Mommy

I've seen a lot of people mostly bash Mommy because of the way it looks. It definitely has that cheap, shot on video feel that many films of this time had and, yes, I suppose that does hurt it to a certain extent, but when you have a script this amusing and a performance as campy as Patty McCormack's, you should be grateful.

Mommy is about, well, a mommy (McCormack) and her young daughter who are alone in the world after all of Mommy's husband have died under mysterious circumstances. That's not actually true. Mommy does have a sister played by b-movie scream queen Brinke Stevens who seems to know her sister isn't all there, but she doesn't appear to believe her insane behavior is anything to get too concerned about.

Things begin to escalate when Mommy kills a teacher who wouldn't give her daughter a student of the year award. Pretty soon, she's on a war path, taking out anyone who gets in her way.

Mommy is worth seeing for McCormack's performance alone. While there are, of course, shades of her iconic performance from The Bad Seed, there's also a little Kathleen Turner in Serial Mom by way of Jessica Walter in Arrested Development. It's truly something to see.

This movie had the whole Alfred Hitchcock feel to it! Usually I prefer the extremely gory, offensive horror movies. The reason I bought this movie was because I am a huge fan of Brinke Stevens. I actually ended up liking this. Also, brinke did a good job as the goody-goody Aunt Beth. Although, it was weird seeing brinke playing a goody-goody role. It was quite a change of pace for her. Also, they had alot of foreshadowing in this film which I liked. I also liked the way they shot it. It was shot on video, but still a bit of professionalism that you don't see in a lot of shot on video movies these days. All in all, I give it a 8. It's suspenseful and atmospheric. Quite enjoyable.

Forget Blair Witch or the flavor of the month at the nearest artsy film festival. This is the definition of Independent. Shot on a shoestring in Muscatine, IA, this semi-sequel to The Bad Seed (Mommy is never named, but the parallel is obvious) is a character-driven study of a young girl discovering her perfect mother is just plain evil. The casting is clever, especially scream queen Brinke Stevens doing an about face as Mommy's "Plain-Jane" sister Beth. I highly recommend Max's novelisation, which fleshes out the back story. Also look for Max and his band playing at the dance.

Not much was expected from this straight-to-video, shot-on-tape movie. However, it's surprisingly good. It's a well-realized effort, especially considering the obviously microscopic budget.

Patty McCormack is diabolically eeevil as MOMMY. She's finally found the perfect follow-up to her role as Rhoda in THE BAD SEED. She's a seething adult now, plotting and killing anyone foolish enough to cross her!

Jason Miller is the cop who believes he knows what she's up to. Majel Barrett is a doomed teacher, and Mickey Spillane is Mommy's attorney. Brinke Stevens plays one of her best roles as Mommy's sister.

MOMMY is a nice chiller-thriller with enough dark humor to raise a smile in spite of Mommy's homicidal ways...

Okay, there's some who will not like the shot-on-video style that makes this aesthetically seem like a daytime soap, but having watched the similarly done BBC series Thriller, I actually like it for it gives the film a bit more down-to-earth quality and less Hollywood slickness.

The players are adequate, including Patty McCormick, but the real shining star is the young girl portraying Jessica Ann. The quality of her stellar performance reminds me of, say, Patty McC back in the original Bad Seed. All others are fine, with the exception of the fellow playing the rumpled detective, who really just is overboard.

Brinke Stevens is exceptionally lovely in her staid appearance and gives new meaning to the really hot 'plain jane'. Too bad she wasn't a librarian as well.

The story is pretty much what you'd expect and without surprises, well-paced however and still fun to watch. The budget limitations would have left a less resourceful cast and crew with a miserable effort, but they all come through here to present a pleasing diversion, yet that is all it is, an entertaining diversion. Don't make too much effort to get it, but if you find it and not for too much, then it's a good spend.