Mom and Dad

If I had such brats at home, I would also kill them one day. Unfortunately, Nicolas Cage is doing a lot of overacting here. His character is way more deranged than necessary. I was somewhat looking forward to his interaction with Lance Henriksen, but it seems there was not much to expect. When you have the feeling the film is finally rolling, the ending credits appear all of a sudden. And to top it all, there’s not a hint of humour. Weak. (06/20/2018)

January is classically dead for horror movies and this new release, with Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair, doesn't impress much either. The idea is great, but very underutilized. All of a sudden the parents want to kill their children and an epidemic breaks out. Unfortunately the murders are out of frame, so once again a horror film without blood, which is a big thumbs down. The film also didn't have much humour and Cage overacted tragically, it's amazing how a once excellent actor has now fallen to an absolute acting low. Fortunately the film doesn't get significantly boring somehow and there is the occasional thrilling scene, but otherwise it’s pretty pointless for me. 55% (01/21/2018)

A brutal satire on family relationships, as a new variant of Covid forces parents to kill their children. The black-humored story, with a madcap Cage and a terrifying Selma Blair, works perfectly, not least because the children are killed off-screen. The upbeat electronic soundtrack also helps a lot. A suspenseful bloodbath with a nice final twist where parents cheer for parents and the childless cheer for children. (05/02/2023)

Not even Edgar Wright would have the balls to make this! An anarchistic, anti-family black comedy along the lines of Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead where it’s not zombies doing the massacring, but parents – of their own children. And the kids must save themselves from their crazy moms and dads while we root for them! Mom and Dad is an American suburban satire serving as a kind of wish-fulfilment for exhausted parents (sorry, kids!). The highly effective soundtrack mostly consist of modern ambient electronic music, but occasionally comes across as a parody of Spielbergian family musical motifs. Plus there are some wonderful editing tricks. A silly, but perfectly executed and courageous movie! [Sitges FF] (10/07/2017)

The film that best describes the mature stage of Nicolas Cage’s acting: over-the-top, inadequate to higher filmmaking standards, but somehow perversely amusing and relentless. Many of you will agree with the statement that kids are annoying pricks, but who would have thought that the fight against them can reach such filmmaking extremes; though unfortunately, only when it comes to the premise, because the creators are afraid of violence and real audience joy is provided only by the performances of Selma Blair and Nicolas (and for a moment also Lance Henriksen, who was born for the role of Cage’s father) and the properly absurd hunt for the two brats in a closed house with all kinds of tools. If Taylor hadn’t ruined the last part with those pointless flashbacks and had pushed the envelope further, this could have been a lot more fun. 55% (01/22/2019)