger here is pitch perfect in the lead. (Why she isn't working more is beyond me) Joanna Pacula is also fabulous as the villainess of the piece. She's sexy, bitchy and suitably over the top. The film has its flaws; namely a god awful puppet kitty scare, but on the whole it has the sleek polish of any 80's studio horror flick. Tri-Star had quite a good track record with horror back then.Sure it's cheesy but at least it's fun. The Kiss also has some genuine suspense and some good gory thrills here and there. Big hair, big scares, big effects and big performances make this one stand out a little more than it deserves to. Welcome back to the 80's...A solid six of out ten.
nutsy I can't believe anybody gave this piece of crap a '10'. This is reutine horror which uses a thriller structure to try to legitamize the absurd idea of a woman possessed by a demon with a demon-cat to do her dirty work.*SPOILERS*The acting is pathetic and the suspense is workman-like at best. It really feels like made-for-cable horror with better film-quality. It attempts to be classy with a "historical" prologue in the middle-east.When we meet the leading girl (or favored victim) she is just another teenaged thing without any remarkable features and we are asked to like her and her bimbo friend. Her friend speculates about the possessed aunt "Screwing Mick Jagger and Sting at the same time", only adding to her valley-girl "cuteness". She is attacked by an escalator, but sadly we don't get to see her die. The rest of the film involves the demon-aunt seducing the girl's father and using her demon-cat to protect her secret. It all boils down to the same old tired, ancient-demon-stalks-present-day format which Lovecraft tried to make work back in the day.*End Spoilers*Don't bother watching this if you seriously want to be scarred or intrigued. There isn't enough plot, horror, or exploitation in this wreck to please any horror fan. This thing is purely for insomniacs or for people who have no discriminating tastes. THE KISS is just your typical waste of time.
dddvvv I guess the atmosphere is the best thing to date in such a movie. That's because the acting is terrible and the screenplay is based solely upon a climax of anguish and terror. There's an ancient curse but we don't know anything about it but the fact that we have to fear it, and escape from it! That's what 90% of horror movies are about: action, thrill and never an explanation. If you have nothing to say, say nothing. Anyway, there are worst movies than this one and for the horror fans this should be a nice title to rent.