Mom and Dad stars Selma Blair and Nicholas Cage as the titular characters that find themselves caught up in an unexplained phenomenon where the natural bond between a parent and child has somehow been twisted to compel the parents to want to kill their children. It is a deliciously demented horror film that references greats like George Romero and John Carpenter and begins with a 1970s style credit sequence.
Mom and Dad is a cinematic moment of wish fulfillment for both sides: to openly express hostility and frustration over unmet expectations of the Hallmark image of parenthood. Without parents’ emotions and hormones, parents who honestly assessed their life before and after kids may be forced to admit that life was better without them. Kids can act like jerks and rest comfortably in the knowledge that most parents won’t react as harshly as they would if someone who wasn’t his or her kid acted similarly. It also openly confronts the hidden abuse that occurs behind closed doors that parents inflict on their children, but is acceptable by society because it does not go over a certain line. A child can understand that a parent is harmful, but it does not mean that a child will not still feel drawn to the parent. The fictional news reports in the movie are not that different from real life.
Mom and Dad cuts the brakes and lets things spiral out of control as far as it can with the premise for an American movie. Let’s face it, Cage going crazy is a long walk on a short pier. He is a maniac. Blair is a revelation and really steals the show. She was a teen movie star, and now she is playing someone’s mom. She perfectly nails the transition from concerned, horrified mom to calm woman in charge with the naughty streak who decides to treat herself, kill the kids and accidentally forgets her other responsibilities. The parents have never had such a good date night. Normally kids in movies annoy me, and initially their son’s story was frustrating, but expertly timed flashbacks reveal that he may be a pain in the ass, and that could be a good thing. The flashbacks add texture to the story to show the origins of some historical frustrations and make characters’ insane choices seem as rational as possible.
With the exception of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, I usually despise fast zombies. It doesn’t make sense that a dead body would move like Flo Jo as a body decays if the person wasn’t a track star in real life. Even though the parents are alive and still functioning normally except for the homicidal tendencies, Mom and Dad was as close as I think movies can plausibly get to fast zombies and provides a sinister twist on hovering parents. The scene at the hospital nursery was a little too close to real life considering crime statistics. As a fan of movies like The Signal (2007), I don’t mind that we never get a clear explanation of the cause. The generational confrontation at the end was a brilliant bit of casting, but the actual end was like putting an arm through a lion’s cage.
If I had to quibble about Mom and Dad, it pulled its punches when the titular characters finally get to inflict damage. The blows did not fall on their kids, and the person should have died 8,000 times. I get why the kids feel weird about leaving home, but you don’t know these people, and you did your best. Run!
Mom and Dad is a perfect societal horror film about the daily nightmare of sacrificing everything for very little return and having no productive way to rectify the situation or reclaim what has been lost. I didn’t want it to end. I highly recommend it unless you can’t stand seeing fictional depictions of violence against children.