“Father’s Day” by Troma Entertainment is a retro-farcical exploitation film that offers lot of energy and some skill in the film making. I have to admit I’ve become jaded about most horror films these days, because they just seem to fall into too many patterns. You can’t say that about Father’s Day. Not many horror movies could be described as “rollicking”, but Father’s Day is one of them.

Anyone who’s ever seen Troma films knows what they’re getting into: blood, gore, gratuitous nudity, and probably some gross-out moments. Father’s Day, marketed by Troma as an answer to Mother’s Day, fulfills all those descriptions.

I didn’t expect much from Father’s Day and ended up being pleasantly surprised. When I saw that the director was “Astron-6“, I thought to myself, “Oh, no, this was done by some artsy European director.”

It turns out Astron-6 is a movie making outfit from Canada whose taste in film blends nicely with Troma Films.

TASTE WARNING: Before I discuss the movie too much, let me warn anyone who’s easily offended to stop reading. Don’t let your children read this review, because they’ll be scarred for life. Since this is Oddfilms, you shouldn’t have to be told. Let’s start.

Father’s Day Plot Synopsis

Father’s Day revolves around a serial killer named “Chris Fuchman”, who goes around town sodomizing and then killing fathers. Years ago, Fuchman murdered the father of Ahab (Adam Brooks) and Ahab is out for revenge. This is one of those stories where the boy grows up with one goal–to become a bad-ass and get revenge. Made an orphan by Fuckman’s evil, Ahab traveled the world, hid out in the woods, and learned the art of making maple syrup. Meanwhile, Ahab’s younger sister (Amy Groening), is packed off to an orphanage and grows up to become a stripper.

Also meanwhile, Twink (Conor Sweeney) is a good-for-nothing who gives men blowjobs and argues with his concerned father, played ably by Billy Sadoo. When Twink’s Dad is brutally sodomized and murdered by Chris Fuchman, Twink gets in on the revenge game.

The monster-hunting trio is completed when Father John Sullivan (Matthew Kennedy) gets in the game. One of my favorites was Twink’s partner in slime, Walnut (Garrett Hnatiuk).

My favorite character of the movie was Father O’Flynn (Kevin Anderson), the Irish Catholic priest who made pronouncements from his deathbed. The blind father’s eyes were glowing, making it appear that his feeding tube must have been pumping radioactive material into him. Cool visual, though.

This group goes off to find Chris Fuchman, learn about his connection to the Fuckmanicus, and put a stop to his evil. Along the way, we get to see lots of bare breasts, more dingus than I’d care to have seen, and lots of gore. You also find out what Ahab’s tasty berries are all about. Father’s Day is epic, even cosmic, in scope, as the action ranges all the way from Heaven to Hell and everywhere in between. You also get to see Troma Entertainment’s co-founder, Lloyd Kaufman, play both God and the Devil. Good stuff.

Father’s Day Review

Father’s Day is a revenge tale mixed with a slasher film. Along the way, Father’s Day becomes complete farce, but that’s a good thing. You could tell that the cast and crew of Father’s Day had a good time making this movie, which translates to entertainment for the viewers. I won’t say that a cast having fun always equals entertaining (see those godawful “Ocean’s Eleven” films), but it usually helps when a film like this doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s nothing worse than the pretentious bad horror movie–and this isn’t it.

Father’s Day, like all Troma films, is low-budget. You won’t always see a lot of skill in the acting and direction, though the film had better acting than most low-budget horror shows. Some of the dramatic shots and poses were top-notch, too. All in all, Troma Film’s Father’s Day should entertain most horror watchers. It beats the hell of out Land of the Dead.

Random Thoughts on Father’s Day

• Ahab looks like a cross between Jason Lee and Jeremy Piven–with an eyepatch.
• Chelsea looks a little like Willow from Buffy if she were really hot, brunette, and a stripper.
• Twink appears to be the lovechild of Jake Bussey and Napoleon Dynamite.
• Father John Sullivan looks like a wimpy version of Christian Bayle.
• I kept wondering why Sleazy Mary showed up so much–I felt like I was supposed to know who she was. Sleazy Mary was played by Conor Sweeney’s sister. Despite being in a non-hot role, I thought she was kinda attractive.
• Yes, Chris Fuchman does look a little like a fat Dwight Schrute.
• Father’s Day won Best Film and five other awards of Toronto After Dark 2011.

About the Director – Astron-6

Astron-6 is a collaboration of five Canadian actors and filmmakers: Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks, Conor Sweeney, Steven Kostanski, and Jeremy Gillespie. Conor Sweeney’s sister, Meredith Sweeney, is occasionally seen in photographs of the bunch. She’s listed as an “Astron-6 favorite”. The Adam Brooks in Astron-6 is not the Australian politician or the Canadian director and screenwriter, no matter what Wikipedia says. Matt Kennedy is also not a retired American soccer player.