Carly (Anne Winters) and Josh (Zackary Arthur) live a relatively normal life in their suburban home. They argue with one another, find their parents--Kendall (Selma Blair) and Brent (Nicolas Cage)--terribly annoying and struggle with accepting the world for what it is, unfair. However, when an inexplicable phenomenon, where parents suddenly get the urge to brutally murder their children, strikes their neighborhood, Carly and Josh’s lifes are swiftly turned upside down. As Mom and Dad attack, Carly and Josh begin to question their realities and what is truly important. Will the brother and sister be able to survive the veritable Hell thrust upon them, or will they become two more victims of Mom and Dad?
In one of the most twisted and generally fucked up films I’ve seen in a long time, Mom and Dad presents audiences with a truly demented showing of the manifestation of a parent’s hate toward children. I’m not a parent, so, I’m not entirely sure that I can speak to this honestly, however, I have to imagine that from time to time parents become so frustrated with their children that they find themselves disliking their offspring, even if just temporarily. Writer-director Brian Taylor presents audiences with the most bizarre example of what happens when parents get tired of their children, they go crazy and murder them.
Many audiences might find Mom & Dad to be incredibly distasteful, and honestly, it might be, but the sophistication of presenting to audiences an extreme version of the mental status of parents in the form of murder and maiming, is quite appealing. Being able to deliver such exhaustingly brutal scenes depicting parents doing whatever they can to destroy their children, while extreme, sums up the inner demons and pain that human beings experience from time to time without ever acting on it. There’s more to Mom and Dad than blood and gore, Taylor finds the sweet spot between visually appealing and psychologically enthralling. The blood-soaked nature of everything taking place throughout the film is met with an equal vigor in the form of a psychological awakening. The borderline psychotic comparisons that audiences are able to make between themselves and the characters in the film open their eyes to the reality of the world in which they live, while continuing to entertain in the form of an action/horror film.
This review may sound crazy, and it may even sound like I’m advocating for parents who murder their children. Please understand that this is not the case. However, I think it needs to be understood that the ability of Taylor to meticulously destroy the family dynamic in just an hour and twenty minutes speaks to his ability to envision and develop a story that reaches beyond the surface and deep into the depths of viewers’ minds and hearts.
The darkness of the story, while being a bit far fetched, is actually quite terrifying. Taylor presents audiences with a scenario in which mass panic consumes a suburban town and the people whom you are meant to confide in and trust with your life want nothing more than to see you dead. Mulling a similar scenario over in my head began to stress me out, and I immediately began to understand how debilitating a similar set of circumstances might be. Mom and Dad delivers endless action, heart wrenchingly horrific acts of violence and a psychological kick in the pants that I think a lot of people need.
Written & Directed by Brian Taylor. Starring Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Zackary Arthur, Robert. T. Cunningham, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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