The Mother

I never noticed this flick not even by it's other name Baby Blues but a friend in the UK told me that it was worth watching. Well, in fact it was. So called based on true events this flick surely isn't for the weak at heart. Not that it is gory or that bloody but it concerns children. In the seventies it was common to shoot children or give them a good beating in films. Today's standards don't allow that kind of cinema anymore. But still some directors aren't afraid to show a child being slaughtered. Lars Jacobson, the director did a good job, this being his first effort. The way he used some shots were nicely done. It all involves a woman who has to take care of her children. Her husband is always on the road so she has to do it in fact on her own, but she can't take it. Slowly she turns into hatred towards her offspring. One evening at dinner she goes bonkers and things go heavenly wrong. What a great performance from Colleen Porch (Transformers, Starship Troopers 2) but also from the young ones. A flick overlooks from the geeks but worth a look.

I picked this up cheap on DVD, under the title Cradle Will Fall, yet the credits on the movie read Baby Blues. Why do they do that?? Just keep it the same! As with so many of these budget purchases I go in with low expectations, however Baby Blues proved to be fairly decent. Inspired by true events, a mother of four young kids suffers with postpartum and while the father is away in his truck she flips and embarks on a bloody killing spree. In true slasher movie style. It's very disturbing and graphic, the sight of a mother butchering her children is not easy to stomach. The rural location adds to the helplessness of the children's situation, there's a creepy scarecrow and corn fields (a nod to Children of the Corn?). Acting is decent, in particular Ridge Canipe as 10 year old Jimmy. I do pass on many of my DVDs after I've watched them but I may just hang on to this one and revisit it again in the future.

This film may remind The Night of the Hunter, not only because of the same theme of a kid fighting an adult and trying to protect siblings, but also for the quality of suspense, directing and acting.

There are differences. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is a dangerous fanatic, who is after money. He is full of hate, but not completely insane. So, Colleen Porch, excellent as the mother affected by baby blues, is more to compare to Jack Torrance in The Shining, or the woman in À L'Intérieur (Inside). You can feel the same progression of their tormented mind until the irreversible point where schizophrenia takes over and they plunge into madness.

The frightening atmosphere and violence of Haute Tension (High Tension) is also there. Corn fields at night have been used in many films, and here again in a scary chase. There are in fact, many individual elements that have been seen elsewhere, such as Mom breaking the door with a chopper, similar to Jack using an axe in The Shining, and more that I will let you identify easily. But it would be a mistake to think that the director/writer has just stolen ideas from other films of this category. He has made a terrific job, because more than in many of these films, the story is actually believable. It says during the opening that it is based on actual events. It is possible, even if it cannot be the exact story as shown in the film.

For all those who enjoyed the masterpieces of terror that I mentioned, and to which it can be compared, I strongly suggest to watch it.

Amazing horror film a must watch dark and scary i truly love this film

On a secluded family farm(huge props to the location scout), a mother(Porch, handling both the sympathetic aspects and the one line delivering attempts at creating a genre icon, a la Jason Voorhees) snaps and becomes violent towards her four youngsters. Her husband is a long-distance trucker, and won't be home for many hours. It is up to their oldest, 13-year old Jimmy(Canipe, getting across how resourceful he is, whilst still being a kid. He's a much better child actor than anyone should expect from someone his age) to save their lives.

Considering the fact that this is actually straight to video, it is wild how well made this is. The cinematography and editing are efficient and chilling. You see some of the auditory and visual hallucinations brought on by schizophrenia and postpartum psychosis(not "merely" depression, despite the title), that Mom is experiencing. The music is ominous. This is tense, suspenseful and creepy. A significant chunk of this is the chase, and despite its short length - even if you include the end credits it's only an hour and 14 minutes(!) - it has more of that, than a number of movies that are significantly longer.

The horror genre tends to explore basically any taboo that standards of good taste will allow them. The death of little ones remains one of the few that a lot of films will leave entirely untouched. So when this crosses that boundary early, and threatens to do it multiple times, and by the hands of a parent, a *mum*, obviously it's something that's going to attract attention. Wisely, this doesn't tend to show a lot of violence and gore when it comes to those victims. Even so, this is tremendously exploitative. And the ending sends that into the stratosphere. You may want to stop watching not long before it actually concludes - trust me, you'll know when.

I recommend this solely to those who feel strong anxiety about the idea of someone murdering their own offspring, and believe that this picture could help them work through that. My rating is based on the talent that went into making this, and does not reflect how messed up I think it is to make a slasher flick out of this concept. 8/10.