Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a nicely upgraded remake that is cruel and perverted in its violence. Despite how cheap the movie looks and sounds (the soundtrack is horrible!), the overall quality of the direction is good, if we ignore the retarded behavior of the characters. But if they used common sense, the film would have ended after the first third, which would’ve been a shame. (25.07.2017)

Entertaining enough (it’s not short, but fortunately there’s always something happening) and some scenes are nicely intense and thrilling, but at the same time it’s very shallowly and gratuitously violent. Bousman doesn’t even try to hide his affinity to the Saw franchise – quite the opposite, in fact – and that hurts this film. During the scene “you have 30 seconds, if one of you kills the other, I will let you live” I was desperately hoping that Darren was winking at us cunningly and with sophistication, but no – it’s more likely that he thinks this is cool. The worst is the behaviour of the characters (the protagonist could have got everyone out of trouble even before they got in trouble), but I liked Rebecca de Mornay as the charismatic mother. The climax works well and it left me with the rather positive feeling of a pleasant horror snack, comparable perhaps with the recent remake of I Spit on Your Grave. The rating is between three and four stars. (02.05.2011)

Real psychological terror in full swing and without unnecessary exaggeration. Where most horror films slip into mindless and emotionally deaf killing sprees, Bousman skilfully ratchets up the atmosphere and leaves the protagonists adrift in a situation so hopeless that even death might have been more enjoyable. Brutality is spared this time, and when there is a splash of blood, it’s never gratuitous and perfectly highlights the desperation of a situation that gains momentum with each act. Moreover, the actions of the characters are not at all as stupid as we are used to with similar titles. Granted, there are a few moments that will make you facepalm, with logic taking a backseat, but that's easy to say when I don't have a crazy family with a maniacal mother in the next room – I rank her as one of the most despicable villains of the last few years. The "shocking" ending didn't quite fit, but whatever. For how little known this thriller is, it's uncomfortably disturbing. 80% (06.04.2013)