In some circles, one would say Troma has a definite winner here when compared to prior releases. Father’s Day is a trashy grindhouse calibre film that surpasses most of Troma’s low budget efforts, and takes us into a dark disturbing, yet surprisingly funny as hell cheezy gorefest.

Ahab, a man obsessed with exacting a brutal, violent revenge on the man who murdered his dad, joins John, an eager priest, and Twink, a hot-headed street hustler, on an epic quest to find and defeat this mythical monster known as Chris Fuchman AKA The Father’s Day Killer.

Father’s Day is based on a “fake trailer” directed by Astron-6, a group of 5 directors who sent their trailer into Troma with little to no expectations. Given a $10,000 budget, the group assembled a film that easily exceeds it’s screen value. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not praising the film by any stretch of the imagination. I am however impressed by what was accomplished on such a low budget. Basing a feature on a trailer that is literally just minutes long is a difficult endeavor to say the least. Films like Machete and Hobo With A Shotgun were birthed from the same roots, but with a 10 and 3 million dollar budget respectively. With just 10 thousand dollars, Father’s Day easily manages to play in the same park as both of those films. It includes fake commercials and is presented like it’s being played on a late night cinema show. In all respects, Father’s Day is meant to be bad. I have to tip my hat to the directors/writers for realizing that, and not trying to make it something it could never be, and fully embracing it’s cheezy spirit.

That being said, it’s really difficult to review a film like Father’s day. A film that is the product of huge budgetary restraints and intentional sabotage. I’ll try my best to put my thoughts into words, but they should really be taken lightly. The film, for what it is, works… and any comments I have should just serve as cautionary notes as to what you can expect if you decide to board this ride.

If I were to hold Father’s Day to higher standards, one of the bigger problems would be the terrible sound production. The music is composed of typical grindhouse stylings that is poorly matched to the cuts. Lip synching is off in a lot of shots, and sound effects are just horrendous… when they are actually present. Hammer hits nail, wait a second, que sound. Whether intentional or not (I’m sure it is), it definitely adds to the campiness of the experience, and does spark laughter outside the terrible dialogue.

Despite many of the fan reviews I’ve read, the acting in Father’s Day is pretty bad. It is however very typical of low budget film making, so if you’re accustomed to films of this ilke, then you probably won’t care. The dialogue is painful at times, and the delivery is off on more than one occasion. Characters are typically cheezy and one dimensional, but it is what it is! Troma has never been known for pushing pictures that house quality performances… its more about the boobs, blood and gore.

Oh the gore. Troma has garnered a reputation for over the top gore in most of it’s features, and Father’s Day doesn’t disappoint. There is definitely enough heaps of flesh eating, intestinal carnage, topped with the occasional penis chow to keep the hard core gorehounds at bay…. and for the most part, the gore is good. It’s shot well for what it is, and lit in a way that only a few scenes feel jarringly bad. The gore does at points go right off the charts with scenes like having sex with a decapitated head (something we first saw in Alexandre Aja’s Haute Tension), and rubbing body parts on gutted innards, but this is what’s to be expected from this genre. No matter how stupidly funny Father’s Day sounds though, it’s definitely not for weaker stomachs!

If you do however have the constitution for it, and you’re familiar with (and enjoy) Troma’s stylings, Father’s Day is a must see. Personally, I’ve been watching Troma films for almost 25 years and although some of their stuff is hilariously crude and worth checking out, a lot of it is just trash. Fortunately, Father’s Day is destined to become a cult classic, and its one worth owning… if you’re into this kind of stuff. I’m giving Father’s Day a 5 because it entertained me, but unfortunately I can’t justify a higher grade without misrepresenting my personal tastes. For a Troma film though, or anything else in this gene pool, a score of 5 is really good!

Father’s Day has a showing at the Mayfair Theater in Ottawa this coming Friday (June 15th) at 11:45PM. I highly recommend seeing it with a group of friends to heighten your enjoyment!

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