Mother's Day [Blu-ray]

Helmed by Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman's brother Charles, this 1980 nature vs. nurture horror entry has been on my radar for awhile, but due to the Troma brand never really piqued my interest enough to press that all important 'play' button. However, yet again (as with 'Slumber Party Massacre') it seems my apparent prejudice against '80s Z-grade trash has proved my undoing, as upon finally witnessing 'Mother's Day' I'm all agog at the crazily entertaining shenanigans that it so disgracefully revels in!Following a protracted opening where we discover that 'mother' (Beatrice Pons) isn't the kindly old soul she falsely purport's to be, we meet vacationing trio Trina (Tiana Pierce), Jackie (Deborah Luce) and Abbey (Nancy Hendrickson) who have met up for their annual 'mystery weekend' trip. This year, they figure the backward, forestry charms of Deep Barrens in rural New Jersey is their ideal get away - but before long the tranquility is shattered when they find themselves being systematically tracked by a matriarchal madwoman and her deranged offspring; Addley (Michael McCleery) and his equally crazy sibling Ike (Gary Pollard) in a no holds barred horror extravaganza that has the ladies' fighting for their life against the maddening antics of a brood that know the true meaning of the family that stays together, slays together...Better produced than I was expecting - 'Mother's Day' is an odd duck indeed, but a welcome one nonetheless. Part horror, part social satire - the movie walks the tightrope of good taste on more than one occasion - but thanks to the expert direction of Kaufman and the solid acting turns from the cast (Gary Pollard and Tiana Pierce, especially), it elevates itself from other zero budget junk of the same era. The screenplay by Kaufman and 'Stuck on You!'s' Warren Leight appears, on the surface to be another 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' clone but hidden beneath the grime is a sly satire on pop culture alongside an intriguing exploration on character dynamics (Beatrice Pons' character is clearly both mother and father but is never shown as a real physical threat, instead relying on psychology to control her two boys who themselves have been forged in her image alongside male fantasy figures through television and toys. The trio of women are all first shown existing in their own 'real worlds' - rather than being merely introduced as victim fodder. This background information is vital as it alerts the viewer as to each of the girls’ decision making and foreshadows their fate in this frightening situation, ultimately adding weight to the proceedings).Amazon Prime and Shudder give 'Mother's Day' a wonderful transfer with knockout audio. I cannot lie, even though the movie could have done with an extra 10 or so minutes to fully tie things up it's still a well made ride that belies its low tier origins with above average acting and solid direction. Recommended.

Great classic slasher thriller from the early 80's. One of the many horror / thriller movies on the banned slasher movies list in the UK and remained so until 2015, finally released on DVD. Fantastic that so many of these originally banned movies have finally been released on DVD in the past 15 years or so. A lot of them seem so lame in this day and age but I can understand why this one remained banned for so long as it does contain scenes of torture and rape. These sort of scenes are not my cup of tea but this movie offers so much more.Not amazingly original in its style, backward redneck brothers ruled by a psychotic mother kidnap and terrorise a group of young college girls. However, I loved the original twist close to the start of the film during the car ride. So many twists happen at the end of the film but this twist at the start set the theme and style to this classic slasher.Not gonna go on about the plot like too many reviewers do as I don't wanna ruin it for those who a fan of this type of film. If like me you are a fan of these 70's / 80's slashers then I recommend you watch this. The acting ranges from acceptable to good and directing is good. However, the movie starts off good and tense but then seems to drop off and seems a bit long winded during the girls going on their camping trip for a short while. The movie then picks back up with plenty of intense scenes.Overall a movie worth watching. Don't stop watching during the middle of the film when the girls set off for their camping trip (as this is a little dull) and you won't regret it. Enjoy and I hope you like it.

The seventies brought us many grisly horror films depicting young teenagers being picked off by backwood country bumpkins and the like. Mothers Day carries that trend on into the early eighties but with more of a day-glo blood effect and some questionable acting.Mothers Day is solidly enjoyable. It’s never as brutally chilling as some of its counter parts and does suffer from some moments of high end cheese but generally it focusses on developing its characters beyond the mindless teens or motiveless killers and creates something highly watchable.Three teenage girls go on a camping trip and fall foul of two deranged boys and their equally unstable mother. She smothers them and controls their every move and they are too brainless to do anything else. She lives in perpetual fear of Queenie who she insists lives in the woods and uses this to keep her boys in check. The girls consequently become their play things.The gory effects are fairly limited and apart from the odd notable scene this is mostly a tame affair with things suggested rather than shown. The film steps up another gear when the girls decide to exact their revenge and aside from some cheesy one liners and declarations of strength this is the most fun part of the film.Never scary or even jumpy for that matter Mothers Day does struggle to be more than a one watch event, but it is fun and avoids some of the normal clichés to offer something a little fresher than normal.

This B-movie is one of TROMA'S classics and should be viewed by any B-movie fan out there.When i saw the name Charles Kaufman i had to see this film because i love all of Lloyd Kaufmans films so i got from Amazon and put it on i was truly amazed!It has all the gore such as severed heads,slit throats,etc and has the heart of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.I deeply recommend this TROMA TEAM release to anyone into this catagory of films as it is a beauty to add to your collection.The dvd also features a commentary by the director himself Charles Kaufman!3 Women go off camping in the woods just like the good old days but things have changed for the worse and 2 maniacs love their mom to bits so they have to do her proud.The 3 women are not alone in the woods.