Mom and Dad (2017 film)

The film begins with a mother putting on music for her child as she sets her car on railroad tracks and leaves the child in the car to die.

The Ryans are a family of four with a strained relationship. Brent, the father, does not approve of his daughter Carly's new boyfriend Damon; Carly considers her mother Kendall out of touch, fights with her younger brother Josh, and is currently upset about canceling plans with her boyfriend because her grandparents are visiting.

While Carly is at school, radios and TV screens suddenly start transmitting unexplained static. The effect is seen as the Ryans' housekeeper murders her own daughter in front of a terrified Josh and a mob of parents rushes to Carly's school to kill their children however they can; Carly sees one classmate being stabbed by his mother after he scales a fence to reach her. Carly escapes with her friend Riley, whose mother strangles her when the two girls reach Riley's house. Carly runs home in terror and finds Damon, who has killed his father in self-defense. Telling Carly that the parents only want to kill their own kids, he accompanies her home to get Josh somewhere safe.

Kendall goes to the hospital where her sister Jeannie is giving birth, but the static transmits just afterward, causing her to attempt to kill her newborn daughter as Kendall tries to save her. Kendall escapes the hospital after seeing television reports of the mass hysteria: the static compels parents to slaughter their children. Kendall heads home to protect her own children.

Seeing Carly at home with Damon, the hysteria overtakes Brent and he knocks Damon out and attacks Carly. Kendall, having been exposed to the static, joins him when she gets home. Carly and Josh lock themselves in the basement and Brent and Kendall use a power saw to get through the door. Josh pulls out Brent's gun and fires through the door, wounding his mother. Kendall and Brent, bonding over their shared filicidal desire, run a hose from their oven's gas pump to the basement to poison the kids. When Carly sees the gas, she rigs up a trap with matches at the door and hides with Josh in the ventilation system. Brent cuts the lock off and opens the door, igniting the gas and triggering an explosion that knocks both parents out and awakens Damon.

Damon helps Carly and Josh evade their parents, but Kendall awakens, stabs him in the cheek, and knocks him out again. As the parents close in on their kids, the doorbell rings. When Brent opens the door, his mother pepper-sprays him and his father stabs him; the hysteria affects them as well. Everyone chases one another through the house: Josh evades Brent, who attempts to hide from his father in the garage; Kendall chases Carly and hits her on the head before her mother-in-law knocks her out.

Brent starts the car and crashes it, killing both his parents and knocking himself out. Kendall prepares to finish Carly off, but Damon knocks her out with a shovel.

Kendall and Brent wake up to find themselves restrained in the basement with Carly, Josh, and Damon watching them. They continue to exhibit symptoms of the hysteria, and the kids refuse to let them go. Kendall tearfully tells the children she loves them, and Brent continues: "But sometimes we just want to—" The film ends before he can finish his sentence.

• Nicolas Cage as Brent[6]
• Selma Blair as Kendall[7]
• Anne Winters as Carly
  • Lila Tellone as Young Carly
• Zackary Arthur as Josh
• Robert T. Cunningham as Damon
• Olivia Crocicchia as Riley
• Brionne Davis as Tanner
• Samantha Lemole as Jenna
• Lance Henriksen as Mel Ryan
• Joseph D. Reitman as Homeroom Teacher
• Rachel Melvin as Jeannie
• Bobby Richards as Dan
• Sharon Gee as Sun-Yi
• Grant Morrison as Expert
• Dr. Mehmet Oz as Himself

On February 12, 2016, Nicolas Cage was set to star in the film [6] and June 22, 2016 saw Selma Blair sign on.[7] Principal photography began in July 2016, and took place in Louisville, Kentucky.[6][8]

The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017,[1] and was theatrically released by Momentum Pictures on January 19, 2018.[9]

The film received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 131 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Mom and Dad's gonzo premise serves as an effective springboard for a wickedly dark, bloody comedy—and an appropriately over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage".[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11] Director John Waters named the film one of the best of 2018, placing it fourth on his personal list.[12]

• Mom and Dad at IMDb
• Mom and Dad at Rotten Tomatoes