Review of Mom and Dad (2018) by Gbg_Jason — 29 Jan 2018

I don’t care who you are; at some point in your life, someone (likely a family member) has pissed you off so badly that you see red and want to kill them. While these moments are typically just played out in your head and are brief, they are present. At the end of the day, we as people are animals, civilized ones (for the most part), but animals nonetheless. But what if you lost control of your faculties and sought out your own children, for no apparent reason, with the sole purpose of ending their lives? This is the brutal premise of Mom & Dad.

The film opens with a mother in a car with her child; she casually turns on the radio and gets out of the car. This might appear normal at first, until you see the speeding train that is headed right for the car. Cut to our introduction of the family who will be the main characters in the film going on about their day, as news reports detail cases of parents attacking their children, for no good reason. The family consists of parents Brent (played by Nicolas Cage; Con Air, National Treasure) and Kendall (played by Selma Blair; Hellboy) with their children Josh (played by Zackary Arthur; The 5th Wave) and Carly (played by Anne Winters; Tyrant). While the family does appear to have their issues, they seem to love and care for each other. The parents are dealing with midlife crises and each child seems to have their own annoying tendencies which have grown old on the parents.

Before long, parents are seen stalking schools like they are waiting for the Black Friday sales to start at Best Buy. At first, they simply appear to be weird, but upon the sight of their child, go into a ravenous fury. Before long, our characters are playing a game of cat and mouse throughout their home.

For a film that deals with children being the victim of the carnage, it does do so fairly tastefully, as most of the gruesome deaths that children face are shown off screen or at angles that make it less shocking. While this isn’t the first film to tackle this subject matter, it is one of the more eloquent options with most of the gore being directed at teenagers or parents.

With the exception of Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage, the acting is above expectation for a straight to video horror film and fairly believable. It is very entertaining to see the parents changing from loving care givers to bloodthirsty animals as quick as you can flip a light switch. I also enjoyed the music direction, as a number of the more chaotic moments are set to some soft or even cheerful songs.

The film’s biggest downfall is some pacing and editing issues. The film often cuts to a flashback showing the family in the midst of tender moments or on the verge of a breakdown. With the exception of an overly extended flashback that is unneeded and adds nothing to the film, these are never really detailed as to where in the story they fit or why they are there. These not only break immersion from the story, they cause the film to lose momentum during its most entertaining parts.

Another issue that overshadows the others is the lack of explanation or closure, as the movie leaves itself open for a sequel. The reason behind the attacks is speculated via the newscasts shown throughout the film, but never confirmed or fully explained. While some parents go into a blind rage and are akin to the zombies from 28 Days Later that suffer from the rage virus, others are coherent and just seeking out their children to end them. Selma Blair does seem to convey an internal struggle with her maternal instincts battling the urge to hunt down her spawn, but the others are somewhere in-between mindless creatures and normal everyday people.

While zombie horror films are a dime a dozen, Mom and Dad breaks the mold and gets the horror aspect right, despite some editing and pacing issues. It is certainly worth a rental – just don’t watch it with your kids (or parents).