Brothers Jacob (Mark Hanson) and Jonathan (Joe Hollow) are filmmakers who have over the years crowded a "family" of like-minded people around them to make movies, including their mentally challenged sister Rebecca (Devanny Pinn), Jacob's constantly nagging wife Sophia (Shannon Lark) and sexy actresses Carmen (Angie Stevenson) and Maria (Tawny Amber Young). And for their latest movie they have chosen an abandoned prison as their location, and equipped it with cameras everywhere. That accomplished, they lure innocent travellers and the like into their location, because you know, what they actually make is snuff movies - artful ones with at least a whiff of a plot mind you, but snuff movies still. And all the killing that comes with this kind of filmmaking has left its mark on the brothers, and they seem to be in constant conflict with one another, which even rubs off on their coworkers, with Maria even going so far as having a change of heart and releasing some of their victims. This leads to a game of cat-and-mouse between the "family" and their "stars" in the labyrinthine prison complex, and they even go so far as releasing a bunch of associated killers (among them genre greats Tony Todd, Kane Hodder and Michael Berryman) onto their prey ...

Now on a pure story level, The Family Business feels a bit over-convoluted, as the rather straight-forward plot is a bit over-populated with supporting characters that more often than not get only very little to do, while only the main characters are actually properly worked out. That said, the film works very perfectly as a piece of horror that comes across quite as shockingly and disturbingly as it tells its story unapologetically from the point of view of the killers, who make little effort to obscure their own depravity. And the fact that the film at times goes rather explicit in its depiction of violence only adds to the film's intentionally uncomfortable effect. Sure, this is not a film for everyone, but fans of twisted horror ought to find plenty to like about this one for sure.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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