If you know what the genre that is called “Grindhouse” is about, and know about Troma Entertainment and what they do is, and the idea of a picture in that style catching their attention excites you, then you are in luck. Everyone else however should go in knowing that the film grabs the “no holds barred” concept by the lapels and throttles it severely.
What They Say:
A deranged killer and rapist is on the loose and has a taste for Daddy meat. One man will do any it takes to send the bastard to hell!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
A note before we begin. This film presents ideas that many viewers may consider shocking, offensive, possibly reprehensible and are absolutely exploitative in their nature. I don’t throw out this warning as some sort of cute “oh, pay attention here” kind of gimmick but to legitimately warn prospective viewers that if there are subjects you really don’t want to see- like say a main antagonist who exists simply to rape and murder fathers for the (somewhat thin) plot- then stop reading now and go about finding something far less offensive to read about as you will be far happier in the long run.
On the other hand, if one either finds that such material doesn’t offend them- or doesn’t offend them enough to stop reading, please do so as the film may have no small number of (intentional) off putting moments and a cheapness that is off the scale but by no means does this mean there isn’t some real fun-and some fantastic promise shown by the directors- to be found within.
The feature is presented in the “Grindhouse” style which is one noted for its exploitive nature, low budgets and occasional oddities that come from not having the budget for a long film shoot to fix inconsistencies that can pop up during a shoot. Once upon a time these type of films found homes inside small cinemas in the pre-multiplex cinema chain environment that has come to dominate the motion picture landscape. As motion pictures became bigger and bigger revenue generators small films of the past went from the days of its creators being able to sell their work to individual owners or chain owners to relying upon catching the eye of a distributer who could help them out in getting the picture onto multiple screens across the country (as illustrated in the difference between Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead and the way the filmmakers sold that practically door to door at theaters from Kevin Smith’s Clerks and it being picked up by Miramax for distribution).
Largely these changes came from the changing demographics as the rise of the multiplex pushed out smaller screens buildings and combined with home video it changed how people viewed their movies. Along the way a large number of the grindhouse style productions faded, though some companies like Troma Entertainment figured out how to appeal to the crowd that had found themselves a bit left behind in the changing market. More recently an upswing in interest in the grindhouse have allowed a good deal of Roger Corman’s work to start appearing on DVD and even some grindhouse style films like Deathproof and Planet Terror to be made by big name directors which allowed some cover for them to making it into major cinema chains schedules.
In the case of Father’s Day, no such major cinema showing is likely to happen but as anyone who has looked through the listings of their local multiplex can attest just because something is shown there doesn’t automatically mean it is any good- nor is “Direct to Video” an automatic sign that something has failed either. Father’s Day in some ways feels like a film that is simply out of its time but in some ways that is actually a good thing as presenting a different way of filmmaking can also be a positive for the film watcher.
Father’s Day opens in a brutal and over the top manner that almost immediately invades the viewers comfort zone and sets them on edge. After a quick little spot that sets one up with a promo as if this feature had aired in a late night television slot and were being recorded on an 80’s style VCR (and possibly in SLP given the static present) that little bit of solace is ripped away as the next images show a man sawing up a dead body (among other acts) and is intercut with images of a man with a gun stalking the perpetrator. The man with the gun arrives too late to the room as the murderer is running down the streets but the vigilante quickly catches up and runs the man over with his car before getting out and delivering the coup de grace with a pump action shotgun as he wishes the monster “Happy Father’s Day.”
After an opening credit roll that includes some really upbeat music and some colorful illustrations the audience finds itself introduced to Twink, a young blond man who has found himself waking up in jail. It turns out this isn’t the first time he has done so either as the man questioning him, Detective Stegel, mentions he had had just questioned Twink two days ago. It turns out that Twink had been found in a hotel room with a dead overweight man and now his own father was dead as well which has cast more than a little suspicion over Twink. Through a flashback the audience sees that Twink works as a prostitute, servicing men who come around his corner with his pimp working out the details. While Twink is going about his business (rather poorly) his father is sexually assaulted and killed as Twink arrives home just to find his dad on fire and the only description Twink has is of a man named Chris Fuchman (rhymes with Duckman, and yes that is as subtle as the feature gets) who is something of an urban legend in terms of his actions (he was the man who opened the film sawing up a body).
Twink is released to a local priest named Father John Sullivan who tries to help the young man but who finds Twink is having nothing to do with it. As Twink tries to deal with what is going on around him Father Sullivan returns to his parish and talks with his mentor, Father O’Flynn. A particular detail of the case sticks out and Father O’Flynn relates to Father Sullivan the story of a boy he raised named Ahab. Ahab is the man the audience seen in the open and who attempted to track down the Fuchman and eliminate him years ago and who has since gone into seclusion believing he had achieved his goal.
Through a travel montage Father Sullivan finally tracks down Ahab who has been hiding from society after spending time in prison for the murder of Fuchman but who will now be dragged back into a conflict that he once thought he’d left behind. In doing so Ahab will have to confront all he left behind- a sister named Chelsea who is now working as a stripper and who is trying to get vengeance for her father herself, Detective Stegel who put Ahab away and Sleazy Mary who was a striper he used to try to trap Fuchman in the past.
As events spiral out of control the cost of stopping Fuchman is only outweighed by the danger that will befall the uneasy and unconventional alliance formed between Ahab, Father Sullivan and Twink as the trio will put everything on the line to stop the monster. Everything turns out to include their souls as they discover the (amazingly even darker than previously believed) past of Fuchman when what he really is finally becomes reveled. With the world at stake the bullets will fly and justice will turn out to exist only in the eye of the beholder in this wild and often really bizarre ride into the heart of cheap movie goodness.
With a premise as insanely over the top as the one found here it would be pretty easy to see why the film won’t appeal to a wide market. In some ways that is actually a bit of a positive as the filmmakers are free to run wild and create a picture where nothing is out of bounds and they don’t have to worry about trying to make decisions to appease a more mainstream audience. Largely this approach accomplishes its task as the material here works rather well overall with it providing a fresh spark with its “take no prisoners” approach to storytelling and its seeming desire to find if there is a line drawn in regards to good taste and, if so, to make sure they spend as much time on the other side of it as possible.
Probably the biggest flaw in the film is found in its portrayal of Ahab as a Snake Plissken like parody role, something which may have worked if the film were made in the early 1980s but it is a characterization which rings hollow after the character was unintentionally already more effectively eviscerated by its own creator and star thanks to 1996’s Escape From L.A. In some ways if the creators had used a less definable action star the feature would have carried better as this character can just be dragged down by the morass that was Escape From L.A., which is kind of an odd realization given the nature of this film actually. Also of note are there are a few times where it feels the cast was just sent off to ad lib on occasion and when it fails there are some spots that are dead, which in some ways help to just extenuate how good some of the rest of the film is.
Negatives aside this is a film that shows some serious promise from the filmmakers. While it isn’t the most impressive early work I have ever seen there is a flow here that is hard to overlook and a storytelling ability that makes the impossible and insane seem reasonable given how it was constructed. If one can get past the offensive materials present here they will find a rather skillfully constructed on the cheap film that has some ideas that seem fresh in an industry seemingly built on all the ideas that have come before and which get recycled often. It is a film with flaws but there is so much insanity here that it is almost impossible not to overlook the flaws and to just enjoy the picture as the tribute to a more tasteless style of picture making that it is. The phrase “assault on the senses” is often thrown about but I have rarely ever experienced it before this film, which did leave my head swirling- though in equal parts disbelief and astonishment at what was attempted in parts of this feature.
In Summary:
Tasteless, crude and offensive are likely to be some of the key words people come away from the film expressing and they will be true. What is also here is a movie made where the creators decided to abandon all caution and make a picture that makes one laugh at some of those same elements and which some will find worthwhile despite- or perhaps because of- those elements. If you enjoy some often cheesy material with more than a sprinkling of crassness, humor and some taboo subject matter you may find that Father’s Day embraces the kind of movie making wild enthusiasm that has seemingly fallen out of favor but which provides more entertainment- and more room for thought provoking scenes even if they are dark and offensive- than many of the middle of the road pictures Hollywood churns out with much micromanaging but seemingly little passion these days. All that said, the material here often is offensive and was designed as such so if you go in, go in with some knowledge that this is indeed what you will be getting.
Grade: B-
