“Mom and Dad” – review

David McDonald, Contributing writer

In his most recent directorial work, Brian Taylor, director of the “Crank” series, once again displays his insane genius.
“Mom and Dad,” a film in which parents inexplicably try to murder their kids, is the perfect blend of thrills, comedy gold and lunacy.
Much as you would expect from the director of “Crank,” the film is a boisterous work that starts slowly and then ascends into a state of sheer derangement.
With the added benefit of Nicholas Cage’s typical absurdity, the film goes from being a B-film to being a potentially psychotic cult classic.
Cage’s character, a middle-aged father going through a mid-life crisis, is the perfect balance of a loving father and a psychopath doing everything he can to murder his kids alongside his wife (played by Selma Blair).
The film effectively uses flashbacks to show Cage’s downward spiral from living an enjoyably erotic, if not quixotic, life in his early 20s to being stuck in the middle of a crippling mid-life crisis.
This sequence is helpful because it not only adds to the grotesque, comical nature of the film, but also addresses potential reasons for Cage’s and Blair’s sudden bloodlust.
Yet despite its narrative purpose, this sequence ends with Cage’s character, in a sudden burst of meme-worthy rage, taking a sledge-hammer to the pool table he had just built in the basement.
During the heavily anticipated scenes where the couple attempts to slaughter their children, Cage and Blair effectively balance the comedy with the horror.
Between Cage’s memorable one-liners and Blair’s unwavering seriousness, the couple brings performances on par with Taylor’s usual ADHD style.
This film is no doubt a campy, sadistically twisted work of genius that is sure to leave audiences both horrified and amused at the same time.

4/5 Stars