The Mother of Troma

Mother's day is the second effort by director Charles Kaufman, brother of the legendary B-movie director and Troma studios co-founder Lloyd kaufman. Charles Kaufman's first film was a little known comedy called Squeeze play, so with Mother's day he did a complete 180 and gave the horror genre a try. The movie starts off with a couple who hitch a ride home after a strange meeting with a old woman they don't know. The couple are obviously have a plan in mind of robbing the old woman, but when the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere mama's boy's emerge from the woods to off the would be criminals, this is where we get a great decapitation scene. Now we get the bloody dripping titles Mothers day, and after a very promising opening sequence we get introduced to three girlfriends Abbey, Jackie and Trina, heading deep into the woods for their annual camping trip. Things are going pretty good on the trip as the girls tell stories, play pranks on each other, smoke weed and find a swimming hole where the get topless. Little do the girls know they are being stalked by an unseen predator in the woods watching their every move.
One night while the girls are sleeping the two stalkers invade their camp, tie them up in their own sleeping bags and drag them to a house deep in the woods. We soon find out that this is the house of the old woman from the beginning of the film and her two demented sons Ike and Addley. The girls are tied up and held captive for days. At this point in the film we get a peer into the lives of these three maniacs and what goes on day to day in this nut house. The girls are assaulted and try to escape numerous times to no prevail. There is also a strange scene where Ike and Addley go through their daily training routine involving using machetes, smashing things and one armed push ups. The family also speaks of something called "Queenie" that remains a mystery until the final scene. Things really get crazy as the girls attempt a final escape from the house of horrors, but they don't plan on going without getting some revenge on the family of backwoods freaks.
Mother's day was released in 1980 during the beginning of the slasher boom. Mother's day is more of a Texas chainsaw massacre like exploitation film, with some intentional humor peppered throughout. The "mom" is a very hammy actor and the sons are completely over the top. The girls do some of the better acting in the film but that's not saying much. Then again no one should expect Oscar worthy acting from a low budget early 80's horror film. As writer and director of the film, Charles Kaufman really put the Troma stamp on Mother's day with it's campy feel and extremely dark humor, and with a budget of only $115,000 Kaufman did a great job of utilizing the funds in just the right areas. The film was shot right across the lake at the same time of the original Friday the 13th in New Jersey. Apparently the former owner of the house used in the film was murdered in it and prior to filming there was a dead body found in it.
Troma released a DVD of Mother's day with a digitally remastered director's cut of the film, a commentary with director Charles Kaufman and more extras. As cheap as the film is it looks pretty good and has that 80's feel that I am so nostalgic for in horror movies from that time.
Since watching Mother's day it has become one of my favorite Troma movies along with The Toxic Avenger, Surf Nazi's Must Die, Tromeo and Juliet, Terror Firma and the awesome new release of poultrygeist. If you like early horror films centered around a wacko inbred family and you enjoy the grimy dark humor that only Troma can come up with, than Mother's day is right up your alley.

Review by Jason

Rating: C-