Mom and Dad (2017 film)

Mom & Dad
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian Taylor
Produced by
  • Christopher Lemole
  • Tim Zajaros
Screenplay by Brian Taylor
Starring
Music by Mr. Bill
Cinematography Daniel Pearl
Edited by
  • Rose Corr
  • Fernando Villena
Production
company
Distributed by Momentum Pictures
Release date
  • September 9, 2017 (2017-09-09) (TIFF)
  • January 19, 2018 (2018-01-19) (United States)
  • March 9, 2018 (2018-03-09) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 83 minutes[1]
Country
  • United Kingdom[2]
  • United States[2]
Language English
Box office $169,209[3][4]

Mom & Dad is a 2017 horror comedy film written and directed by Brian Taylor. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair. It premiered in the Midnight Madness section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.[5] The film was released on January 19, 2018, by Momentum Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The film begins with a mother putting on music for her child as she sets her car on railroad tracks and leaves said child in the car to die.

The Ryans are a family of four with a strained relationship. Brent, the father, does not approve of his daughter Carly's new boyfriend; Carly considers her mother, Kendall, out of touch. She also fights with her younger brother, Josh. She is forced to cancel plans with her boyfriend, Damon, because of her visiting grandparents.

As Carly is at school, an unexplained static starts transmitting through TV screens and radios. The effect is seen as the Ryans' housekeeper murders her own daughter in front of a terrified Josh and a mob of parents rushes to Carly's school in an effort to kill their children by any means they can (with Carly seeing one classmate being stabbed by his mother after he scales a fence to reach her). Carly escapes with her friend Riley and hides out at her house, where Riley's mom strangles Riley to death. Carly runs home in terror, running into Damon — who has killed his own father in self-defense. Damon tells Carly that the parents only want to kill their own kids, and accompanies her home to get Josh somewhere safe.

Kendall goes to the hospital to be present for her sister Jeannie's baby, but the static transmits just after Jeannie gives birth, causing her to attempt to kill her baby daughter as Kendall protects her niece. She escapes the hospital, seeing reports of the mass hysteria on television: the static gives parents a compulsion to slaughter their children. In an effort to protect her own children, Kendall heads home.

Upon seeing Carly at home with Damon, the hysteria overtakes Brent, and he knocks Damon out and attacks Carly. Kendall joins him upon getting home; Carly and Josh lock themselves in the basement. Brent and Kendall start using a power saw to get through the lock. Josh pulls out Brent's gun and fires continuously through the door, wounding his mother. Kendall and Brent bond over their shared desire to kill their children, and run a hose from their oven's gas pump to the basement in an effort to poison the kids. When Carly sees the gas, she rigs up a trap with matches at the door and hides with Josh in the ventilation system. Brent cuts the lock off and opens the door, igniting the gas and triggering an explosion that knocks both parents out and wakes Damon up.

Damon helps Carly and Josh evade their parents, but Kendall wakes up, stabs him in the cheek and knocks him out again. The parents close in on the kids, but are interrupted by the doorbell; Brent's parents have arrived for dinner. When he opens the door, his mother pepper sprays him and his father stabs him, revealing that the hysteria affects grandparents as well. Everyone chases each other through the house. Josh evades Brent, who attempts to hide from his father in the garage. Kendall chases Carly and hits her on the head, but Brent's mother attacks her.

Brent starts the car and crashes it, killing both his parents and knocking himself out. Kendall prepares to finish Carly off, but Damon knocks her out with a shovel.

Kendall and Brent wake up to find themselves restrained in the basement with Carly, Josh, and Damon watching them. They continue to exhibit symptoms of the hysteria, and the kids refuse to let them go. Kendall tearfully tells the children she loves them, and Brent continues, "But sometimes, we just want to—". The film ends before he can finish his sentence.

Cast

Production

On February 12, 2016, Nicolas Cage joined the cast of the film.[6] On June 22, 2016, Selma Blair joined the cast of the film.[7] Principal photography began in July 2016, and took place in Louisville, Kentucky.[6][8]

Release

The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017.[1] The film was released on January 19, 2018, by Momentum Pictures.[9]

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 116 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Mom and Dad's gonzo premise serves as an effective springboard for a wickedly dark, bloody comedy — and an appropriately over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage".[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Felperin, Leslie (September 11, 2017). "'Mom & Dad': Film Review | TIFF 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Mom and Dad (2017)". British Film Institute. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Mom and Dad". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "Mom and Dad (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Wilner, Norman (August 1, 2017). "TIFF 2017's Midnight Madness, documentary slates are announced". Now. NOW Communications. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Roxborough, Scott (February 12, 2016). "Berlin: Nicolas Cage Boards Horror Thriller 'Mom and Dad'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  7. 1 2 McNary, Dave (June 22, 2016). "Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair Starring in Thriller 'Mom and Dad'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  8. ↑ Kurwicki, Holden (August 4, 2016). "Stars, movie crews invade Louisville for 'Mom and Dad'". WHAS-TV. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  9. ↑ Romano, Nick (December 27, 2017). "Mom and Dad trailer: Nic Cage, Selma Blair could just murder their kids". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Mom and Dad (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Mom and Dad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.