Mother's Day

[soonforgotten]

This film would have been much better in Spanish hands, I reckon. It starts out well enough and I like the frame work of the plot. There isn't much that doesn't make sense to begin with, which is rare for this type of film. Yes, the hostages outnumber the captors, but that is usually the case. For me, the film totally falls apart in the third act. [spoiler]The lone police officer was ridiculous. One officer is sent to the former house of armed suspects? Then after he is shot, are we really to believe that upon miraculously surviving, he goes to check on the over-turned vehicle prior to radioing for back up and an ambulance? After he's killed, both Beth and Ike are perfectly fine as if they hadn't just been in a car wreck? What the funk? Back at the house, someone remembers that they have knives onhand. I really cannot believe that it would take that long for them to realise it. So incredibly stupid. As is the blinded and deaf victim grabbing a gun and wandering off with it. I really didn't follow exactly what happened between Beth and the mother in the final showdown. How did Beth survive that, exactly? But okay she gets up and bludgeons the mother, seemingly to death. Oh, and where is the daughter in all of this? I kept waiting for that matter to be addressed in the climax, but nope. She just goes AWOL. How pointless.

Even more pointless is the epilogue. She steals Beth's baby. That's right, the mother is somehow still alive and not imprisoned. Plus she aided by her "daughter" and, I believe, also her son who spent the entire film slowly dying of a massive gunshot wound. The biggest annoyance I have is tthe fact that throughout the flm, they have the doctor chisel away at the daughter's perception of her mother; revealing how she's been manipulated and used. All sings and common sense point to that leading up to a climactic turning point of redemption. Instead she disappears from the final showdown and falls back in line beneath her mother at the end. UGH.[/spoiler]

The thing I hate about these types of films is that they sacrifice a decent or the right ending in order to leave the door open for a sequel. This felt to me like something was edited out of the final showdown and the closing scene was tacked on, perhaps after the studio saw how profitable Insidious has been. There's zero artistic integrity to this film and others like it. It's intense, but not scary. There aren't any jump scenes, it's just a matter of grossing the audience out. A good horror can do both at the same time, while showing less gore. It's a shame that a (possibly) decent story was left to such incapable hands. I have no qualms with any of the acting or even the dialogue, surprisingly. This really could have been so much more than what it turned out as. 5.5/10

[jeanelle]

What happened to the doctor?

[spoiler]I thought he was the one in the epilogue but it makes more sense that it was the brother as soonforgotten said[/spoiler]

[carlos100]

I found this to be a decent fun, unashamed slash fest.

Don't go in with high expectations and it is good fun, the mother is a fantastic character and the motivations and reasons behind peoples actions are well thought out (if the captives are a bit moronic, how many people have to get shot when caught escaping to make you realise it isn't a good idea?)

[elski]

What happened to the doctor?

[spoiler]I thought he was the one in the epilogue but it makes more sense that it was the brother as soonforgotten said[/spoiler]

the doctor
[spoiler]was shot just after getting the injured brother into the caravan, shot by his patient I think

the guy that was at death's door throughout the film was the only man to survive[/spoiler]

[Yinster]

You put it into words more beautifully than me Soonforgotten.

[McG]

Maybe I didn't have high expectations of the film as I don't usually go to this type of film but I must say I did "enjoy" it (though it does seem to say that given the killings!) The mother was very good and the control she had was well acted. I was a bit confused at the start with the baby abduction but all became clear later.

[havingascreen]

Maybe I didn't have high expectations of the film as I don't usually go to this type of film but I must say I did "enjoy" it (though it does seem to say that given the killings!) The mother was very good and the control she had was well acted. I was a bit confused at the start with the baby abduction but all became clear later. [spoiler]The doctor was shot!

[/spoiler]

That info should have been put in a spoiler quote. i see you're a new member and if you're anything like me you wouldn't have realised what a spoiler was or how to use it so don't worry about it, just note it for your next review

[jeanelle]

What happened to the doctor?

[spoiler]I thought he was the one in the epilogue but it makes more sense that it was the brother as soonforgotten said[/spoiler]

the doctor
[spoiler]was shot just after getting the injured brother into the caravan, shot by his patient I think

the guy that was at death's door throughout the film was the only man to survive[/spoiler]

Oh yes, thanks. I think I'd lost the will to live by then.

[Yinster]

Oh yes, thanks. I think I'd lost the will to live by then.

Perhaps that should had been one of the torture methods used by the gang!

[Beate]

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/mothe ... 39401.html