All Rise...

Judge Patrick Naugle is a real momma's boy.

The Charge

Run Francesca, run for your life!

The Case

You'll Like My Mother starts with an interesting premise: a pregnant woman's husband passes away and she makes the trek east from Los Angeles to Minnesota to visit her late husband's mother, Mrs. Kinsolving (Rosemary Murphy, For the Boys). The woman, Francesca Kinsolving (Patty Duke, The Miracle Worker), spends only a few minutes with Mrs. Kinsolvig when it becomes exceptionally clear that her husband's mother has no interest in her nor her unborn grandchild. Francesca requests a ride back to the bus station but a dangerous blizzard keeps her trapped inside the old mansion with Mrs. Kinsolving and her mentally handicapped daughter Kathleen (Sian Barbara Ann, Billy Two Hats). To make things worse it appears that a serial rapist (Richard Thomas, The Waltons) may be hiding somewhere inside the expansive mansion.

You'll Like My Mother starts of promising but then devolves into a rather mediocre film that wraps up with a typical scary movie cliche. Up until about the halfway point, it's filled with suspense and claustrophobia, enhanced by a creepy old house and a snow storm that forces characters to interact with each other (even if they don't want to). Patty Duke makes Francesca a sympathetic character against Rosemary Murphy's chilly Mrs. Kinsolving—the twosome make for formidable foes as they banter back and forth in such clipped, venomous tones that it feels as if one of them will throw a punch at any moment. The cast is tiny (less than ten characters in total, and most with only a few minutes of screen time) but the main actors get solid supporting help from Sian Barbara Ann as the handicapped Kathleen, who eventually proves herself to be smarter than most of the "normal" characters.

As directed by Lamont Johnson (A Visit to a Chief's Son), You'll Like My Mother is seeped in mystery but loses steam as the pieces all come together. The film is based on the book by Naomi A.Hintze and the screenplay is by Joe Heims, who also wrote the superior Clint Eastwood thriller (and the actor's directional debut) Play Misty for Me. Heim's dialogue is concise and pointed during a lot of the film, which makes it more of a solid character study than an actual horror/thriller. Since this is rated PG, it's clear the film wasn't going to be a take-no-prisoners thriller—while there is a moderate amount of tension in the first half, this is more or less a Diet Coke version of a horror movie.

Once Richard Thomas' character made his entrance (I don't want to say to much for fear of spoilers), You'll Like My Mother became just another Hollywood thriller that proceeds like a semi well-oiled machine. The ending isn't what I'd call fulfilling, and when the credits began I still had more than a few questions that'd been left unanswered about the film's plot and characters. In this way, it's an oddity. The first half is a worthwhile experience while the last half can't top what had come before.

You'll Like My Mother (Blu-ray) is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. This Universal title (licensed to Shout Factory subsidiary Scream Factory) sports a good transfer with some problematic areas. There are moments in You'll Like My Mother where the transfer doesn't really shine—heavy grain mars the image at times, and the clarity isn't always top notch. Colors are usually solid and black levels are mediocre-to-good. Still, for a film that is seeing (to my knowledge) its first physical media release, fans will be happy with this transfer. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono in English. This is a fully front audio mix that doesn't feature any surround sounds or directional effects. Dialogue, music, and effects are mostly clear and easy distinguishable. Also included on this disc are English subtitles.

Bonus features include a new introduction to the film by actors Richard Thomas and Sian Barbara Allen, a photo gallery, and a theatrical trailer.

You'll Like My Mother starts off interestingly then devolves into a typical thriller with all the routine cliches contained therein. The late Patty Duke gives a solid performance as the confused and anxious heroine and the supporting cast is game. I'm frankly a bit surprised this is the first time it's been released on a home video, deposit being a movie a lot of chiller fans will find interesting.

The Verdict

A thriller minus the key thrills.

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