Director: Eli Craig
Rating: 3.5/5
I am not sure what’s up with these new films but the nature of comedy is changing. However, unlikely for bad films I watched recently that were mainly centred on overacting or no story at all (see e.g. here), this one actually has a story under the entertaining wrapping.
I really ended up wondering whether the film director had a personal experience of stepson leaving his faeces in his draw and then I imagined the director returning in kind by leaving some faeces in stepsons backpack. Hilarious.
However, this film also brings an interesting discussion of relationships between stepsons/stepdaughters and their parent’s new partners. But unlikely for other films that predominantly focus on children suffering when their parents meet someone new, this film takes a perspective of partners, and how this new relationship dynamic affects them. We even see a support group where people share traumas of bullying done by their stepchildren, and difficulties in coping with their relationships. When divorce comes to the agenda we also get to understand the pain of not wanting to leave the person you love just because the child is vicious, but at the same time not being able to cope with the evilness of the child.
In addition, the film also plays with the notion of Anti-Christ where one stepchild is Anti-Christ for he has a demon inside him leading him towards opening the doors of Hell. Naturally, many are horrified to hear that stepfather Gary (Adam Scott) calls his stepson Lucas (Owen Atlas) as Anti-Christ, but what happens when this is actually the truth…
I thought this would be another rubbish new production I will slag off in my blog, but it was a pleasant surprise. Not a film I will watch again, but I also do not mind the fact I watched it. It was fun.
Thank you for reading.