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Abbey's (Melinda Page Hamilton) a single mom who's at times at her wits
ends bringing up her son Jacob (Bailey Edwards). And Jacob, he's never
been an easy child, has shown streaks of violence and was prone to temper
tantrums - and now he's 16, a difficult age to begin with, even more so
when dealing with a difficult child. On top of that, Abbey's brother, when
he was 16, picked up a gun, went to a popular make-out spot for
youngsters, and shot dead some random boys and girls before blowing his
own brains out - and now Abbey fears Jacob will turn the same way. To this
end, when Jacob's not there, Abbey goes through his things to gather
evidence that he's indeed a psychopath - and what she finds sure enough is
disturbing, from gun magazines to vivisected lizards to Nazi
paraphernalia. So she installs hidden cameras in all rooms to monitor his
movements. It's not that she has totally given up on him, she still tries
to engage him in conversations - but he's 16, so that's easier said than
done. It's not that she sees anything much that would substantiate her
fears or beliefs, but it seems her mind is set that he's evil, and even
the words of her own therapist (Edward Asner) do little to diffuse her
convictions. Then though, Jacob finds the cameras, finds the footage his
mom has recorded, finds out what she believes, and decides to have his
revenge ... Filmed found footage style, M.O.M. Mothers of
Monsters does what films using this approach rarely do, it questions
the "truth" of its own footage. Not that it suggests the footage
as such has been manipulated, but whatever "evidence" Abbey
collects is highly subjective and seems to only serve her point, by and
large blending out all that might point to the contrary (it's hinted on in
some of the early scenes in the film though). And the more the film
advances the more the viewer might get sold on her version of things on
one hand, but the more questionable her methods become - as evidenced in
the finale, when the tables are turned. And very clever writing, direction
and editing make sure to turn all of this into a very engaging puzzle for
the viewer, of course also helped by two strong central performances. Well
worth a look!
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