User Reviews

This isn't a straight remake of Charles Kaufman's 1980 cult favorite Mother's Day. Bousman & his Co. what did here is sometimes what we can regard as "re-imagining" an idea or plot. The premise and even the characters are almost significantly different here as the redneck family in the woods replaced by an extended family of criminals under the influence of a psycho-Mom and instead of having just 2 boys, this time mommy dearest got three sons and a daughter! So it all started when after a bank robbery gone wrong, three brothers on the run from the law head for home, not knowing that their mother has already been evicted from the house. The new owners and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' accidental hostages. As one of the brothers is already wounded; one of the hostages, a doctor, he is forced to treat him. And later the brothers' mother, the cold blooded gang leader, and their sister arrive. The way Bousman's version quickly set off to unfold the whole scenario I really started to appreciate & like the film as it progress with good pace & violence. But then, probably after the first-third or half, to make more than an 1 & half hour long film out of a hardly 60 minute story line, it really becomes an excuse to pit the hostages against one another. Forcing them to fight among themselves under imposed scenarios along the lines like "we will kill you both unless one of you kills the other first" not only grows tedious within the confines of the film, but it reminds that even when Mr. Bousman already left the SAW franchise, the tired Jigsaw twisty-tricks are still, intentionally or not, pretty much alive on his mind with the same old question..."what would you do or how far you would go to survive?" Thus, although having a fine premise & cast, it becomes bit annoying in few funny & stupid moments. And last but not the least, the ending! And that was the major disappointment. Overall, only considering the gore, violence & the pace of the film it was fairly entertaining. Worth a watch.

The first half of "Mother's Day" was not particularly successful, and yet I could see the potential for a compelling crime drama in which human nature is put under a microscope for close examination. The second half was a catastrophe, director Darren Lynn Bousman and screenwriter Scott Milam allowing it to devolve into a sadistic bloodbath. At that point, it becomes just another faceless slasher film, its potential tossed aside in favor of cruelty, elaborate death scenes, and cheap gore effects. Clearly, they entrusted this film to the wrong director, whose familiarity with the horror genre has thus far done him no favors. I eagerly await the return of the Darren Lynn Bousman who helmed "Repo! The Genetic Opera," the audacious and delightfully campy musical film about organ repossession.

Essentially an in-name-only remake of Charles Kaufman's 1980 horror film, "Mother's Day" begins with a brief prologue sequence in which an anonymous woman dressed in a nurse's uniform infiltrates a hospital and steals a baby from the maternity ward. She escaped only because a man in scrubs, presumably another member of her family, was there to graphically stab the security guard in the neck. We then flash forward to the present day – or, more accurately, to 2010, the year this movie was intended to be released in theaters before being pushed back numerous times (and will now be seen in three cities for a grand total of four days before being released on DVD). That's when we meet three brothers on the run from the law after a bank robbery gone wrong, the youngest brother, Johnny (Matt O'Leary), having been shot and their accomplice having fled with all the cash.

They're hoping that their mother can provide them with safe haven until a getaway can be arranged. But when they return to her house in a neighborhood of Wichita, they discover new furniture and all her possessions gone. They don't yet know that the house was lost in a foreclosure and that she now lives in an RV. The new owners are Beth and Daniel Sohapi (Jaime King and Frank Grillo); they're being joined by six guests as they celebrate a birthday in the basement. It isn't long before they become aware of the break-in and become hostages. This is the point at which their mother (Rebecca De Mornay) finally enters the picture and takes full control of the situation. She's a bizarre combination of a polite domestic, a firm disciplinarian, a fierce protector, and a homicidal maniac. She will repeatedly state rules to both her children and the hostages, and she will punish anyone who gets out of line.

Getting her sons across the border will require money. Her boys explain that they slowly mailed her $1,000 in cash. She obviously never got it, seeing as they didn't know about the foreclosure. This means, then, that Beth and Daniel have been receiving it. They both claim to not know what she's talking about. Mother orders everyone to hand over their debit cards and to write down their PIN numbers. She then instructs her son, Ike (Patrick Flueger), to take Beth to an ATM and have her withdraw everyone's money. As they go off into town, Mother searches the house for any trace of the money, which she believes Daniel is hiding. She will also employ physical and psychological manipulation in the hopes of extracting information. In the meantime, a party guest named George (Shawn Ashmore), who claims to be a doctor, is forced into treating Johnny's bullet wound. He eventually meets Mother's daughter, Lydia (Deborah Ann Woll), and tries to make her see that she has been controlled through a series of lies.

The idea of a desperate situation revealing a person's true colors is indeed a good one. The first half of the film shows promise in that regard, the hostages slowly exposed as being less than authentic. Unfortunately, the filmmakers push for contrivances that could have been transplanted from the plot of just about every soap opera ever made. Ultimately, we're left with very few characters that are even remotely likable. Not that characterization matters in the long run; the second half of the film, which begins when Mother promises Johnny that he will not die a virgin, deteriorates into a nihilistic, random, and needlessly violent series of death scenes. They don't quite add up to a full-blown gore fest, although specific shots come pretty darn close.

A final revelation, which actually does little to endear Beth to the audience, paves the way for an ending that amounts to little more than overkill. That overkill even factors into the equation can only be attributed to a failure to adequately follow through on several subplots. Had all the loose ends been tied up, perhaps then we would have had a more appropriate ending, one that doesn't rely on manufactured and implausible thrills. In the hands of a different writer and director, "Mother's Day" could have worked as a humanistic crime drama. Alas, it was handed to filmmakers who care more about carnage than genuine fright. How this movie managed a four-day theatrical run, I'll never be able to figure out. Certain films aren't worthy of being projected on a big screen, even if only for a limited time.

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

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

This movie has a lot of people that I knew from other movies which automatically earned it one star, and it did keep me semi-invested for the entire picture which is what earned it a second star. HOWEVER, this movie is utterly ridiculous through and through. There were SO many opportunities for the "victims" to get the upper hand! It was frustrating for no reason! The youngest thief should have succumb to his injuries 5 minutes into the movie NOT lasted through the whole thing and back healthy again at the end! Beth was an idiot who didn't learn from her first mistake where she knocked the thief over the head and failed to grab the gun which resulted in her being recaptured. No, she did the exact same thing with mommy dearest and of course she lived and ended up causing more trouble, EVEN UP TO THE VERY END! The thief girl was stupid, useless, and served absolutely NO POINT to furthering the plot. These thieves LITERALLY SNUCK AWAY FROM THE POLICE IN A TATTERED OLD WINNEBAGO! AND WHAT HAPPENED TO TERRY, Gina's husband?! Beth's husband was a coward who NEVER redeemed himself. The movie could've been over within 45 minutes if the captured group collectively had one single brain cell to share between the lot of them. SORELY DISAPPOINTED, but it did keep my interest the whole time so that's something I guess.

Oh! what can I say other then this well No Doubt It was a great Movie I jumped a lot while watching it.I didn't know that Its the Remake of the Original Movie which I didn't hear of well the thing is that It is a Master piece for sure I loved the Story line.For me the Story line is very important & then the soul of the Movie is Rebecca De Mornay because she is so unbelievably hot so dam hot & beautiful lady that I cant put in words, she made me fell in love with her. The way she talk the way she has shown her Power in the Movie, Its so dam hot and so cool. All the other Characters are well as well but I Loved Rebecca De Mornay the Most Its a Great Movie. You must watch it.Seriously, It will blow your mind and you'll end loving Rebecca De Mornay as she is so dam cool Mother of 2011 for sure.I Give 09/10 to this Movie