I really love Elijah Woods in the horror genre. I think he’s a great fit for it. He played the lead in the Maniac remake in 2012 and did a fantastic job there. In Come to Daddy his acting dexterity and ingenuity comes to the forefront, and he shines again.
Elijah plays Norval, a DJ/artist who seems timid and passive. He is at a vulnerable point in his life, living with his mother at his age, recently recovered from alcohol dependency, and a failed suicide attempt. When we catch up to Norval, he’s on a bus to meet up with his father, Brian, of whom has not seen in thirty years. It turns out, his father has sent him a letter asking him to come see him and stay with him for a while.
Norval jumps at the opportunity to reacquaint with Brian to hopefully make a connection with the person he has been missing almost the entirety of his life.
Upon arrival though, his father seems confused and flippant, but finally greets him and pulls him in for an embrace. From here though, things get strange as it's apparent something seems off with Brian.
Quickly, Norval finds that his father is nothing like he imagined. Brian drinks around him the entire time, regardless of Norval telling him of his near-death tragedy from an alcohol-induced night, and the dependency that he has shed from his life. Comments and attitude from Brian are crude, baiting. Norval gets pushed to the level of detesting the man that called on him to visit and spend time with him, only to berate him and get drunk around him, while teasing Norval with the alcohol he’s imbibing.
The first 20-30 minutes of the movie feels exactly like what the two characters (Norval and Brian) are doing, tentatively testing the waters with each other, gingerly dancing around some unspeakable topic, beating around the bush avoiding some question(s) yet to be asked.
Don’t let this period of the opening fool you. The twist that takes place not long after Norval’s arrival at his father’s house really takes the audience in an unforeseen direction. But once the veil is revealed, it takes off on a wild, weird, gory, violent ride. When the first of the gore really hits the screen it’s somewhat of a shock after the tame beginning. And that first violent scene sets the pace for the rest of the movie. We’ve got head bashing, body part removals, feces covered pens being jabbed into a person’s belly, sharp objects being jabbed through flesh. If you are a gore fan, this movie is really a thing of beauty!
Come to Daddy is strange, quirky, dark, and absolutely worth the watch. The dry dark humor is almost so much under the surface at points you forget to laugh. Elijah’s acting performance of Norval, and the script, had this overlaying cloak of “I want to giggle at this” feel to it, but also wanting to gag at the same time. There’s a great building of intensity from the moment Norval walks in the doorway to his father’s abode, and the payoff in the end is worth it.
The growth of Norval is one really interesting to watch. He starts out as this curious but cautious person, uncertain of the father he never grew up with, starts out by trying to impress the man, then is brought to the point of loathing him, and then is forced into a situation where he has to kill someone for his father in order to survive the terrifying position into which he is thrust. Elijah Woods pulls off the role perfectly.
Come to Daddy is honest about Norval and doesn’t hide the fact that he is just human. Norval is certainly not a typical hero or someone ever capable of murder if not for a grave reason. When Norval is pushed into a fight he is flawed and does not suddenly become this badass who knows how to fight or kill, as any normal untrained person would be in his shoes.
This is Ant Timpson’s directorial debut but he has not been a stranger to the horror genre as he Produced Housebound, The ABC’s of Death 1, 2 and 2.5, The Field Guide to Evil, and more. His first go at a full-length horror movie has received high marks in Come to Daddy, so I’m sure this will not be the last we see of him in our beloved genre. I will gladly welcome it!
I really enjoyed Come to Daddy on many levels. The gore, the artistic design behind the narrative and the odd characters, great acting, and the story itself all gave me a big smile!
I gave it 4.0 Bloody Reels out of 5.0, so it had to be great, right?!
I hope you get a chance to check out Come to Daddy. And if you do, let us at The Bloody Reel know what you thought about it!
Bloody Cheers!
Come to Daddy
Released: 2/7/2020
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Comedy
Director: Ant Timpson (Directorial Debut – probably much more to come!)
Writer: Ant Timpson (Housebound, The ABCs of Death), Toby Harvard (The ABCs of Death 2)
Stars:
Elijah Wood (Maniac 2012, Cooties, all Lord of the Rings movies)
Stephen McHattie (Pontypool, Watchmen, The Covenant)
Martin Donovan (Weeds, Tenet, Big Little Lie)
Michael Smiley (Kill List, The Lobster, Free Fire)
IMDB Rating: 6.0 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 75%
Metascore: 64 out of 100
Streamable on these Apps with subscription at time of Blog Post: Prime Video
Rentable on these Apps at time of Blog Post: AppleTV, Prime Video, Vudu, Redbox, etc.
Come to Daddy Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D05YjZmVSI
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