****SPOILERS**** Hard to phantom horror movie with the wild eyed and zombie like looking Felice Dunbar in that she seems to make no sense at all with this curse punt on her, as a little girl, by her possessed by the devil Aunt Irene when she was traveling by rail out of the Belgian Congo to settle back home in Europe. It's now 25 years later with Felice fully grown and a top fashion model coming to Albany New York to see her long separated sister Hilary Halloran to continue the devil's contract, through the kiss that she received back in the Congo, with her niece Amy Hilary's 15 year old, and all filled out, daughter. Before the two sisters can meet Hilary ends up getting killed in a spectacular car accident that seems to have been orchestrated, through some kind of mombo-jumbo like blood ritual, by her sister Felice. In fact Felice seems to put the whammy on a number of Amy's friends who suspects that there's something that's not all that kosher about her.We get to see Amy who's got the body of a Greek Goddess, but the brains of a a Dodo Bird, always finding time to get herself wet by jumping in the family swimming pool at every occasion even taking nightly skinny dips in it. It's when Felice is finally discovered by Amy's good friend and surrogate mom Heather things have by then gotten completely out of control with Felice who's having an affair with Amy's dad Jack Holloran being exposed as a combination walking dead zombie and blood sucking vampire rolled into one.****SPOILERS**** Determined to keep her blood line, whatever that is, active Falice tries to give Amy a kiss that would turn her into the monster that she is before she turns, since she's dead already, to dust. There's also this Tasmanian Devil like critter, mistaken by everyone to be a feral black cat, that pops up every now and then who's reason for being in the movie is never really explained. But it, the critter, adds to the shock and excitement in the film just by being in it. In the end Poppa Jack Harrolan finally wakes up and smells the coffee and realizes that Felice is no good and in his attempt to keep her from turning his what seems like, in not knowing what's going on, clueless daughter Amy into a zombie by kissing her that he puts an end to Felice and her plans to keep her bloodline continuing. That's by finishing her off in one of the most explosive movie finals since that of the movie "Jaws" back in 1975.

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.

Black magic,possession and bizarre deaths turn a normal family's life into a non-stop nightmare.The terror begins in the Belgian Congo,as an unsuspecting young girl named Felice boards a train for what will become a strange,supernatural voyage.Twenty-five years later,Felice,a sensuous fashion model,suddenly appears in New York to visit her teenage niece.Although Amy is excited to meet her aunt,the arrival of this mysterious relative strangely coincides with a gruesome series of violent deaths."The Kiss" by Pen Densham is a pretty decent horror flick.The acting is surprisingly good,the killings are creative and quite gruesome and the climax is reasonably effective,albeit a little bit goofy.Polish horror queen Joanna Pacula appears nude and looks incredibly hot.So if you like horror films with a sprinkle of eroticism give this one a look.8 out of 10.

A surprisingly good little horror film. The direction and acting are clearly above average, the atmosphere is tense and subtly sexy, and Meredith Salenger is so beautiful that it's a wonder she never became a minor star. The film just gets a little silly in the end, when - possible spoiler - Pakula's witchcraft is reduced to an "Alien"-like mini-monster, but I guess that's to be expected when the special effects department is helmed by Chris Walas, the man who also designed "The Fly"! (**1/2)