Troma Entertainment, one of the longest-running independent movie studios in United States history, is back in action with the release of Father’s Day, a four-disc set that practically oozes with blood and mayhem. This over-the-top VHS-inspired Grindhouse flick stands proudly alongside their other classics like Lloyd Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, Class of Nuke’em High, Mother’s Day and Tromeo and Juliet.
Directed by five comedians/filmmakers who call themselves Astron-6, Father’s Day is also loaded with some of the funniest moments usually ruined by your typical Hollywood cheesefests who don’t know parody from a hole in the ground. It’s profane, disgusting, wicked and twisted. It’s also incredibly hilarious. What else would you expect from the house that Toxie built?
The eye-patch wearing Ahab (Adam Brooks) is a man on a mission. All over the city of his youth, kindly fathers are being terrorized by serial killer-anal rapist-cannibal, Chris Fuchman (Mackenzie Murdock). Fuchman is the man/monster Ahab thought he killed years ago; the man responsible for the loss of his own father. Teaming up with a young street hustler named Twink (Conor Sweeney) and Father John Sullivan (Matthew Kennedy), the three travel from strip clubs to Hell itself to kill, once and for all, the Fuchman.
For Father’s Day, the plot is just an excuse to cram a serious amount of violence, bedlam, nudity, and anal rape scenes down the audience’s throats. None of it is serious or meant to be taken as anything but mindless and, as a result of some pretty loopy moments meshed into what amounts to a demented road trip to Hell, Father’s Day succeeds in busting out beyond its $10,000 budget. It’s unforgettably twisted and successfully plays out as homage to the grindhouse sub-genre of film.
If there’s one thing you could say about Father’s Day it’s that filmmakers Astron-6 definitely do not hold back on the raunch dressing. Women hardly wear any clothes, Priest’s openly question their sexuality and the existence of God, blood and guts are served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a brother and sister engage in sexual no holds-barred acts. Written to be a comedy in the world of the grindhouse spectacle, Father’s Day is not quite as whip-smart as Jason Eisner’s Hobo with a Shotgun. It is, however, just as enjoyable.
This long delayed blu-ray release, now in a relatively limited run of 5000 units, is sure to please young and old fans of Troma alike. It’s a release that may in fact be gobbled up fairly quickly by the film's rather rabid fan base. The actors are having fun and so should you. If you get the chance, do not miss owning this latest addition to the Troma universe.
MPAA Rating: this film has not been rated by the MPAA.
Runtime: 99 mins
Director: Adam Brooks; Jeremy Gillespie; Matthew Kennedy; Steven Kostanski; Conor Sweeney
Writer: Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy and Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski
Cast: Adam Brooks; Matthew Kennedy; Amy Groening; Brent Neale; Conor Sweeney
Genre: Comedy | Horror
Tagline: Sons, lock up your fathers... vengeance arrives on... Father's Day!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Maybe now you'll take me syrupsly!"
Distributor: Troma Video Entertainment GmbH
Official Site: www.thefathersdaymovie.com
Release Date: January 18, 2012 (limited)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 14, 2012
Synopsis: Sons, lock up your fathers... vengeance arrives on... Father's Day!
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Blu-ray Experience
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Blu-ray Details:
English SDH, French, Spanish
(less)English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German SDH
(less)Available on Blu-ray - August 14, 2012
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Four-disc set (1 BD, 2 DVDs, 1 CD); DVD copy
Playback: Region A & B
Full of stylized pops, cracks, scratches and even a commercial interruption, Father’s Day sports an impressively detailed 1080p transfer that tears shit up with the best of the studio releases. The film is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and retains its dark shadows well. While this is an under lit shoot, the shots in normal lighting or in the daylight are surprisingly crystal clear with good object detail. The colors are well saturated with strong colors. Make no bones about it, this film isn’t designed to look pretty and anyone with a lo-fi desire will be pleased by what this throwback has to offer. Unfortunately, the sound is only offered in a somewhat flat Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. There are some fine music cues that get lost to compression and some of the sounds aren’t given free reign. That being said, dialogue is clear and clean throughout. I guess the soundtrack adds to the limitations of the VHS format.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- Unfortunately, there is no commentary from the folks behind Astron-6 as they earn nothing from this release. According to their facebook posts, they have resulted to referring to this release as a cash-grab from Troma because they earn no royalties and aren’t involved with it. Sad indeed. One would have thought Troma would feed their talent a bit more.
Special Features:
And here’s what took so long for this film to finally see the light of day. The set, which contains the film on high definition Blu-ray and standard definition DVD plus a DVD of extra features and a CD soundtrack EP with songs from the movie including “The Hunter” and “We Are the Universe” from acclaimed musician Smokey Miles, sounds pretty comprehensive. Upon closer inspection, you see the truth. Disc one and two are simple repeats with one in HD and one in standard. The Special Features are rather weak. It just depends how long you can sit and stare at a prosthetic penis.
The breakdown is listed below and you’ll see that the majority of the supplemental material can be found on the third disc. Beginning with an introduction by Lloyd Kaufman at Comic-Con and complete with plenty of looks at the splatter effects that made those penis mutilation shots so gory, the supplemental items might not be for everyone. There is an interview with Chris Kostanski and McKenzie Murdoch about makeup effects as well as a featurette about how to make your own prop. You also get a look at the film’s premiere and you get to sit in on a Q & A session from Toronto. There’s an interesting interview with Matt Stone (South Park) and plenty of short Do It Yourself filmmaking items, but the best bits might be the two short films the filmmakers completed before Father’s Day.
- Disc One (Blu-ray):
- HD Film Presentation
- Theatrical Trailer
- Disc Two (DVD):
- SD Film Presentation
- Theatrical Trailer
- Deleted Scenes (2 min)
- Disc Three (DVD):
- Lloyd Kaufman Introduction at Comic-Con (2 min)
- Original Father's Day Foreskin (1 min)
- Original Father's Day Extended Foreskin (4 min)
- Animated Foreskin (1 min)
- TV Foreskin (1 min)
- Behind the Scenes Slideshow (5 min)
- Make Your Own Damn Fuchman (5 min)
- Make Your Own Damn Tire Iron (2 min)
- Roll Out the Blood Carpet: Father's Day Premiere Nights (16 min)
- Troma & Astron-6 Charm Festival of Fear (5 min)
- Create Your Own Damn Award Winning Movie Poster The Dude Designs Way (3 min)
- Super Tromette Elena Recreates the Low Life (1 min)
- Father's Day Article at Rue Morgue Magazine (2 min)
- "Lazer Ghosts" (10 min)
- "Cool Guys" (29 min)
- Make Your Own Damn Green Screen! (A Lesson by Lloyd Kaufman) (16 min)
- How the Director Sells His Own Damn Movie (5 min)
- Radiation March (1 min)
- Interview with South Park's Matt Stone (25 min)
- Disc Four (CD):
- Sampler of the soundtrack
