Writer: Tucia Lyman (Screenplay)
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bailey Edwards, Edward Asner, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Julian de la Celle, Sevan Aliksanian, Lili Peper, Spence Scott
Plot: A distraught mother suspects her teenage son is plotting a school shooting, but when he slips through the cracks of the system, she is forced to take matters into her own hands. After installing an elaborate spy camera system in their home, Abbey captures a series of disturbing videos that confirm her worst fears. Torn between a mother’s unconditional love and a mother’s acute intuition, Abbey caters her videos to all the other “mothers of monsters” online. Abbey’s plan backfires when Jacob uses a dark family secret against her, launching both mother and son on a terrifying, and ultimately deadly, game of cat and mouse.
Tagline – A distraught mother suspects her teenage son is a psychopath who may shoot up his high school, but when he outsmarts the mental healthcare system she is forced to take matters into her own hands… A Mothers Worst Nightmare.
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Intense Thriller
Story: M.O.M. Mothers of Monsters starts as we see all the recordings Abbey (Hamilton) has made of her interactions with her son Jacob (Edwards) through the years, now he is high school age, her concern about his behavior continues to grow, only nobody is listening to her concerns.
As Abbey is trying to keep watch over Jacob, her contacts start reflecting what happened to her in her past, leading down the path of wondering if it is her losing it or it is history repeating itself.
Thoughts on M.O.M Mothers of Monsters
Characters – Abbey is the concerned mother, she has always thought something was wrong with her son and now she believes are becoming more intense, she wants to document the problems in hope of getting to the bottom of it, only her own past might be motivating the truth behind why she is suspecting everything. Jacob is the son, now a teenager with his own interests away from the world, he likes things that most teenagers wouldn’t, which is why his mother sees him as a threat. He uses his intelligence to stay ahead of her, which only continues to push her away no matter how hard he tries to prove he is harmless. Everyone else we meet gives advice or shows the concern for Abbey along the way.
Performances – Melinda Page Hamilton and Bailey Edwards do nearly all the work in this film, their performances carry everything which is important as we see just how desperate they are to show the problems their characters are showing.
Story – The story here follows a mother trying to figure out whether her son is a threat to the world by recording their everyday life, only to see the tension between the two, to become dangerous on new levels. This story does show how being a concerned parent could see things start to get out of control, this does show how the parental relationship can be tested and that some people will always have a fear of history repeating itself. We do get some twists along the way, with the truth behind Abbey’s motivations being kept secret for the most part of the film.
Thriller – The film uses the thrilling side to keep us on edge, never giving us a side to believe, on whether Jacob will or won’t be a threat to the world.
Settings – Nearly everything is kept inside the one house, this shows us how the tension between the two have been increasing through the years.
Scene of the Movie – The final straw.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – This story does feel like it needing a little bit more study on the help Abbey tried to get for Jacob, with us only learning little parts of this side of things.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that plays into the relationship between a mother and son that could see thing spiral out of control with two powerhouse performances.
Overall: Powerful Performance Driven Movie.
M.O.M. movie is avail on Amazon Prime here: