Mother’s Day



A group of three, tight-nit, former college gal pals are celebrating their 10th annual “mystery weekend”, where one of the three picks a random getaway for all of them to go adventuring. This year is Jackie’s turn to pick, and she’s decided to take them all to Deep Barrens, a rural forested area somewhere in New Jersey. The ladies drink, camp, fish, and just clown around in general as they reminisce, all the while conveniently forgetting about the signs they passed informing them that the area is off limits. Sadly, it’s a warning they should have heeded, because unbeknownst to them they’re all being stalked by a pair of dim-witted brothers, who swiftly kidnap the trio with the intention of torturing, brutalizing and killing them, all for the enjoyment of their equally perverse mother.



Mother’s Day was on Sunday, and since this was the only “mother” related film I currently had on my watch-list I figured it was thematically appropriate to finally, you know, watch it. I didn’t know exactly what to expect going in, beyond knowing that it was initially banned in the UK upon release. But some of the reasoning behind banning some of those films during that “video nasty” period can feel rather arbitrary today, so that designation isn’t always as impressive as it sounds (Also, it was just outright banned – until 2015 – but never classified as a “video nasty”, weird…). But then I saw the Troma introduction and I suddenly had a much better idea of what I was in for. So basically, it’s exactly the cheesy Troma-quality level film that you’d expect from them, meaning that it’s not all that good. But (!), to my utter shock, it’s not all that bad either. Though at least in this instance I can see why the UK found it so unsavory.



The best way to describe the film is that it’s just…weird. It feels like a cheaper and more exploitative version of Deliverance or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, crossed with an equally cheap and exploitative version of a generic rural slasher. And since it was released by Troma and is also labeled as a “comedy”, you also know a lot of it is going to be cring-y as hell. And…. Well, that’s basically the movie: a bloody, exploitative, hicksploitation, revenge slasher that is trying to also be satirical, but oftentimes misses the mark. So you should probably expect to be highly offended by at least something in this movie, because that’s just par with the course for films like this. Though I will say they’re not nearly as bad in their offensiveness as something like Last House on the Left or I Spit On Your Grave. Those films seem particularly eager to torment the viewer and take pleasure in tormenting their young, innocent female victims, and though this film also torments its victims, it does not even come anywhere close to reaching that same level.


Okay, maybe it gets a little close to the same level.

But there are also some comedy and emotional parts thrown into the mix too, because I guess the filmmakers decided that the “kitchen sink” method was the way to go. So you have these comedy bits mixed in with these poignant emotional moments, and it’s all interspersed with the ladies being tormented and chased around the woods, almost making it feel like you’re watching two wildly different movies. Like I said, weird. And a little crazy. But by god they actually put effort into linking it all together and making this insanity work for them, so kudos to them for that I guess. It’s still undeniably weird, but I can at least appreciate their efforts.



Also, I see the movie is often labeled as a comedy or satire, but this is honestly the kind of film that walks that fine line of “was that intentional or not?” when it comes to how it deals with humor. The two hick sons are essentially real-life versions of cartoon villains with a particularly repulsive mean streak, and their mother really isn’t all that much better. They watch commercialized television, eat gobs of sugary cereal, and their house is filled with various cheap nick-knacks and TV merchandise, covering everything from sitcoms to Sesame Street (seeing the Sesame Street sheets on their bed after just raping a woman offer an especially creepy touch). So I can see how the filmmakers may be making a comment regarding over commercialization. They also “exercise” every day, which involves doing a lot of push-ups and various army-type drills involving knives and watermelons meant to practice their killing technique, all set to Rocky-esque training montage music. They spend unusual amounts of time arguing on whether punk or disco is better, and at least one person is killed by being suffocated by a large, plastic boob. It’s all absolutely ridiculous, but it’s also treated seriously enough that it’s really hard to tell what they were going for, especially after reading later that some of this lunacy was dead-ass meant to be taken seriously. So it’s probably just better to take in the movie for what it is, because if you overthink it you’re going to be very confused.


I mean, there’s plenty else to be confused about with this movie. You don’t need extra.

Now, what did I like about the film? Well, for starters, despite being a grab-bag of established horror ideas, it also does an excellent job of subverting your expectations. While the killers make a brief and bloody appearance at the beginning, most of the first third of the film is actually focused on the three friends. They’re not treated as just the disposable slaughter fodder you’d expect from an exploitation film. We actually get to learn about these people. We learn about their pasts, their current lives, and see them bond. Yes, all the talking and camping slows the pacing of the beginning of the movie down, but it also makes you care about these people. Which makes it all the more painful when they start getting brutalized.



And the movie even goes one step further by setting up your expectations with established character tropes and then completely crushing them. You’ve got the mousey girl, the out of work actor, and the wealthy model/socialite, and the film knows you’ve been conditioned to expect certain things from these people. Mainly that they shouldn’t be able to get along so well. So you’re expecting them to be kinda snip-y at each other, because that’s how these gals with such differing personalities are supposed to act. But no, beyond some light ribbing they’re all very loving and supportive of one another, which is surprisingly wholesome and just lovely to see. And you also expect the blond socialite who hosts drug-fueled pool parties to be kinda useless, but – surprise! – she’s the one who seems to have most of her shit together. She’s the one who knows how to prepare the fish they caught, she’s the one who devises an escape plan, she’s the one who bodily carries their wounded friend out of the house to try to save her, she’s the one who goes for help in the dead of night and evades her pursuer… Basically, this chick from a movie you likely haven’t heard of is an unassuming badass and one of the most competent “final gals” in cinematic history. Who knew? Even better? She does the whole thing while wearing sensible shoes. That’s right y’all, she’s wearing flats. Praise the filming gods! In fact, all three of these ladies (from this horror film, from the 80s, set in the woods) are all wearing appropriate footwear to go camping in. No flip-flops, no heals, just…regular, honest to god tennis shoes or sneakers. I don’t know about you, but I think seeing that in a film like this might be a first for me.


I was so ridiculously happy to see something like this, you can’t even imagine.

So, look, I’m not saying that Mother’s Day is great, or even really a hidden gem of some kind. Because it’s not. But it is shockingly better than the sum of its parts. It is offensive, yes. So if you’ve been avoiding films like Last House on the Left because of the subject matter then you’re probably going to want to avoid this one too, even if said subject matter isn’t nearly as graphic. But if you can overlook that, or you’re into exploitation films in general, then I think this one might surprise you. It looks and sounds better than you’d expect. Most of the dialogue doesn’t actually suck (Unless it’s meant to. Those boys have some…odd conversations). You actually get to know the ladies the film is about, and none of them make particularly stupid decisions (other than going camping in those woods). And it has a pretty entertaining climax and finale. There are a couple of pacing issues thrown in there, but once the film gets going those mostly go away. So if you’re looking for a new sleazy horror film to watch with some likable leads then feel free to give this film a whirl.

Mother’s Day is available on a variety of streaming services.

Mother’s Day is also available on DVD and Bluray.

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