Mommy

I do realize this film was made on a limited budget, but they could have made it so much better. The shots were grainy, the lighting was bad, and the widescreen dvd version was hardly widescreen at all. Apparently Patty McCormack has forgotten how to act, because she was quite good in the Bad Seed. The supporting cast does the film no better. The apparent parallels to the original only act as an insult, especially since the modern counterparts pale in comparison to the characters in which they were based (ex. the janitor at school trying to play LeRoy) The effects were terrible, especially the gun shot scene, and the soundtrack was annoying. Why Patty McCormack passed up other offers before deciding to make this one is a mystery to me. It may have been a good idea on paper, but was executed poorly. This film can only be enjoyed for its camp quality, which in itself is hardly enough.

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...

Pros: A thriller that is somewhat suitable for family viewing. Cons: Really amateurish in both concept & execution. Perfect Audience: Fans of cheapjack crime thrillers & Patty McCormack.

The Story: After her teacher is found dead in her classroom after having an argument with her tightly-wound & highly ambitious mother, Jessica Ann Sterling begins to believe that her mother could be a serial killer.

Max Allan Collins is a writer who specialises in true-life crime novels, TV shows & even trading cards. In the early 1990s he decided to become a filmmaker, taking the decision to adapt one of his short stories into a feature film. For the title role, he picked none other than Patty McCormack, the actress who as a young girl played eleven-year-old serial killer Rhoda Penmark in the 1956 classic The Bad Seed. Thirty-four years later & McCormack is back doing what she does best - playing somebody who is nice on the outside but a mean & ruthless mother on the inside.

Despite the amateurish nature of the production (if this was left in the hands of a much more professional & seasoned director, it would have been a minor classic), McCormack pretty much rules the show as the ruthlessly determined Mommy Sterling, conquering all before her with her sociopathic performance & Brinke Stevens, one of the classic 1980s Scream Queens & a capable actress herself, plays the counterpoint as McCormack's plain-Jane sister. While I had some doubts about the decision by Collins to give young Rachel Lemieux dialogue that is too advanced for somebody her age to handle (it makes her sound like a teenager or young adult) without losing credibility, the story is a fairly serviceable one & Collins succeeds in making an interestingly average thriller that is somehow also suitable for family viewing... Who would imagine something like that?

Violence & Gore: Some killings that are basic - teacher falls off a ladder, a janitor electrocuted, a shooting - without any gore being displayed.

Sexuality & Nudity: Nothing like that here.

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.

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.