Veteran Saw franchise helmer Darren Lynn Bousman makes a change in genre, but sticks to the dark tone of his previous works, revamping the 1980 cult thriller flick Mother’s Day. The title alone screams awful B movie, but surprisingly Mother’s Day holds several frightful highlights. Having critically acclaimed actress Rebecca De Mornay onboard is probably the films greatest asset, but not even she could save it from the poor production value and the long-winded story.

PLOT: The sadistic members of a villainous family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new home owners and their guests.
DIRECTOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
CAST: Rebecca De Mornay, Jaime King and Patrick John Flueger
AGE RESTRICTION: 16 (Violence, Language, Sexual References)
GENRE: Thriller

The revamp centers around a demented mother and her criminal sons who return to their old home, now occupied by a married couple. The couple, who are hosting a party for their upscale professional friends, are held hostage. Soon after the criminals toy with the group, pairing them against each other, revealing deeply hidden secrets and lies.

It’s an interesting failure. Mother’s Day manages to both entertain and bore simultaneously. One minute you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat, the next you will feel completely let down. The script is admirable, but is let down by poor acting and poor directing. It certainly doesn’t help that Bousman uses age-old thriller tricks to deliver frights. Also, most of the victims turn out to be unsympathetic characters which allows the criminals to torture the victims without us feeling a fraction of remorse.

“Every time I turn my back, you boys make a mess,” scolds DeMornay, who undoubtedly does the most plausible acting with the warped mother role. Sadly too many characters and predictable plot twists dilute the intensity of what could have been a gripping thriller.