‘Sometimes they just want to kill you’
Mom and Dad is a 2017 American black comedy horror thriller film written and directed by Brian Taylor (Jonah Hex; Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance). It stars Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair and Anne Winters.
Writer/director Brian Taylor told ComicBook.com that one of the most impressive things about Cage’s performance, was that the eccentric actor memorised the film’s entire script long before ever setting foot on set.
“We did a table read of the movie before our first day of shooting, and that’s where the actors sit around, we go through the script, and everybody makes notes. We’re talking about things. He was completely off-book. He had the entire script memorized and he did the full table read at full intensity as if it was the movie. The other actors were just sort of, like, in awe. They’d never seen anything like this.”
Plot:
A worldwide mass hysteria ensues in which, for 24 brutal hours, parents turn violently against their own children…
Release:
Mom and Dad was released in selected US movie theaters and on VOD/Digital HD on January 19, 2018.
Reviews [may contain spoilers]:
“It is hard to stomach—you are likely to be both nauseous and laughing at the same time—but it is something gloriously over-the-top. Outside of midnight screenings, this film may suffer for its crudeness, but it is all too comfortable in what it is likely to become: the next big cult movie.” CineFiles
“Despite how deliciously bad taste the film is, featuring everything from sports car speed outs with bouncing boobs in the driver’s face to a mother attempting to murder her infant seconds after giving birth, Taylor and the cast always keep things surprisingly playful. The premise might be button-pushing, but the movie is poppy entertainment…” Collider
“It all adds up to a bonkers nuts finale, as Mom and Dad try everything they can to kill the surprisingly resourceful little ones, with Taylor leaving no taboo unexploited, including the idea of kids using firearms. It’s hard-R carnage, and gets even crazier in a last minute twist that features a perfectly cast cameo by Lance Henriksen, perfectly trading on his notoriety.” Joblo.com
“Mom and Dad is a short, mean-spirited film, a toxic antidote to scrolling through the cooing Instagram feeds of child-obsessed friends. There’s a regrettably abrupt ending which feels rather like a cop-out but the infanticidal imagery will linger, whether you like it or not.” The Guardian
“Couching its social critiques — of shallow materialism, casual racism and other privileged woes — in breakneck action and merciless splatstick, Mom and Dad is a gas. Taylor and his terrific tech/design collaborators avoid wearing out the joke with just enough spry variation in tone and pace, alleviating the frequently frenetic content with stretches of ironic lyricism and even poignancy.” Variety
Main cast:
- Nicolas Cage – The Last Witch Hunter; Pay the Ghost; The Wicker Man; Ghost Rider and sequel; 8mm; Vampire’s Kiss
- Selma Blair – Hellboy
- Anne Winters
- Joseph D. Reitman
- Olivia Crocicchia
- George Griffith
- Megan Chelf Fisher
- Samantha Lemole
- Zackary Arthur
- Bishop Stevens
- Theresa Cook
- Lorena Diaz
- Brionne Davis
- Angie Willmott
- Dale Miller
- Lance Henriksen – Wraith; Daylight’s End; Stung; Pumpkinhead; Aliens; et al
Filming locations:
Louisville, Kentucky
