The Kiss is a horror/thriller film released in 1988 and set in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The Kiss is a late occult-horror-voodoo style film starring Joanna Pacula, Meredith Salenger and Nicholas Kilbertus.

A short prologue set in "Belgian Congo, 1963" establishes two of the main characters, Hilary and Felice Dunbar, and also the generic curse, and a generic cursed totem. Flash forward to the late 1980s, Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, where Hilary (Talya Rubin) lives with her husband Jack Halloran (Nicholas Kilbertus) and teenage daughter Amy (child star Meredith Salenger

Meredith Salenger

Meredith Dawn Salenger is an American actress identified by her performances while a teenager. Her best known role was the title role in the 1985 Disney film The Journey of Natty Gann.-Early life and career:...

). Their suburban stability is shattered however when Hilary receives an unexpected phone call from her estranged sister Felice (Joanna Pacuła), now a globe-travelling model. The two arrange to meet, yet Hilary dies in a gruesome car accident soon after inviting Felice to visit her family in Albany. Felice shows up anyway, "five months later" and swiftly seduces Jack, kills a few interlopers, and makes quick enemies with her niece Amy, the film's protagonist.