Starring - Ethan Bouldin (Chickens Blood, Morbid), Chuck Conry, Richard Garza
Release Date - 2025
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Divorce is really tough on the kids"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
Many years ago I befriended professional wrestler and horror journalist Chuck Conry. I was new to the writing scene and he offered me a lot of advice and answered a lot of questions for me early on in my career. I was friends with him for several years before I realized that he was the filmmaker behind Morbid. Since reviewing the Wild Eye release of Morbid, I've reviewed every film Conry has directed and a few that he worked on. We seem to have similar tastes in film and his films tend to reflect that. I enjoy his work and when he asked me to review Father of the year, originally titled Decapitate the Children, I quickly said yes. I want to thank Chuck for sending this one over!
The story for this one follows recently divorced Jewel (Bouldin) who finds himself taking care of his three. He has reservations about being the boys legitimate father and often tells them how he feels about the ordeal. They are forced to move into a new home following the divorce and here he finds a cassette with something recorded on it. He decides to listen to it while drinking and awakens the next morning with one of his children dead in the dryer. He has the remaining children hide the body but when more and more people around him turn up missing, he suspects something is wrong. Is the house haunted, is he getting drunk and blacking out causing these disappearances, or is he just a bad person?
I went into Father of the Year like I did with every other film from Conry. I was excited to see the newest Tennesseeploitation flick and what kind of story we were getting. However, I was quick to notice that this one wasn't like other films from him. It seemed to mostly take place in a house with Bouldin in what appeared to be wrestling mode. I did laugh a few times but couldn't get into this one at all. The acting in this one left some room for improvement. The characters are all bold and memorable with the cast really getting into their roles. However, the dialogue delivery was extremely awkward for most of the film especially Ethan Bouldin's performance. Most of his dialogue delivery felt like he was cutting a wrestling promo. He was very intense and overdramatic for most of the film, yet, his performance is probably the most memorable. The story for this one blends in some supernatural with psychological horror which could have been more effective if the dialogue wasn't so outlandish. The set up for the film and general plot outline works but the racist banter and humor surrounding the dialogue delivery contradicts the film's plot. The humor and serious tone often clashes leaving the viewer wondering what is exactly happening. The film could have worked if it would have chose one path to follow. Finally, the film isn't a bloody one. We do have some make-up effects but those of you looking for blood and gore will be very disappointed. Overall, Father of the Year just wasn't for me. The story that we have didn't need humor and the laughs I had I'm sure were unintentional. I seriously wanted to like this one but it wasn't for me.
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