Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Audio Commentary with director/co-writer/producer Charles Kaufman
• Film introduction by Charles Kaufman (2:22)
• Rex Piano Intro (1:00)

• Interview with Charles Kaufman and Darren Bousman (8:08)

• Eli Roth (13:07)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:15)
• Bonus Scenes 16mm Footage (10:02)
• Graduation Day Trailer (2:06)
• TV Spot (:30)
• Booklet Notes by Calum Waddel

Bitrate:

 

Description: Three women find their worst nightmares have become a reality in this horror film that combines extreme violence with dark, absurdist comedy. Abbey (Nancy Hendrickson), Jackie (Deborah Luce), and Trina (Tiana Pierce) have been close friends since their college days, and they decide to celebrate their tenth class reunion by taking a vacation together. The women go camping in the woods of rural New Jersey; however, an idyllic few days in the great outdoors turn ugly when they're ambushed by a pair of subnormal thugs, Ike (Holden McGuire) and Addley (Billy Ray McQuade). Ike and Addley live in a garishly decorated hovel deep in the woods, where they gorge themselves on sugar, obsessively watch television, debate the merits of punk rock versus disco, and strictly obey the instructions of their aged Mother (Rose Ross) -- a vicious psychopath who goads her boys into acts of rape and murder, with Mother shouting encouragement throughout. When one of the women is killed by Ike and Addley, the other two escape, and they plot a gruesome revenge. Mother's Day developed something of a cult following after its initial release, and no small amount of controversy -- many feminist groups denounced its depiction of violence against women, while writer and director Charles S. Kaufman contended that he intended for the film to be viewed as a satire. The film was later reissued in a cut version that eliminated some of the more extreme scenes of rape and violence.

 

 

The Film:

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Mother's Day gets an impressive transfer to Blu-ray from 88 Films in the UK.  It's dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate for the 1.5 hour feature. Colors are brighter and truer than SD could relate and there is no noise in the darker sequences. The 1080P supports solid contrast with some minor depth in the 1.85:1 frame.  Aside from a few speckles and uneven, production-related, patches the visuals are quite striking. The source is in great shape. This Blu-ray probably gives a pretty good replication of how the film looked some 35-years ago. No complaints.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

88 Films use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel mono at 1560 kbps. WE still have some of the scattered effect from the production limitations. Dialogue is audible and effects and scream carry some piercing depth. The forgettable score was written by jack-of-all-trades Phil Gallo and Clem Vicari Jr. and its occasional out-of-place intensity can jolt you back into the experience. There are no subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region FREE playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
Another gruesome, gratuitously violent, mid-80s horror... but Mother's Day is a more polished that the average while still retaining its limited production realistic edginess. The screaming gals put up a strong front.  The 88 Films Blu-ray provides a strong a/v presentation with related supplements including a commentary. I'm sure I won't ever develop a taste for this genre - although the surprising humor is amusing, but for those who enjoy - this is a worthy package with some definite effort put into it. I doubt we will ever compare it to the Anchor Bay (which, we understand, has lossy sound). 

Gary Tooze

March 10th, 2015

Also available on Blu-ray in North America from Anchor Bay: