Mommy

Forget Blair Witch or the flavor of the month at the nearest artsy film festival. This is the definition of Independent. Shot on a shoestring in Muscatine, IA, this semi-sequel to The Bad Seed (Mommy is never named, but the parallel is obvious) is a character-driven study of a young girl discovering her perfect mother is just plain evil. The casting is clever, especially scream queen Brinke Stevens doing an about face as Mommy's "Plain-Jane" sister Beth. I highly recommend Max's novelisation, which fleshes out the back story. Also look for Max and his band playing at the dance.

I've seen a lot of people mostly bash Mommy because of the way it looks. It definitely has that cheap, shot on video feel that many films of this time had and, yes, I suppose that does hurt it to a certain extent, but when you have a script this amusing and a performance as campy as Patty McCormack's, you should be grateful.

Mommy is about, well, a mommy (McCormack) and her young daughter who are alone in the world after all of Mommy's husband have died under mysterious circumstances. That's not actually true. Mommy does have a sister played by b-movie scream queen Brinke Stevens who seems to know her sister isn't all there, but she doesn't appear to believe her insane behavior is anything to get too concerned about.

Things begin to escalate when Mommy kills a teacher who wouldn't give her daughter a student of the year award. Pretty soon, she's on a war path, taking out anyone who gets in her way.

Mommy is worth seeing for McCormack's performance alone. While there are, of course, shades of her iconic performance from The Bad Seed, there's also a little Kathleen Turner in Serial Mom by way of Jessica Walter in Arrested Development. It's truly something to see.

Pros: A thriller that is somewhat suitable for family viewing. Cons: Really amateurish in both concept & execution. Perfect Audience: Fans of cheapjack crime thrillers & Patty McCormack.

The Story: After her teacher is found dead in her classroom after having an argument with her tightly-wound & highly ambitious mother, Jessica Ann Sterling begins to believe that her mother could be a serial killer.

Max Allan Collins is a writer who specialises in true-life crime novels, TV shows & even trading cards. In the early 1990s he decided to become a filmmaker, taking the decision to adapt one of his short stories into a feature film. For the title role, he picked none other than Patty McCormack, the actress who as a young girl played eleven-year-old serial killer Rhoda Penmark in the 1956 classic The Bad Seed. Thirty-four years later & McCormack is back doing what she does best - playing somebody who is nice on the outside but a mean & ruthless mother on the inside.

Despite the amateurish nature of the production (if this was left in the hands of a much more professional & seasoned director, it would have been a minor classic), McCormack pretty much rules the show as the ruthlessly determined Mommy Sterling, conquering all before her with her sociopathic performance & Brinke Stevens, one of the classic 1980s Scream Queens & a capable actress herself, plays the counterpoint as McCormack's plain-Jane sister. While I had some doubts about the decision by Collins to give young Rachel Lemieux dialogue that is too advanced for somebody her age to handle (it makes her sound like a teenager or young adult) without losing credibility, the story is a fairly serviceable one & Collins succeeds in making an interestingly average thriller that is somehow also suitable for family viewing... Who would imagine something like that?

Violence & Gore: Some killings that are basic - teacher falls off a ladder, a janitor electrocuted, a shooting - without any gore being displayed.

Sexuality & Nudity: Nothing like that here.

Okay, there's some who will not like the shot-on-video style that makes this aesthetically seem like a daytime soap, but having watched the similarly done BBC series Thriller, I actually like it for it gives the film a bit more down-to-earth quality and less Hollywood slickness.

The players are adequate, including Patty McCormick, but the real shining star is the young girl portraying Jessica Ann. The quality of her stellar performance reminds me of, say, Patty McC back in the original Bad Seed. All others are fine, with the exception of the fellow playing the rumpled detective, who really just is overboard.

Brinke Stevens is exceptionally lovely in her staid appearance and gives new meaning to the really hot 'plain jane'. Too bad she wasn't a librarian as well.

The story is pretty much what you'd expect and without surprises, well-paced however and still fun to watch. The budget limitations would have left a less resourceful cast and crew with a miserable effort, but they all come through here to present a pleasing diversion, yet that is all it is, an entertaining diversion. Don't make too much effort to get it, but if you find it and not for too much, then it's a good spend.

This movie had the whole Alfred Hitchcock feel to it! Usually I prefer the extremely gory, offensive horror movies. The reason I bought this movie was because I am a huge fan of Brinke Stevens. I actually ended up liking this. Also, brinke did a good job as the goody-goody Aunt Beth. Although, it was weird seeing brinke playing a goody-goody role. It was quite a change of pace for her. Also, they had alot of foreshadowing in this film which I liked. I also liked the way they shot it. It was shot on video, but still a bit of professionalism that you don't see in a lot of shot on video movies these days. All in all, I give it a 8. It's suspenseful and atmospheric. Quite enjoyable.