Filed under: Horror, Cinematical, Festivals
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In 1980, Troma pictures released a little maternal bloodbath entitled ‘Mother’s Day’. If you aren’t familiar with Troma, they are a trashy, bargain-basement house of schlock that despite itself has managed to amass quite a cult following. ‘Mother’s Day’ is incidentally an apt display of Troma’s core values. It’s a dirty rape-revenge tale that makes inept attempts at black comedy.
As much as the word remake is often synonymous with potential disaster or total insult, especially with horror fans,* ‘Mother’s Day’* is a mouthpiece for why remakes as a concept should exist. There is a half-way interesting story at the heart of the 1980 original – two boys so desperate to earn their mother’s love that they take turns brutalizing innocent women in attempt to sadistically one-up each other – but the execution leaves much to be desired. Enter Darren Bousman(‘Repo: The Genetic Opera’, ‘Saw II-IV’).
This year’s revamping of 'Mother’s Day’ is a solid piece of filmmaking. Though that may seem like tepid praise, this film is already starting to garner a reputation for being divisive. The scourge of hyperbole is already labeling it the “worst of the festival.” This is of course a diluted insult considering it premiered on day one, but the knee-jerks must have their say. That’s not to say that this review is in any way intended to champion a brow-beaten film; on the contrary I have problems with ‘Mother’s Day’. It’s not the best, but overall it is a slick, gory, and ultimately satisfying horror remake.