Charles Kaufman's 1980 classic "Mother's Day" comes out on a single-disc Blu-ray package featuring the gory tale of two homicidal sons who try to please their mad matriarch at the expense of three innocent woman vacationers. This leads these man-child maniacs to many violent and graphic acts of torture under the creepy tutelage of their twisted mother. After their fateful abduction, the surviving victims plot a bloody revenge against their kidnappers. This movie stars Tiana Pierce, Nancy Hendrickson, Deborah Luce, Frederick Coffin, Michael McCleery, and Beatrice Pons.
With an odd mixture of gore, exploitative sex, and dark comedy, this crime-horror release provides a palpable sense of dread and unease through many sick and perverted parts that are coupled by subtle comic undertones. In time, it has developed a huge cult following among horror fans. It also inspired a 2010 remake that shares the same title as this original material.
Visuals
Amidst the minimal age-related damage plaguing some shots, this repulsive movie still delivers crisp and clear visuals in HD format. Accentuated by a stable grain structure, the picture's sharp details capture a brutally authentic look at the filthy and horrific world of rape, torture, and murder in an absurd family setting. It manages to pull the viewers into a dark and psychotic world through effective gore effects and suitable shooting locales that load the scenes with many campy elements.
Audio
The boxy and lossy stereo track lacks the energy and oomph typically expected for a movie from this genre. Unfortunately, the dull mix is unable to keep up with the film's shockingly engrossing video presentation. Even its active moments are often short of character and precision. Nevertheless, this cinematic work remains as an effective horror piece with adequately clear and focused speaking lines.
Supplements
This Blu-ray edition opens up with a short director's introduction, inclusive of a film-related surprise at its end. The package also supplies an insightful audio commentary track by director Charles Kaufman and assistant art director Rex Piano, a screen test collection showcasing the production's characters and special effects in "Super 8 Behind the Scenes of the Original Mother's Day," a thematic discussion by renowned Hollywood producer Eli Roth who is a fan of the film in "Ike, Adley, and Eli: Eli Roth on the Subversive Political Subtext of Mother's Day," a 2010 Comic-Con footage with Charles Kaufman and Darren Lynn Bousman, the director of the 2010 remake, in "Mother's Day at Comic-Con," and the movie's trailer. No subtitle options are available in the disc.
Final Thoughts
Dated in its own troubling and charming kind of way, "Mother's Day" is a twisted outing that works for a particular audience. Not all people may be able to take its thematically sickening elements, but its grueling approach aptly combines subtlety with over-the-top components to address the social issues of the story. Flaws aside, its deliberately awful ways of making the audience feel dirty, beaten, and worn out actually work. The cast's striking performances also contribute much in making this picture a more disturbingly memorable offering.
