Come to Daddy
Spend Some Quality Time With Family...
Come to Daddy
Genre: Thriller / Comedy
Release Date: February 7, 2020
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Rated: R
Behind the Scenes
Directed by Ant Timpson
Written by Toby Harvard
Cinematography by Daniel Katz
Music by Karl Steven
Distributed by Saban Films
In Front of the Camera
Elijah Wood (MANIAC, GRAND PIANO)
Stephen McHattie (PONTYPOOL, WATCHMEN)
Michael Smiley (KILL LIST, A FIELD IN ENGLAND)
Martin Donovan (INHERENT VICE, BIG LITTLE LIES)
What’s It About?
“Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood), a privileged man-child, arrives at the beautiful and remote coastal cabin of his estranged father (Stephen McHattie), who he hasn't seen in 30 years. He quickly discovers that not only is dad a disapproving jerk, but he also has a shady past that is rushing to catch up with him. Now, hundreds of miles from his cushy comfort zone, Norval must battle with demons both real and perceived to reconnect with a father he barely knows.” — Saban Films
Why You Should Check It Out
"I once accidentally kicked a guy's ear off. I didn't mean to, but the fucker flew off. I could see right into his skull." - Daddy
Written by Toby Harvard (THE GREASY STRANGLER), COME TO DADDY is the deliciously dark directorial debut of New Zealand's Ant Timpson, producer of kick-ass genre films like HOUSEBOUND, DEATHGASM, and TURBO KID.
The comedy-thriller, which made its debut at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, stars Elijah Wood (COOTIES, OPEN WINDOWS) as Norval Greenwood, a mustachioed musician from Beverly Hills with a medieval bowl cut who receives a letter from his estranged father (Stephen McHattie) asking him to come and visit. Norval, who hasn't seen his pops in 30 years, follows the map included with the message to a remote coastal cabin in the Pacific Northwest.
Initially, his old man is warm and accommodating. After a few drinks, however, he becomes antagonistic and aggressive, taunting and insulting Norval and threatening him with physical violence. After a few days of escalating hostilities, he tries to attack his son with a meat cleaver and, during the ensuing struggle, has a heart attack and dies.
Even worse, due to overcrowding at the local morgue, Norval is forced to keep his father's body in the cabin with him after having it embalmed. He attempts to stay there with the body long enough for his mother to arrive but is repeatedly awakened by strange sounds from somewhere under the house. And then things get really weird.
Inspired by the death of his father and the five days he spent with the embalmed corpse in his house alone, Timpson's COME TO DADDY is a wildly entertaining and surprisingly intimate film. Harvard's outrageously violent and deliriously deranged script deals out shocking revelations and funny conversational moments, delivering a one-two punch that keeps the audience guessing. Watching Norval attempt to earn his father's approval with an anecdote about Sir Elton John is one of the best moments in the movie.
Norval begins as a pretentious, mustachioed musician from Beverly Hills with a medieval bowl cut and matures in unexpected and decidedly profound ways during his journey. Caring about such an unappealing twit would be a monumental task were it not for Elijah Wood. Wood’s ability to emote overpowers his ludicrous looks and gives Norval an empathetic nature — a wounded soul in search of catharsis.
In addition to Wood and the brilliant McHattie, another great (and terrifying) performance comes from Michael Smiley (THE WORLD’S END) as Jethro — a wicked figure from Norval's father's past whose physical appearance can only be described as Weirder Al Yankovic™. The crossbow-wielding Northern Irishman is after something that belonged to Norval's father, and now Norval is in his crosshairs — quite literally.
While it's certainly more accessible and palatable than THE GREASY STRANGLER, Timpson's directorial debut isn't a by-the-numbers popcorn movie for the lowest common denominator. It's made for the Something Weird Video crowd — a funny, disturbing, gross, and ultimately personal film from a unique voice in a sea of sameness.
To quote John Waters, "Get more out of life. See a fucked-up movie."
COME TO DADDY is available on Digital. For more recent horror recommendations, check out my Top 25 Horror Films of 2019 at Letterboxd.
You May Also Like…
If you like this, you may also enjoy:
MANIAC (2012) (Amazon Prime Video / IFC Films Unlimited)
COOTIES (Amazon Prime Video)
TURBO KID (Amazon Prime Video)
THE GREASY STRANGLER (Amazon Prime Video)
Shock Waves Episode 176: Ant Timpson (Podcast)
Shock Waves Episode 153: Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah (Podcast)
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Trailer
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