Hi everyone!

It’s Friday, and Andrew’s bringing the Fantastic Fest fire with today’s film, a behind-the-scenes documentary into the origins of Aphex Twin’s 1997 album, “Come to Daddy”. We’ll get everything from the influences behind the composition, along with the cult music video, which... What’s that? This is a comedy horror film starring Elijah Wood? But influenced by the album, right? No? Right, well, I don’t know what today’s film is about, but Andrew does, and he’ll be up in a minute. I guess I can just shelve this thirty-minute spoken word audio tribute I had ready to go. Oh yeah, be sure to check out Andrew’s recent reviews for THE LODGE (Episode #702), COLOR OUT OF SPACE (Episode #695), and STARFISH (Episode #688).

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from our friends at the Pop Pour Review podcast! Every week, the PPR crew review a film, then craft a cocktail based on the movie. I don’t drink myself, but I know a few people that do, and every recipe fits in surprising ways. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram @poppourreview, or by searching for Pop! Pour! Review Podcast on Facebook. Thanks for all your support last year!

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Contribute at Patreon for exclusive content.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go!

/////

<< POP POUR REVIEW PROMO >>

/////

Hello film fans!

Andrew here, back today with the book-end to last week’s review of THE LODGE. I’ve got another film that takes place almost entirely in a remote home that’s much too large and far too well-appointed to be called a cabin. THE LODGE opens wide today, an incredibly dark and humorless tale. As a counterpoint, today’s film also opens wide today and is also incredibly dark, but... it does have a bit of humor. Incredibly dark humor. Let’s get to it.

Today’s movie is COME TO DADDY(2019), written by Toby Harvard and Ant Timpson and directed by Timpson. The film made its Texas Premiere at the 2019 Fantastic Fest, marking the directorial debut of Timpson as well as the second feature film screenwriting Harvard, following up on 2016’s THE GREASY STRANGLER. (I’ve seen THE GREASY STRANGLER. Do not watch THE GREASY STRANGLER.)

COME TO DADDY stars Fantastic Fest mascot Elijah Wood as Norval Greenwood, a man in his mid-30s who has been summoned out of the blue by a handwritten letter to reconnect with his long-estranged father at a remote Oregon home overlooking a lake. After his father walked out when he was five, Norval’s mother raised him alone in Beverly Hills. Norval has largely failed to capitalize on his privileged beginnings, living the life of an unsuccessful musician, still residing with his mother and, perhaps most egregiously, sporting a catastrophically bad haircut. Norval is readily willing to bury three decades of deep resentment for a chance to connect with the father he never knew, but soon learns that time does not heal all wounds. Problems ensue.

The trailer for COME TO DADDY does the film a severe injustice, which is unfortunate as this was a great experience to enter blind. (Of course, I mean after you’ve listened to my review a handful of times.) A LOT happens in this movie - twists and turns that turn the plot on its head multiple times - early and often. The trailer doesn’t overtly spoil any of what’s about to unfold in the film, but it does set your brain up to anticipate how certain scenes will come to play out. Its sheer unpredictability is what I loved most about the film. The writers took the kitchen sink approach to the script, “yes, and”-ing themselves into a wild story. The way in which the trailer (perhaps necessarily) reveals images of what’s to come after a few of the key plot pivots also make the film look a bit pedestrian, when in reality it is unique unto itself.

Elijah Wood is as charming as ever as the lovable loser about to go off the deep end. It’s been nearly twenty years since the end of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and over that time period he has become more and more immersed in genre films that appeal to his personal tastes. Perhaps he sparked the trend that saw other young franchise stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattinson make their millions on big studio properties and transition into more interesting roles. Elijah Wood’s even been quietly involved as producer on perhaps Nic Cage’s only decent films of the last five years, COLOR OUT OF SPACE (Episode #695) and MANDY (Joseph, when are we getting your take on Mandy already?).

JOSEPH: “First of all, you are forgetting the delightful MOM AND DAD (Episode #475). And second, see patreon.com/onemoviepunch for details about Sponsor Sundays, where you can force me to review a movie. MANDY wouldn’t feel like much of a force, though, to be honest.”

Wood’s commitment to this role in his out-there film that he has to carry for all 90 minutes is obvious at every second. Earnest Norval could have just as easily stepped out of a character drama, with Wood wearing every bit of his insecurities and bitterness on his sleeve even as his surrounding story grows chaotic.

What makes COME TO DADDY fantastic? The film just never lets up. If anything, the only knock on COME TO DADDY is that it can be a bit of a punishing sit. There is levity throughout the film, but overall it’s fraught with such unyielding tension and had me pulled in so deeply, that I found it an exhausting experience. However, like with all films, you only get one chance to see them for the first time and you may or may not be in the perfect headspace at that moment. I think that’s the case here... and no I don’t think I can survive it again.

COME TO DADDYis a blackly comic, scattershot riot that becomes a brand-new film every 15 minutes. Fans of chaotic and unpredictable films such as GREEN ROOM (Episode #054), BLUE RUIN (Episode #456), or Elijah Wood’s I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE will enjoy this film.

JOSEPH: “There’s another one I wouldn’t feel forced to review!”

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Metacritic: 61

One Movie Punch: 7.8/10

COME TO DADDY (2019) is rated Rand is available today in theaters and on VOD.

Come back next week for a riveting film that you’ve never heard of. I’ll be covering SCHOOL’S OUT, a French film that was given a horrible English title translation that makes it sound like a 1980s slapstick teen comedy. In fact, it’s actually a mysterious daytime noir set in an honors classroom after a devoted teacher jumps from the third-story window. I’ll see you then.