The sadistic members of a villainous family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new home owners and their guests.
It’s De Mornay’s film; with her prim and proper mom-knows-best homilies juxtaposed with her ferocious sense of the Sohapi’s weaknesses, she ably makes Mother’s Day a cut above the average horror.
A nasty little chiller from the Saw director with the evergreen De Mornay on top form.
Too long and with too many characters to get through, Mother’s Day holds effective sequences, ramming home its (recycled) message: the animal lurks in us all.
Mommie dreariest.
By the time De Mornay’s demented broodmare is cooing, “Life is sacred!” and enforcing gunpoint pregnancy tests, the movie has taken impressive leave of its own senses and ours.
Star turn lifts this horror tale to something quite special.
An ingenious idea for a suspense thriller – or maybe even an old-fashioned, Wait Until Dark-style stage play – turns out instead to be the pretext for a crass, over-long and tiresome splatter nightmare.
Too many characters and plot twists dilute the intensity of Mother’s Day but there is no denying the effectiveness of De Mornay’s ferocious performance.
The Desperate Hours, with a sick twist.
Directed by the man behind three of the Saw sequels, this is very much De Mornay's film, with the actress stealing every scene.
There are moments of tension but it’s too long, no one to like and the ending is pointlessly grim.
It doesn't all work (some of the reasons preventing the hostages escaping are a bit too convenient), but it's still better than it has any right to be.
It is sad to see De Mornay in something so – how should one put it? – cheesy.
General release. Check local listings for show times.