The Kiss (1988 film)
| The Kiss | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster
|
|
| Directed by | Pen Densham |
| Produced by | Pen Densham John Watson |
| Screenplay by |
Stephen Volk Tom Ropelewski |
| Story by | Stephen Volk |
| Starring |
Joanna Pacula Meredith Salenger Nicholas Kilbertus Mimi Kuzyk Jan Rubes |
| Music by | J. Peter Robinson |
| Cinematography | Francois Protat |
| Edited by | Stan Cole |
|
Production
companies |
|
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
101 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million |
| Box office | $1,869,148 |
The Kiss is a 1988 American horror film directed by Pen Densham and starring Joanna Pacula and Meredith Salenger. The plot follows two young women who find themselves haunted by an ancient parasitic curse that was passed on to one of them by a kiss. Film critics and historians have claimed the film to be an allegory of the AIDS epidemic of the late 1980s.
A short prologue set in Belgian Congo in 1963 establishes sisters, Hilary (Talya Rubin) and Felice (Priscilla Mouzakiotis) Dunbar, who are separated in childhood. Felice is sent away on a train with her aunt, who possesses a cursed totem talisman resembling a serpent. En route to Europe, her aunt, compelled by the talisman, attacks Felice, violently kissing her as blood spills from her mouth. The train's conductor finds her aunt's deformed corpse, and Felice departs the train with the talisman.
Twenty five years later in Albany, New York, Hilary (Pamela Collyer) lives with her husband Jack Halloran (Nicholas Kilbertus) and teenage daughter Amy (Meredith Salenger). Their suburban stability is shattered when Hilary receives an unexpected phone call from her estranged sister Felice (Joanna Pacuła), now a globe-travelling model. The two arrange to meet, but Hilary suddenly dies in a gruesome freak car accident.
Five months later, Felice arrives in Albany again, where she has been working as a model for a vitamin company that has relocated from South Africa. Jack invites her to stay with he and Amy. The family's matronly next-door neighbor, Brenda (Mimi Kuzyk), a nurse, finds Felice off-putting, and suffers allergies similar to those she experiences around cats. One afternoon, Amy and her friend Heather go shopping at the local mall. On the escalator, Heather drops her lipstick, and goes down to retrieve it, upon which her necklace is caught in the grate. Amy attempts to free her but fails, and Heather is badly mangled by the escalator, but survives.
In Felice's belongings, Amy uncovers the talisman, along with several artifacts, including Heather's bloodied sunglasses. Amy is suspicious of her, and tension begins to mount between them as Felice makes romantic advances on her father. One night, Jack goes downstairs after hearing a noise, and is attacked by a wild cat who escapes through the kitchen window; Amy is able to find some solace in her love interest, Terry (Shawn Levy). When Amy confides in him of Felice's mysterious behavior, Terry goes to confront her at her hotel, and stumbles in on her in the midst of a bizarre ritual, after which he is killed in a car accident made to appear a suicide.
...
Wikipedia