Come To Daddy…I was not prepared for the film. From the very beginning, I had a tense, uneasy feeling. Little did I know, that feeling would only grow.
Elijah Wood has portrayed a lot of odd characters in the past, but Norval in Come to Daddy has to be the weirdest. In the film, Norval receives a letter from his estranged father that abandoned him and his mother when he was five. The letter asks Norval (Woods) to come for a visit, but as soon as he arrives he’s confronted by a man (Stephen McHattie, “October Faction”) whom he thinks is his father. After a few days of tense interactions and violent outbursts, Norval begins to question his situation. Soon he makes a discovery that leaves him fighting for his life.
I have long been a fan of Elijah Wood, he’s a talented actor. However, his character in this movie is just unlikable. Norvel is a pathetic, whiny, wuss, and a generally depressing guy. At first, it was hard to root for him, still, I eventually found myself cheering for this oddball.
The beginning is a bit slow, but when the action begins things escalate quickly into an all-out battle, brutal and bloody. It also features some pretty cool kills and injuries. I’ll never look at a meat serving fork the same way again. Thank you for that Toby Harvard (writer).
The cast is full of stars including Wood, McHattie, Martin Donovan (“Big Little Lies”), Michael Smiley (The Lobster), Madeleine Sami (The Breaker Uppers), and Simon Chin (“Killing Eve”), who all played their parts well.
I had these strange sensations like the film is off-kilter and you can’t really put your finger on why, which goes to show you just how talented director Ant Thompson (Deathgasm) is. The best way I can describe this film is by saying it’s like a dream you’d have after eating a meatball sub while watching Psycho, just before bed.
In the end, Come to Daddy is as entertaining as it is strange, with twists you’d never see coming. It’s unexpected and clever. That’s why I’m scoring Come to Daddy as a 4 1/2 out of 5. It’s definitely worth watching and I promise it’s very different from the movies you usually watch (in a good way). Luckily you don’t have to wait long to see it for yourself, the movie lands on Blu-ray and DVD on March 24th from Lionsgate.
