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I’ve seen horror movies from a lot of different places, with a lot of different results.  I’ve seen Australian horror, Brazilian horror, Chilean horror, Russian horror, Scandinavian horror—the French are absolutely INSANE with their horror—but it’s not every day the Brits take a whack at the horror genre.  Sure, there’s the 28 (time periods) Later series, and we can’t forget Shaun of the Dead even if that’s a bit more comedy than horror, but when they came out with Mum And Dad, I knew I was in for a doozy.

Mum And Dad starts off simply, with a young Polish woman named Lena who’s emigrated to England after a falling out with her parents.  She meets a chatty young woman, Birdie, and her silent brother Alfie. One night, after missing her bus, she agrees to go home with the duo.  This is where her problems begin as Birdie and Alfie have led her into a suburban nightmare the likes of which are seldom seen, and Birdie and Alfie’s “mum” and “dad” have decided to take Lena as their own.  Lena, of course, isn’t taking this lying down.

Basically, if you want disturbing in your movies, then you need look no farther than this right here.  Because this is quite possibly the KING of disturbing movies—I mean, I thought I’d seen the limit with Japanese lunacy like Crazy Lips and Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf, but I don’t think any of those could quite top the sheer squick factor of watching a fat man pleasuring himself into a chunk of random meat. The worst part is, that’ll happen.  You really don’t want to see such a thing, but there it is.  You don’t want to see MOST of what’s going on in Mum And Dad, but it’s there.  Mum will spend about five minutes carving random whatnot into Lena’s back.  Dad will very nearly rape Lena.  And then Lena will jam a screwdriver into his lung.  Trust me, what I’ve told you about there isn’t even a tenth part of the sheer lunacy and insanity that Mum And Dad will present to you.  You know when some movies promote themselves by saying that they’re “not for the squeamish”?  Well, this is one of them, except this time, they mean it.  If you’re in the least squeamish—if you’re not already pretty thoroughly desensitized—then you’re not going to get very far with this riot of bloodshed and mayhem.

That having been said, they actually did a fair job of preserving the suspense in this one.  Just because it’s jam-packed with bloodshed and mayhem doesn’t mean that this is all the movie has to offer.  No, I was surprised by the sheer watchability of this.  Yes, it was brutal and violent and downright nasty, but it was also suspenseful and a taut thriller.  It was high-tension stuff, make no mistake, and will require a forceful constitution to endure the sheer amount of ordure involved in this piece, but if you can, then you might be able to enjoy it.  Just don’t overestimate your tolerance—this sucker IS nasty.  Make no mistake on that point.  But underneath the nasty, if you can stand it, is a pretty solidly done movie.

I’m just a little put off by what’s standing between me and it.

Mum And Dad isn’t necessarily a bad movie, but it is strong.  It’s very easy to be TOO strong for most, and has probably priced itself out of the market in terms of content.  But if you think you can hack it, give it a try.  You might like it.

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