Mom and Dad

Nicolas Cage, the legend that he is, smashes a pool table (that he just built) with a sledgehammer whilst excitedly singing the "Hokey Pokey", before shouting how his life has been a total ruin since he had kids. Just let that wondrous imagery sink into your mind for a little bit. Initially I thought this would be horrendously bad. Surprisingly, I rather enjoyed this...possibly too much. Mass hysteria arises within a suburban community, forcing parents to murder their own children. If you find it distasteful, don't watch it. Nobody is forcing you. It's a satirical horror comedy that is not to be taken seriously. For those of you that actually have a sense of humour, may I present to you one of the best modern horror comedies I've seen in quite some time. Parenting is a challenge, and I'm sure occasionally it builds up some anger through all the frustrations of adult life. This film illustrates the unleashing of that inner aggression, with an adequate balance of tension and humour. The final line of dialogue surmises the premise perfectly. "Kids, we love you...but sometimes we just want to...!". Smartly written and intelligently executed, with enough energy that it's as if it consumed a litre of isotonic fluid. Cage was absolutely perfect for this role. Guys, this could be the comeback we've been waiting for! Why was he so good? Initiate "Cage Rage". He. Went. Bonkers. Suggestively licking a can of drink. "Sawzall saws...all!". Eloquently discussing about anal beads and dildos. And even falling asleep whilst watching porn. Father of the year, indefinitely. Cage produces the humour, Blair provides the menace. Excellent combination! The editing is where it unfortunately takes a turn for the worse. Haphazard, disjointed and quite frankly all over the place. Several scenes of frantic action had too many quick cuts which made the experience slightly headache inducing. Also the abrupt ending may leave some underwhelmed (including myself), although the lack of explanation is much appreciated. Still, an incredibly entertaining flick.

"I mean, I used to be Brent... and you used to be Kendall... and now we're just... Mom and Dad."

I'm sure some parents will experience it in their life. The moment you get a bit tired of your offspring. That you would love to put them on a rocket and shoot them to the moon, so that you get a little bit of time and space. Even though your love for your children is unconditional and sincere. This moment will only last a few seconds with normal parents before they look back at their kids lovingly and realize they can't live without them. Not here in "Mom and Dad". Here you'll see parents in a small American town, who suddenly turn into murderous psychopaths with only one goal. And that's killing their lovely children.

The cause of this parental hysteria is not entirely clear. Is it, like in "Cell", an electronic pulse that triggers their behavior? Or is it a mutated virus? Don't expect an explanation. In any case, it causes mothers to leave a little baby in the car which is parked on a railroad crossing. Or a big fat family man swinging around with a bloody baseball bat. And a bunch of fleeing students who are being tackled en masse by crazy parents. The movie isn't exactly horrifying or scary. Only the scene with the newborn baby gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

It feels like a typical zombie movie with parents walking around with a glassy look. The only difference is that they only have an eye for their own children and don't have the urge to chase every panicking teenager. "Mom and dad" is complete madness and highly entertaining. Nicolas Cage shines as the father who thinks he's a complete failure. His dreams didn't come true and his career isn't that what he had imagined. The same applies to his wife played by Selma Blair. A bitter-toned, exhausted mother who can't accept that her daughter doesn't show any affection anymore for her. She has been exchanged for weed smoking girlfriends and the omnipresent social media. Their frustrations become obvious during the pool table scene, where they pour their guts out.

It's been a long time ago since I've enjoyed total craziness which Cage can play as one of the best. In "Arsenal" he showed a crazy "Tony Clifton" type whose tirades were brilliantly played ans at the same time felt exaggerated. However, the disturbing hysteria and raging frenzy he shows here, exceeds this effortlessly. In a convincing way he shows that frightening look and pure anger. It's as if complete madness has taken over. I admit, It's also overly exaggerated. But that makes it humorous sometimes. The grandparents' moment was an ingenious idea and caused the story to take a different direction. Do you like a horror comedy with a slightly macabre atmosphere? Well, that means this movie is right up your alley.

When I first watched the trailer, I thought this would be a pretty brainless movie. Given the premise, I thought I'd enjoy a couple of violent shenanigans and feel content with simply that. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad fail to deliver any ending, which leaves even the most uncomplicated movie a confusing mess.

The strong start really leaves you excited for the rest of the movie, showcasing this strange parent uprising pretty damn well for the first few minutes of the movie. This ultimately falls short when the scope of this apocalypse is condensed into one single family.

Admittedly, that would have been a fine idea - but at the end of the movie, I felt like I wanted more. With such an original concept, you'd imagine that they'd have more scenes that portrayed this apocalypse outside the breadth of the single family. Unfortunately, they failed to deliver anything substantial.

Even when the setting was shifted to the one family, I felt more engaged pointing out the plot holes than I did actually enjoying the film. Even though this movie is supposed to be nothing more than a murderous blur, I didn't really feel invested with the movie as it went along.

In other words, it became predictable as it went along.

The only thing that gave me hope was the ending. I was really excited to see how they would wrap this one up. They even hinted at things throughout the plot, like the television static and the unusual ringing. But this was to no avail.

At the end of the movie, I felt disappointed. I came in wanting some mindless, original savagery. What I got was a somewhat intriguing killing spree affixed to an incredibly underwhelming plot, which left much more to be desired.

The film is a fun concept turning the baseless mumblings of frustrated parents who want to "kill their kids" into a dark horror comedy thriller that brings that often off-the-cuff thought into a warped reality.

That concept, which no doubt all parents can associate with feeling, albeit without any true meaning or intent, blends itself with the ideas of zombie films. and films such as The Crazies, then adds a little bit of the high paced insanity that you will know about if you've seen Brian Taylor's previous work.

The main characters are well written and setup so that you start to have a dislike for some of the teenagers, and grow an affinity with the adults and the frustrations of their adult lives. It's acted well for the most part, and Nic Cage brings his usual own flavour of insanity to the proceedings.

It certainly won't be to everyone's tastes, as other reviews here show, and some people won't be able to get past the unrealistic nature, and the way it's portrayed, but ultimately, it's a fun film, with an interesting concept.

Unfortunately, despite the story, pace and events building up nicely, and keeping you involved, the film is flawed in its lack of explanation or reasoning for this sudden event of mass parent-vs-child violence, along with a rather disappointing lack of conclusion leaving an overall feeling of disappointment at what had the potential to be a good original film; something that is difficult to come by in this age of reboots, remakes and sequels.

My favourite 2017 midnight madness film.

Colourful characters, crazy plot, stylized violence.

Typical late night slasher flare. Nicholas cage is back to the wild crazed character type he played so well in "Raising Arizona".

I think actors like taking a break from heavy acting to do an occasionally zany role like this in the presence of a raucous midnight screening audience.

Thanks for coming Nick and Selma.

It was a lot of fun.