Mother's Day (USA, 2010) - Color, Director(s): Darren Lynn Bousman
MPAA Rating: R
[UK: 18]
Approx. 112 min.
Z-rating: 4 stars out of 5
Cheese Factor: 1 stars out of 5
I was really surprised they remade this movie, seeing as the original was a rape and revenge exploitation film released under the Troma banner (Directed by Charles Kaufman, brother of Lloyd Kaufman!). I didn't realize a movie like this would even be on the remake radar, but then again, what isn't these days? The new story is in the vein of home invasion movies like The Strangers and not only is this a serious remake, they even included a few references to the original (They mention "Queenie"!). Three brothers who return to their home/hideout after a botched bank robbery find it inhabited by new owners. Realizing their mistake, they immediately begin crowd control as the new owners had guests over to celebrate a birthday and stay safe during a tornado. They're able to reach their mother, who rushes over to help with their escape. Mother promises that they'll leave once they have an opportunity and nobody will be hurt as long as they cooperate.
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| Should've saved everyone with your Iceman powers Bobby! Or at least gone Animorphs on their ass... |
Rebecca De Mornay plays "Mother" who was the ring leader in this circus of misfits. I was impressed with how authoritative she came off when giving orders while still remaining courteous. She was considerate and sweet, even baking them a cake to enjoy while waiting in the basement. However, she would not tolerate anyone unwilling to cooperate and was quick to punish disobedience. She was calm, cool, and in control the moment she walked in the door but had this underlying sadism to her. As time went on, her patience wore thin and her mean streak began to show. Rebecca was really believable in her performance, which is why I was so surprised to see her in that garbage remake of Apartment 1303!
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| This lady, you do NOT fuck with... |
Each of the three brothers had different personalities that served different purposes. The oldest one was a little more responsible and handed down orders directly from their mother. There was a rowdy one that you could tell would've been happy to torture and execute the hostages. Their youngest brother had been shot during the robbery and needed to be "protected" like the baby of the family. This gave the antagonists much more depth than just a bunch of faceless criminals who break in and torture people for no good reason (like The Purge).
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| Except maybe these two annoying bitches, but they got what they deserved! |
Nudity: None that I could remember. As the youngest son was about to die, they bring one of the female hostages up to pop his man-cherry but we don't see any nudity. She's forced to take her top off but covers her boobs with her arms.
Gore: A security guard is violently stabbed in the beginning and a girl who tries to make a run for the door gets shot in the face. This wasn't a Saw film though, so don't expect a ton of gore.
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| They just dumped her body behind a dumpster too |
Awesome: Very. I liked how the movie is realistic (again, unlike The Purge which had to create an alternate future) and simple but still very effective. I already talked about the interesting family dynamic between the criminals but the hostages also had an interesting and familiar dynamic. If you're a fan of zombie movies like I am, then you'll understand that undead ghouls eating flesh is just half the reason those movies are so entertaining. What's interesting is seeing the "survivors" deal with one another and how quickly the democratic system breaks down in those situations. People disagree, fight, argue, and are unable to reach a group decision. When the shit hits the proverbial fan, that's when people show their true colors. The cowards only thought of self-preservation, they stopped being civilized, and these "friends" were quick to turn on each other. If someone tried to be a hero, it might've caused another person to be hurt. Very tense and uncomfortable situation to be in.