Father's Day (2011)

You'll notice beyond the midway point that the cast sheds their ham performances in favor of razor-sharp timing in the second act. There aren't many movies like this in our culture. It's comparable in various ways to "Evil Dead II" and "Big Trouble in Little China", along with "Wet Hot American Summer", where theater of the absurd comes into play. It is possessive of so many genres, one might ask repeatedly what the hell they're watching.

The screenplay was smartly written by the members of Astron-6, and key stunts were memorably executed by the actual cast, co-ordinated by Adam Brooks. The talents (in no particular order) of Brian Wiacek, Jeremy Gillespie, Sommer Spendlow, Paul Joyce, Bob Wiseman, Nabi, Dan Bern and Adrian Perry, along with many others comprised an excellent soundtrack. Very fitting and enjoyable! Steven Kostanski's horror effects and animation/blue screen work ranged from budgeted to vivid, at appropriate points. Kostanski has come a long way from his earlier work, having matured both as an artist and technician, but also as a collaborator. The opening credits were an additional treat that should drop a huge hint for the show you were going to get. Illustrator Jim Rugg plunges you face-first into a wild ride, featuring his gritty designs in the opening title sequence.

This is not something you let younger kids see, but naturally, they're going to make sure they see it once they hear about how cool it is. The violence, the language, and the gratuitous nudity are designed specifically to appeal to the twelve-year-old people of the world. Meanwhile, your R-rated movies are always meant for adults, right? I loved this movie, and not just because it was done by people I admire. I had seen Wet Hot American Summer before I ever heard of these guys, and had gotten the same feeling. I actually feel a little dumb watching movies like this, because I have no idea what I am being shown. I have to see it once just to get the big picture, then a second time to fully enjoy all the shenanigans for what they are. After that, I suddenly feel like a genius because I am in on the joke. That's the stuff that the twelve-year-old grows up to appreciate when they see it again in ten years, and it's the stuff that "cult" is made of.