Review of Mother's Day

Three imbeciles are running from the law after a bank robbery and head to the house where they used to live that is now occupied by Beth and Daniel Sohapi. A party comes to a sickening halt when the bank robbers crash the party and threaten everybody's lives when Mother demands to know where the hidden money is, giving out a few harsh lessons in the process. This is a nominal remake of the original. Considering I didn't care for the original, my expectations were minimal for this one. I ended up being pleasantly surprised with this suspenseful and brutal thriller. This one isn't just about vulgarity and shock value like Troma's Mother's Day, this one has many interesting subplots at play, ranging from the loss of a child, adultery, betrayal, fabrication, among other things. It is a much more well-rounded script and let me just say that it will hit you with all the tension and violence. We get a pool ball smashed on someone's hand a few times, nasty wounds from the result of a face bashing. We also get vicious stabbings, but the worst might just be a face that is blown off with a shotgun. The acting is very good. Everyone is flawed in some fashion and far better looking than the Troma version, since it is very modernized and not set in the woods. Rebecca De Mornay is chilling as Mother. What I loved about her character the most was the clever ambiguity. She's a polarizing figure that alternates between sweet and sadistic. It always kept me on my toes. Rebecca is no stranger to crazy roles. Jaime King is excellent as our heroine. Her vulnerability was just perfect and she was easy to root for. Frank Grillo is a bit of a scumbag, but he played his part well. Shawn Ashmore does the nice guy routine very well. Briana Evigan doesn't have as much to do, but she's solid. There is an "Are you kidding me" moment at around 85 minutes in, but the thing that knocked me on my ass the most was the ending. It was downright cruel, but extremely effective

Final Thoughts: This one has a mean streak like no other. You'll wince a few times, even if you're a huge horror fan like I am. I personally thought it was a solid movie and much better than the Troma version. Speaking of the Troma version, I'm gonna have to revisit that one. It's been quite a while

7.6/10