"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children."
"There is no one else like my daddy."
— Beyoncé
Come to Daddy is a 2019 Black Comedy Horror Thriller and the directorial debut of New Zealand producer Art Timpson, most famous for producing Deathgasm, Turbo Kid, and both ABCs of Death films. It stars Elijah Wood, Martin Donovan, Stephen McHattie, Michael Smiley, and Madeleine Sami.
Norval Greenwood (Wood) is a privileged musician who lives with his mother in Beverly Hills. One day, he receives a letter from his estranged father Brian (McHattie) inviting him to his secluded cabin on the coast of Oregon. Norval accepts the invitation and makes his way there to reunite with his father but discovers the man to be far more hostile and erratic than he'd initially presumed. Soon, many dark secrets begin bubbling to the surface and rocking Norval's whole world.
This movie contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion:
- Norval says he works as a part-time DJ and record producer, two things that Elijah Wood does in Real Life.
- More of an inside joke relating to the soundtrack rather than any cast member, but the movie shares its title with that of a song by Electronic Music legend Aphex Twin. His song "Avril 14th" plays at the end of the movie.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy:
- It turns out that was the only reason Brian's letter reached Norval. He wrote it all in a drunken stupor and sent it off. And even that is subverted considering that wasn't the real Brian.
- Norval drunkenly calls Gladys and propositions sex out of an overwhelming feeling of loneliness following his father's death, still not knowing that it is actually an imposter. She declines, very put off by his behavior.
- The Alcoholic: Brian. Or more accurately, Gordon.
- Asshole Victim: Gordon, Dandy, and Jethro all had it coming. One can even argue Brian as well considering he got Norval into this mess.
- Black Comedy: From start to finish. The deaths are ridiculous but still oddly fitting, and no one has a nice thing to say to each other, but the things they do have to say to each other are hilarious.
- Comedic Sociopath: Gordon and Jethro are scumbags but also incredibly fun to watch.
- Country Matters: Brian's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Norval rivals that of In Bruges with the amount of times he calls Norval a cunt."I call a spade a spade and a cunt a cunt. And you, sir, are a certified cunt. Did you really think that I would be impressed with your fucking Elton John story? Only a cunt would think that. (shoves Norval) Cunt! (shoves Norval again) CUNT!"
- Norval eventually gets to drunkenly lob a Cluster C-Bomb of his own against his "father's" corpse.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- Dear God, Dandy. The guy is stabbed nearly 2 dozen times in his exposed groin with a barbecue fork, has his face completely encased in plastic wrap, and is then beating to death with the roll that plastic wrap came from.
- Jethro has a huge chunk of his head carved off after getting in a car accident, leaving his brain exposed, and Norval finishes him off by jamming a check spindle into his exposed brain.Jethro: Arthurrrrr...
- Dark and Troubled Past: Turns out Norval's father got his family rich off ransom money he earned by kidnapping the daughter of the richest man in Thailand, and he still went and stole his crew's share of the cash for himself, which is what led to the mess he's currently in.
- Disappeared Dad: Brian left Norval and his mother when he was five. A lot has happened since then.
- Downer Ending: All of the villains are dead, but Norval and Brian seem to be on their way out as well, with Norval spending the remaining few seconds of his life apologizing for how he treated his mother and questioning his dad for getting him involved in the consequences of his criminal lifestyle.
- Evil Is Petty: This is Played for Laughs with Jethro:Jethro: Any Last Words? to your mother?Norval: Tell her I love her.Jethro: I'm gonna specifically tell her that you don't love her.
- Face Death with Dignity: Jethro doesn't move or flinch when Norval stabs him in the head with a check spindle. Most likely due to the brain damage he'd received moments ago.
- Fan Disservice: Norval stumbles upon a trio of swingers. One of them is an attractive woman sporting nothing but her panties. The others are two balding heavyset men, one of whom has everything on display to the audience.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Just before Norval finds the hidden chamber where his real father is being held captive, he stumbles upon a photobook revealing that his father is another man entirely.
- Flat Character: Unlike the rest of Brian's former crew, Dandy has zero characterization or even lines apart from being The Big Guy. His main distinction is being the only non-white member and having the most brutal death in the movie.
- Foreshadowing:
- Brian is discomforted by Norval's discussion of his suicide attempt where he entered a tub and tried slitting his wrists. Turns out Gordon, the guy pretending to be Brian, lost his daughter to suicide the very same way.
- Brian mentions kicking a man's ear clean off his head. That poor bastard happens to be the real Brian.
- While attempting to find and kill Jethro, Norval stumbles into a hotel room housing a trio of swingers, consisting of Two Guys and a Girl. Turns out Norval's mother is a prostitute who had sex with both Brian and Jethro, which is what helped begin the vitriol between the two of them.
- Groin Attack: Norval inflicts this horrifically upon Dandy using a barbecue fork.
- Jerkass: Brian (or more accurately Gordon) goes out of his way to humiliate and disrespect Norval by intentionally losing his valuable phone and shooting down all of his attempts at impressing him.
- Kick the Dog: In less than thirty minutes, Brian/Gordon belittles Norval by:
- Intentionally losing his limited edition solid gold smartphone in the ocean.
- Going out of his way to expose his connections to Elton John himself as a lie and make him feel pathetic.
- Blowing off his confession about attempting suicide.
- Calling him a cunt a dozen times.
- No Honor Among Thieves: Norval's real father, Brian, betrayed his crew and took their share of the ransom money for himself. Unsurprisingly, this angered them.
- Scenery Porn: Brian's coastal cabin has one hell of a view, and the cinematography certainly showcases the beautiful shoreline and waters.
- Ship Tease: Norval and Gladys the coroner bond for a bit and have some nice banter as she works to have Gordon, who we still believe is Brian, receive the proper funeral treatment. Subverted later when Norval discomforts Gladys with a drunken phone call begging for sex.
- Uncertain Doom: The fates of Norval and Brian don't seem too good, even if the movie ends before anything is confirmed.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about Gordon, Jethro, or Dandy without revealing their connection to Norval's real father, especially considering how the former has been posing as Brian for the entire first half of the movie.
