The 1980 film Mother’s Day from director Charles Kaufman (brother of Lloyd) shares a lot in common with the other big rape/revenge films of the era like I Spit On Your Grave and The Last House on the Left – there’s not a whole lot of room for big developmental changes in these niche type of movies. However, it does take that formula and modify it in a couple of ways, primarily involving three protagonists who all experience a horrific kidnapping at the hands of two brothers and their demented mother (Rose Ross AKA Beatrice Pons).
The film’s first act revolves around sisterhood, spending quite a bit of time developing characterization of its three heroines Trina (Tiana Pierce), Jackie (Deborah Luce), and Abbey (Nancy Hendrickson) and documenting their differing lifestyles ten years after college. The backstory is important, because it sets up a reason for their trek into the woods as a recurring yearly girls’ outing. But more so, it highlights the lingering themes of sisterhood and camaraderie that follows throughout Mother’s Day once they’re captured by Ike (Gary Pollard) and Addley (Michael McCleery).
This will come to set the film apart from its rape/revenge predecessors, since this film’s rape only involves one of the protagonists and she eventually dies as a result of her injuries. Generally these films see a 1:1 ratio of rape to revenge, but here Kaufman explores vengeance through the eyes of the victim’s friends; after getting free, they ultimately decide to backtrack and remove the threat of the murderous family before they can do the same to others. It’s a nice change from the normal routine although it does tend to give Mother’s Day a bit more seediness since the victim is unable to exact any personal vengeance.
Kaufman’s direction wavers a bit in the second act, attempting to showcase both the literal and figurative destitution of his villains. Unfortunately, a lot of the twist of Mother’s Day is revealed in the film’s admittedly effective opening scene, so the rest of the film’s focus on Ike and Addley as characters feels like padding to give them a bit of backstory that ultimately results in the viewer learning little more about them than the obvious familial mental disorders.
With that said, the film runs lean at 90 minutes and features some good suspense and fun encounters between the girls and the guys, resulting in a climactic showdown that harkens back to the themes of parental trauma. It may not be lauded as one of the most recognized in the horror sub-genre, but Mother’s Day attempts to add some innovative elements into the mix and is certainly worthy of its cult status.
4K UHD
Vinegar Syndrome releases Mother’s Day on 4K UHD with a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative and the restoration is obviously a loving one. The picture quality is impressive and the quality of the negative is virtually pristine. Overall definition is very high, notable in the many close-up sequences showcasing great facial textures. Background details are easily distinguishable, as is all of the detritus throughout the scenes involving Mother’s house. The release features HDR 10 and while it does not have a lot of dark sequences or an overly colorful palette to showcase the dynamic range, the overall result is still noticeably warm and lush; and when those sporadic nighttime sequences do come into the picture, black levels are deep and inky without losing delineation. Grain is surprisingly light but still filmic. Overall, Mother’s Day looks excellent on 4K with no discernible flaws.
Audio is presented with DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 mono on the UHD, and it sounds surprisingly robust with a strong center channel that emphasizes the synth-laden score, with no drops for dialogue. Interestingly, the Blu-ray features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track rather than the single center channel, but ultimately there’s not a lot of difference between the two. English subtitles are also included.
Vinegar Syndrome lays on the extra features here, putting most of them on the Blu-ray disc (except the audio commentary with Charles Kaufman and Rex A. Piano, which is included on both). The audio commentary (previously released) is a fun listen as Kaufman and Piano recount background details about the film’s production, sometimes losing train of thought but getting it back with what seems like a lightly scripted preparation. A variety of new interviews are also included: actors Nancy Hendrickson and Michael McCleery give individual interviews that last about half an hour each; from the crew side, co-screenwriter Warren Leight, producer Michael Kravitz, production designer Susan Kaufman and costume designer Ellen Lutter, and editor Daniel Loewenthal all provide extensive interviews on the various facets of production. Along with his audio commentary, Rex A. Piano also contributes his own interview which does dive into some of the same information. A new location featurette visits the shooting sets from the film in present day with Piano as well.
Older extras are ported over from the previous Anchor Bay and 88 Films Blu-ray releases. An interview between Charles Kaufman and Lloyd Kaufman, a 2010 Comic Con panel, additional archival interview with Kaufman are all included, as well as behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, TV and radio spots, an interview with fan Eli Roth, and more. The package itself also gets reversible cover artwork.
Extra Features
- 2-disc Region Free Set: 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in High-Dynamic-Range
- NEW scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Commentary track with director Charles Kaufman and assistant art director Rex A. Piano
- NEW “You’re a Sick Woman!” – an interview with actress Nancy Hendrickson (1080p; 32:37)
- NEW “My Brother and Me” – an interview with actor Michael McCleery (1080p; 26:54)
- NEW “Writing to Mother” – an interview with co-writer Warren Leight (1080p; 37:30)
- NEW “The Book of Mother’s Day” – an interview with producer Michael Kravitz (1080p; 32:55)
- NEW “The Last House in the Woods” – an interview with production designer Susan Kaufman and costume designer Ellen Lutter (1080p; 21:31)
- NEW “Cutting Mother” – an interview with editor Daniel Loewenthal and assistant editor Richard W. Haines (1080p; 30:17)
- NEW “Celebrating Mother’s Day” – an interview with assistant art director Rex A. Piano (1080p; 21:52)
- Director Charles Kaufman interviewed by Lloyd Kaufman (1080p; 7:55)
- Interview with actress Tiana Pierce (1080p; 6:53)
- NEW “Messin’ Up In Deep Barons: The Locations of Mother’s Day” – a tour of the shooting locations with assistant art director Rex A. Piano and MOTHER’S DAY superfan Brandon Hall (1080p; 19:10)
- Archival interview with director Charles Kaufman (1080p; 2:29)
- Charles Kaufman and Darren Bousman talk MOTHER’S DAY at Comic Con 2010 (1080p; 8:05)
- Eli Roth on MOTHER’S DAY (1080p; 13:07)
- 8mm behind-the-scenes with commentary by Charles Kaufman (1080p; 10:07)
- Archival interview with assistant art director Rex A. Piano (1080p; 1:07)
- Theatrical trailer (1080p; 2:17)
- TV spot (1080p; 0:32)
- Multiple radio spots (1:30)
- NEW Reversible cover artwork
- English SDH subtitles
Verdict
Mother’s Day is a fun film in the rape/revenge genre that tries some different things, and this Vinegar Syndrome 4K is lovingly restored with an excellent transfer. The vast amount of extras add even more value to this release, making it a must-have for fans of the film even if it is a double-dip.
