Review by
Ren Zelen
Directed by: Brian Taylor
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Robert T.
Cunningham, Zackary Arthur, Lance Henriksen
"We love you more than anything in the world, but sometimes…
we…just…want…to…KILL YOU!"
Mom and Dad ends on that sentiment from exasperated father
Brent Ryan (Nicolas Cage), leaving the audience to fill in the
missing last words. By the end of the film, what those words might be will
be obvious.
Mom and Dad is the new feature written and directed by
Brian Taylor (Crank and
Crank: High Voltage). It proves to be a kinetic, pitch-black horror-comedy - a gleefully
wicked story propelled by some crazed characters.
Brent (Cage) and his wife Kendall (Selma Blair) are parents to
pretty but unruly high school sophomore Carly (Anne Winters) and
untidy, careless, mischievous nine-year-old Joshua (Zachary Arthur).
Carly is becoming a nightmare teen - constantly glued to her phone, lashing
out spitefully at her parents, stealing money from her mother's purse and
sneaking out to meet with her boyfriend Damon (Robert T. Cunningham),
who is a year older - and black.
The Ryans have a "nice" house and a "nice" life, but tension, resentment
and regret bubble dangerously close to the surface. Kendall, who sacrificed
a good job to stay at home and be a mom, is told by her former boss that she
has missed the boat when it comes to re-entering her career, so she spends
her days drifting aimlessly to gym classes and having coffee with the other
frustrated moms.
Trying to reconnect with her daughter, Kendall is deeply hurt as Carly
snaps angrily at her that it's not HER fault that her mom has "no life" -
showing the common self-centeredness of teens who assume their parents had
no satisfying previous existence.
Dad Brent spends his days falling asleep in his office while watching porn
on his computer. He is also prone to flashbacks to his young, wild days,
when he would do high-speed donuts in his Trans Am holding a topless
girlfriend on his lap.
As their kids have grown older, Brent and Kendall have come to realise that
parenthood was not what they expected it to be. Having a family seemed like
an inevitable development in their lives, but as time goes on, along with
most parents, they begin to wonder where their own identities have gone, and
whether things could have been different…if only…
Parents occasionally get exasperated and angry with their kids, who know
just how to push those buttons in their moms and dads. This is not an
unusual situation when individuals live closely together and share emotional
ties. However, families repress their worst feelings and parents can control
their temper. The overriding instinct of all parents is to protect their
children from harm, no matter what.
But - what if some outside influence suddenly reversed those conflicting
emotions? What if some unexplained phenomenon - a virus, chemical warfare,
subliminal messages or whatever - suddenly broke down that self-control and
caused all those placid moms and dads to give way to an insane desire to
"dispose of" their children?
Once you get past that shocking premise, it's a pretty interesting idea for
a horror movie, albeit one mixed with a certain sense of absurdity.
The first sign of strangeness in Mom and Dad is when parents
begin to gather outside the local schools early, unusually eager to pick up
their kids. Teachers have had a vague warning of something odd happening and
when they keep the kids back in the playground, things get out of hand very
quickly and the mayhem begins.
Parents are single-mindedly (and murderously) intent on their own kids,
happily giving a commonplace greeting and a cheery wave to the children of
other folks.
Soon (perhaps to make this universal madness personal) director Taylor
confines the action to the Ryan household. Mom and Dad proves
to be the perfect vehicle for another of Nic Cage's infamous unhinged, manic
turns. He has scope to give it full rein in his portrayal of an
underachieving, unappreciated, suburban dad. If there's a weakness in the
set-up, it's that Cage's Brent is pretty close to "losing his marbles"
before the general mania even takes hold - but then he can go all-out nuts.
As Kendall, the underrated Blair displays the occasional glimmer of softness
and humanity, albeit for nefarious purposes, while Cage goes for a broader
take.
The story develops at a ripping pace and director Taylor and the principal
players appear to have a lot of fun with the disturbing premise and the
savage lunacy. Despite their violent inclinations, we never really doubt
that these parents still love their kids in some bizarrely distorted
way.
Then, just when we think things can't get any wilder or weirder - the
grandparents arrive for dinner…
Mom and Dad is on Netflix UK/ROI
now.