‘Father’s Day’ Is Subversive and Depraved
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Today on The Overlooked Motel, we are looking back on Father’s Day. No, I’m not talking about the Billy Crystal and Robin Williams film from the late ‘90s. I’m talking about the violent, obscene, sacrilegious, and absolutely tasteless Troma film of the exact same name. Filmmaking collective Astron 6 (Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, and Conor Sweeney) wrote and sat at the helm of this gleefully gruesome effort.
The film follows Ahab (Adam Brooks), Twink (Conor Sweeney), and a man of the cloth, Father John (Matthew Kennedy), in their relentless pursuit of Chris Fuchman (Mackenzie Murdock), the sadistic Father’s Day Killer. Fuchman has taken a loved one from each of them, which has the trio keen to collect their pound of flesh and stop the crazed killer’s reign of terror. Much to their horror, Fuchman has no designs on giving up without a fight. The unruly antagonist takes great delight in his work as a serial killer and father-defiler.
Now, you might be thinking, “This film sounds offensive.” It certainly is. It probably goes without saying, but trigger warnings abound. This irreverent feature is chock-full of tasteless displays of debauchery. Not the least of which is Father John having an epic existential crisis-turned-full-fledged meltdown in the middle of preaching a sermon. And that’s to say nothing of the various depictions of violent sex acts perpetrated against innocent, unsuspecting fathers.
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As you’ve probably gathered by now, the film has a depraved sense of humor that takes center stage from the jump. The comedy outshines the horror at times, but that’s not a criticism, not by a long shot. Father’s Day was undoubtedly made with designs on making viewers laugh above all else. And, depending on your particular brand of humor, there’s an awful lot to laugh at here. Comedy is subjective, for sure. So, I can’t say how you will react to it, I can, however, say that the writing is smart, edgy, and features plenty of off-color jokes intended to be as offensive as possible.
Despite its schlocky nature, Father’s Day is a surprisingly well-made film. It was produced for next to nothing, yet it manages to look far more polished than it ought to. That’s a huge testament to the ingenuity of Astron 6. They are known for shooting micro-budget films in the most unusual of places. Case in point: The collective’s 2011 film Manborg was largely shot inside a garage with liberal use of green screen. Father’s Day likely makes use of some of the same tricks, but it rarely looks like a movie made in a garage and financed with spare change.
Despite the low budget, the effects are especially impressive, often making use of practical techniques over CG, ensuring that the severed limbs, heads, genitalia, et cetera look as realistic (and horrifying) as humanly possible. The combination of the aforementioned practical effects, hilariously rendered retro commercial spots, and film emulation (to degrade the picture and give it that classic look) makes this outlandish offering feel a lot like a lost export of the grindhouse era.
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This flick is a labor of love made by fans of exploitation cinema for fans of exploitation cinema. Although the filmmakers didn’t have a lot of money to work with, they used that to their advantage, crafting a film that would never get distribution from a mainstream outfit. For a more expensive effort, that would be unthinkable. However, with an (estimated) initial investment of just $10,000, one can more easily justify selling their film to an indie outfit without the production cost necessitating that the film sells to a larger distributor just to eventually, hopefully break even.
The fellows at Astron 6 may not get rich quickly making films like Father’s Day, but they are putting their decidedly subversive art out there and doing it in a really smart way that has paved the way for members of the collective to collaborate on films like the much-loved Psycho Goreman. I respect their ambitions, and I respect the unflinching dedication to tastelessness. Art like this allows us to look at serious issues through a comedic lens. That seems taboo, and it absolutely is, but when we can laugh about horrifying subject matter in a safe space, that allows us the chance to gain perspective.
Before we close this out, allow me to provide a piece of important context. Despite the fact that this is a Troma picture called Father’s Day, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Troma film Mother’s Day. Both efforts are delightfully depraved in their own way, but Father’s Day is by far the edgier of these two unrelated, yet similarly titled, efforts.
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All things considered, Father’s Day is a depraved, tacky, taboo endeavor. I can all but guarantee that you will be both shocked and offended by this one. However, the film is ultimately harmless fun for viewers of an appropriate age. I highly recommend giving it a shot if you dig schlocky excess in its most unadulterated form.
This one may be a seasonally appropriate effort for Father’s Day weekend viewing. However, please be sure to bear in mind the depths of the depravity on display before you endeavor to watch it in mixed company, particularly with members of your family.
If you are curious to check out Father’s Day with no monetary investment required, you can presently find the flick streaming for free (with ads) on Tubi, Pluto, or Plex. Additionally, Father’s Day is currently available on Prime Video.
That’s all for this installment of The Overlooked Motel. If you would like to chat more about under-seen and underrated films, feel free to hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter, Threads, or Instagram.
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