Come to Daddy parents guide

Come to Daddy Parent Guide

A horror comedy filled with content issues and some very, very dark humor.

Overall D+

Norval Greenwood has traveled to the middle of nowhere to reconnect with his estranged father, Gordon. Unfortunately for Norval, it seems there's a good reason his father was estranged in the first place...

Release date September 24, 2019

Violence D
Sexual Content D
Profanity D
Substance Use C-

Why is Come to Daddy rated Not Rated? The MPAA rated Come to Daddy Not Rated

Run Time: 93 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Norval Greenwood (Elijah Wood) has received a letter from his estranged father inviting him to his home in the remote wilderness to reconnect. When he gets there, his father (Stephen McHattie) refuses to discuss the letter or his reasons for abandoning Norval as a child. Norval is increasingly concerned by his father’s erratic and aggressive behavior and begins to wonder why he came in the first place.

I’m going to put this disclaimer at the top: This is really not a film for everyone. In addition to the mountain of content issues (see below), the dark humor is, well, dark. If you’re not down to laugh at a stabbing or two, then you should probably find a cheerier flick.

For those of you fans of dark dramas (I include myself in this category) who find this stuff hilarious, this movie knocks it out of the park. The gags are well designed and well timed, and Elijah Wood’s performance sells them brilliantly. Stephen McHattie is wonderfully deranged, and Martin Donovan has the funniest deadpan delivery I’ve seen in a long time.

The film starts by being deliberately vague about whether it’s a horror or a comedy, but the longer it runs the more it turns into the latter. That said, it handles the horror well. The house in which the first two acts occur is pleasantly dark, creaky, and strange, which develops a good atmosphere.

Ok, here’s the catch. This movie is wickedly inappropriate for the duration of the runtime. I counted over 80 extreme profanities, but I think I missed some. Crude sexual language, bloody (if comedic) violence, and some nudity are the films features du jour. This is definitely not a film for kids. Or teens. Or sensitive adults. Or people with moral standards for their movies. Or most people, for that matter.

But if you can tolerate all that, there’s a good story in here about a confused young(ish) man trying to reconnect with his family, and who finds himself deeply involved in something he has never been prepared for. The film was shot around Tofino, British Columbia, which is a gorgeous spot and that natural beauty is well captured by the cinematography. Excellent performances from the leads and smart writing elevate the otherwise grotesque subject matter to a truly disgustingly dark comedy.

Directed by Ant Thompson. Starring Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, and Garfield Wilson. Running time: 93 minutes. Theatrical release September 24, 2019. Updated

Come to Daddy
Rating & Content Info

Why is Come to Daddy rated Not Rated? Come to Daddy is rated Not Rated by the MPAA

Violence: There are references to suicide. An individual suffers a heart attack and dies. An individual is shown after having been tortured with multiple bloody wounds. An individual is stabbed with an implement coated in excrement. An individual deliberately dislocates two fingers. There are references to cannibalism. An individual is stabbed repeatedly in the groin, suffocated with plastic wrap, and beaten extensively. An individual is stabbed in the cheek and abdomen. An individual has part of their head cut off in a car accident and is then stabbed in the brain.
Sexual Content: A topless woman is briefly shown on a magazine cover. There are references to and depictions of prostitution. A number of adults are shown in varying stages of nudity, including full frontal male nudity.
Profanity: I counted well over 80 uses of varying extreme profanities, as well as dozens of scatological curses. Frequent use of terms of deity throughout.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Individuals are shown drinking excessively.

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Home Video

The most recent home video release of Come to Daddy movie is March 24, 2020. Here are some details…