Customer Reviews

Mum and Dad

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Mum and Dad", a British horror release in 2008, is a nice little terror nugget. All I can say is...you definitely don't want to go to mum and dad's house. Eery, graphic, a psycho thriller to the end. This one is definitely not for the squeamish...we're dealing with deranged whole grain freaks in this one. Though I've seen similar films with similar plots, this one is done quite well...worthy of all 5 stars. Kudos to Director Steven Shiel...please continue to produce this type of horror gem!

"Mum and Dad". What a great movie! Showing how bad life can be in a seriously dysfunctional family! Something of an understatement here when given the kind of 'family' involved.
Polish immigrant worker at an airport finds herself stranded for the night in her work colleague's home and ends up staying much longer than expected, being held captive and made to live as part of the mad family set-up, with ma and pa and the work colleague and her brother, whom never speaks a word throughout the entire movie. (No doubt he's been too traumatised by the goings-on to ever find his voice again!).

Apparently the director wanted a British version of a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" type movie, but in my view he succeeds in making a far superior film to that old cult classic, which I found myself quickly bored with owing to the tedious, nonstop screaming of Marilyn Chambers, the 'heroine' of TCM.
In fact, in my opinion, "Mum and Dad" is better than all of the TCM movies (including the remake) and Hostel movies put together. It is far more interesting, and believable. It has realistic and credible effects, nothing OTT silly like the hanging eyeball sequence in the first "Hostel" film, an effect that was frankly ludicrous and destroyed any credibility the movie had had up until then. I had found myself soon bored with "Hostel" anyway. Not so with "Mum and Dad" which managed to keep my interest absorbed throughout.

Unlike the tiresome screaming of Chambers in TCM, which only served to make the movie irritating, our heroine in "Mum and Dad" makes you root for her all the way. This girl used her intelligence to think of cunning ways to extricate herself from the horrendous situation, instead of resorting to mindless screaming like Chambers did in "Chainsaw". (Though admittedly, this one would not have been able to make much of a noise, as she'd been injected to silence her voice, at least at first).

The movie also has a great theme tune, a haunting. traditional song called "900 Miles" sung by Gemma Ray. You get to hear it a lot on the DVD's menu.

The DVD also boasts some interesting extras, including the director's admission that the movie only cost £100,000 to make. Which, in my estimation makes this film even more of an achievement.
There are interviews with most of the leading cast, though strangely minus one with our heroine, making me wonder if perhaps she had declined to be interviewed, as it seemed a little odd that the main character was not asked to give some input into the interviews.

To sum up, a great effort, and well done to all concerned. A triumph!

Wonderfully demented black comedy/horror about a kidnapped immigrant girl forced to endure some brutal "behavioral modification" at the hands of a seriously twisted family.
A sick, slick bit of nastiness and darker than dark humor.

This movie was kinda low budget ...... It was ok.. These are the type of parents that u dont want and noone deserves. They kill people for a living & take their personal belongings to sell. They beat & even poisen their kids, Their kids are their slaves & sex toys. Their kids have regular jobs make friends & then once their friends come over to meet mum & dad they also become slaves & ultimately become the new kids. The dad is sick & has sex with anything even in front of his wife & kids and the mother acts like she secretly wants to have sex with her daughter... weird movie , weird parents. Who thought of this ?? but I guess some where in the world people are this sick & twisted...

This sick and twisted flick is one of the first Exploitation films out of England in decades. Clearly influenced by the works of Pete Walker, Tobe Hooper, and Wes Craven, MUM & DAD tells the tale of a poor Polish immigrant that is kidnapped and tortured by a perverted family led by mum and dad, who take pleasure in inflicting pain and sexual torments on the new family 'pet.' The film encompasses all of the same qualities and standards that would have had it banned under the Video Nasties act in the 1980s, depicting disgusting and brutal acts of violence in a downward degenerative spiral without tapping in to any sort of social commentary or redeeming moral consequence. It is purely Exploitation for the sake of Exploitation. It also provides critics with a perfect example used to justify their demeaning term "Torture Porn," since the film blends elements of both within its perverse framework. While all of this would seem to belittle the film, it actually has quite the opposite effect. MUM & DAD is one of the few films to achieve the same disgusting and unsettling moods generated in the first wave of true Exploitation films since the early 80s. In all of its nastiness, it provides two powerful and hated villains that are sure to draw an immediate emotive response from the viewer. The exclusion of any musical score leaves the audience defenseless as they are forced into uncomfortably close and intimate quarters with the events unfolding on screen. It often recalls the stronger elements of FRIGHTMARE, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and even THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, and provides great technical work, design, and acting for a film that was made for under $100,000'. MUM & DAD is not a perfect film, however it does its best to recreate an era of film sleaze that is rarely recaptured in recent Horror efforts. Highly recommended for fans of the Exploitation sub-genre, but equally recommended against for anyone that finds the films named above distasteful.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

Mum and Dad is one of those films that I feel guilty watching because it's so repulsive in nature and content.
From the beginning when the adopted siblings meet the "new girl"while cleaning the airport bathroom and they show a close up shot of a toilet and stall assaulted with fecal matter splattered everywhere I knew I was in for a sick ride.
Some of the scenes were so repulsive that it felt like really sick fetish porn"case and point" when Dad was masterbating with recently butchered flesh and they panned the camera on it after the deed was done and you could see semen flowing out of the folded up flesh"EEK".
Or the human christmas decorations,one with a big hole cut out of his torso so the candle would light it up real pretty inside.
Dad in drag was pretty disturbing too,it was his time to play mommy and have fun with "mommy's girl".Dad's bare butt was enough to disturb me for days,it looked like a huge out of shape womans butt"but on a man".
The only satisfaction I got from this movie was the revenge element that ensues at the end.But I still felt like taking a bath.If you like sick ,gross,disturbing images and sexual torture this movie is for you.If not skip it.I give it 3 stars because you're getting exactly what you are signing up to watch.

Imagine if Mike Leigh and Tobe Hooper got drunk one night, fooled around and had a love child, then this new movie by director Steven Sheil would surely be the ghastly outcome. Shot like a kitchen sink drama but with the mean spirited nature that is prevalent in the horror genre at the moment - ''Mum and Dad'' is one sick puppy that like others who venture down this road, fails in comparison to the 70s homegrown horror big hitters like ''Texas Chainsaw'' and ''Halloween'' which it is so desperately trying to emulate.

The story has Lena (played well by Olga Fedori), a young polish cleaner working the nightshift at an airport in London. There, she unwittingly befriends brother and sister duo Birdie and Elbie. Enticing Lena back to their home, she is then tortured for the rest of the movie by the pseudo siblings' monsterous parentage, the mum and dad of the title.

Essaying 'Dad' is 1980s British comedy actor and Shane Meadows regular Perry Benson. His portrayal is ugly and off putting, and a million miles away from his comedic roles such as 'You Rang M'Lord'. 'Mum' played by Dido Miles, is another abomination and her deviant nature is depicted in graphic detail.

Across the board, the movie is well acted and observed in a usual british, gritty reality. Sheils' direction is paced well and he has an eye for the bizarre, however his screenplay is nothing more than what you have already seen before in other movies of this ilk which have used their obvious budgetary limitations to a much better use. The film does feel in parts like an overlong episode of the UK TV series 'The Royal Family' if uncle leatherface came to stay. I assume the main characters were modeled after recent tabloid british serial killers and this seeps through into the atmosphere and feel of the film and does add a sense of authenticity to the proceedings - however, from my old man and jaded point of view, it all feels a little stale and I really wish this 'toture porn' cycle would come to it's end soon. It really is a shame as this could have been a contender, but again the hype surrounding the film is inaccurate and only there to give the film notoriety. Just a shame it doesn't warrant it. Sure, its sick and distasteful, but where is the power and real horror that those older movies (Psycho, Henry and the aforementioned Texas Chainsaw Massacre) displayed so effortlessly?

If you need to see a good 'bad family' picture, check out Bob Balaban's late 80s horror film ''Parents''. Same kind of story, just done with more style, wit and genuine dread. Rent 'Mum and Dad' if you must, but don't go in expecting the next 'big thing'. Just an R Rated episode of The Royal Family would be a more precise analogy...

A tougher find as far as lower budget horror goes and definitely one of the better ones I've seen in a while. A really watchable and unique storyline and some decent gore and action. What more do you want?

this movie is one of the most freaky and creepy movies i have seen in awhile, and it is soooo good. If you love horror you will love this movie.

I bought this movie bootleg, never having heard of it before. I watched it and I loved it. I dont know if it was ever in theaters or anyting but its a good quality movie. Really crazy too. I cant get too detailed here... but one of the craziest scenes is where the dad is having a 'good time' with someones heart who he had just removed from one of his victims body. If you see the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. Its disturbing but a great horror movie. I had bought it bootleg but now I'm ordering the real thing here on amazon.