Mom and Dad

 


Name: Mom and Dad

Directed By: Brian Taylor

Subgenre: Comedy, Thriller

Series: Spooktober 2019 entry #25; review #56

Review: Don't be like me and assume it's a remake of the sadistic (but effective!) British Mum and Dad, because it's a completely different movie. Imagine that parental instinct to love, nurture, and protect your children, and then invert that; in Mom and Dad, a strange, unexplained signal short-circuits those instincts causing parents to go into a murderous frenzy aimed solely at their own offspring. If that plot wasn't gonzo enough, the film also stars Nic Cage, and the director basically gave him free rein to be his Nic Cageiest. It totally works with the premise, and the clash of crazed personalities contrasts well with his wife's (Selma Blair) more reined-in approach to, ya know, murdering their own children. The first half of the film feels like a plot-isolated take on The Crazies and showcases scenes from all over the town (including at least one scene that will likely make you squirm), while the second half becomes a cat-and-mouse game of who can out Home Alone each other: the parents or their kids. While the slight change in tone and scope is fairly effective, it also feels to drag on ever so slightly in spots. Mom and Dad has some dark elements to it, but it's primarily a high octane black comedy with some violent bits to it, and it executes that well.




Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 Chads locked in the basement. Did Mom and Dad scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Mom and Dad is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



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