'Mom And Dad' A Review

Mom And Dad is an absurdist horror/thriller about a nameless affliction that strikes parents, instilling in them an insidious desire for murdering their own children. The film opens on nuclear family the Ryans- doting and doughy dad Brent(Nicolas Cage), out of touch somewhat up tight mom Kendall(Selma Blair), angsty teen Carly(Anne Winters), and precocious youngest Josh(Zackary Arthur). They go about their normal weekday routine but half way through Brent and Kendall are struck with a homicidal rage and converge at their home to bring the progeny down.

Cage puts in one of his better performances in recent years, he hasn't lost a step but the story here is actually decent allowing him to go off the leash a bit but also provide some pathos. In a flashback he has a monologue after destroying a pool table that is surprisingly poignant. Blair also has a good turn walking the line of commitment and over-the-top humor with ease. Neither of these exceptional actors are particularly challenged but they are having fun and the text and subtext are interesting enough for them to stretch a bit beyond the unjust B or C list to which they've been relegated.

The film has a sharp and saturated frenetic momentum, lurching from scene to scene, confrontation to confrontation, with almost casual explosions of violence. There is a comment both about middle-aged ennui and modern-day parenting within the blood and gore but its not particularly clear in the streamlined 80 minute run time. Mom And Dad has a bizarre and propulsive violent charm about it. Maybe not entirely successful but intriguing.

Rent It.