DVD REVIEW: SERIAL MOM

DVD/BLU RAY REVIEW: SERIAL MOM

Shock Entertainment – March 2017
Writer/Director John Waters
Starring Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Mathew Lillard
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

8 ½ /10

Kathleen Turner is a camp, murderous delight in John Waters’ twisted parody that brings the world of perfectly happy suburbia and serial killers colliding together in hilariously black style.

Turner plays the perfect Mom, who unbeknownst to her family and neighbours, is actually a psycho on the verge of snapping like an elastic band. Character actor Sam Waterston is wonderful as the Dad who can’t believe his wife could be a murderer, and Mathew Lillard (in his first movie role) and Ricki Lake are suitably wacky as the not-all-there horror movie obsessed and boy crazy kids, respectively.

Waters mercilessly sends up the fake façade of suburban life, enlisting a wonderful troupe of supporting actors to back up his leads, and although Serial Mom is a dark comedy, it’s made darker still by Turner’s over-the-top performance, which somehow makes this fantastic tale seem even more possible.

Shock’s re-release of this 1994 gem is jam-packed with extras, including a documentary about the making of the film, with recollections from many of the players in front and behind the camera; a doco about the ‘Kings of Gore’ Herschell Gordon Lewis and David Friendman; and feature commentarys with Waters and Turner, making this a must-have for your collection.

www.shock.com.au

Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews