Next of Kin

Next of Kin (1989) — watch online a sharp action-thriller directed by John Irvin, with Patrick Swayze as Truman Gates, a Chicago detective caught between two codes: the law he enforces and the blood-feud tradition of his Kentucky mountain family. This was also one of Liam Neeson's early American roles, and the contrast between his quiet mountain brother Briar and Swayze's city cop drives the whole film.

When Truman's brother Gerald is shot dead by mob enforcer Joey Rosselini — killed on the street for not stopping his truck fast enough — Truman wants to pursue the case through proper channels. Briar comes north from Kentucky with a bow and no interest in proper channels. The Isabella crime family, meanwhile, isn't giving anyone up without a fight.

Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and a very young Ben Stiller fill out the supporting cast. The film works because it takes the cultural collision seriously — the hillbilly code and the urban mob operate by completely different rules, and Irvin lets that friction do the work. Solid late-80s genre filmmaking. Stream Next of Kin (1989) online on iFILM.