Mommy

What's young Jessica Ann to do when she comes to the realization that her seemingly prim and proper young mother (Patty McCormack) is responsible for a series of murders? As little as possible to keep from rocking the boat, because Jessica Ann could soon be dead too!

Based on a short story by writer-turned director Max Allan Collins, the concept is this: What would happen if Rhoda Penmark (aka The Bad Seed) had grown up and become a mother? For decades Patty McCormack tried to distance herself from the iconic role she had originated on the Broadway stage and reprised in the 1956 film adaptation, but she ultimately embraced the movie and became defensive of it, turning down poorly conceived roles in an unproduced direct sequel as well as the role of landlady Monica Breedlove in the 1985 remake. When she received Collins' story treatment, however, McCormack felt that he understood the Rhoda character and had brilliantly reinvented her as an adult, so she took the part.

Filming commenced in in Collin's rural hometown of Muscatine, Iowa in 1994. A handful of b-movie stars filled out the supporting roles, including Mickey Spillane (who was deathly ill and running a high fever while shooting his few scenes), Jason Miller ("The Exorcist"), Michael Cornelison ("Superstition," "The Woman in the Room") and perennially naked scream queen Brinke Stevens, who got a rare opportunity to both act and sport clothing. The rest of the roles, including that of young Jessica Ann, were played by locals, who heavily contributed to the film.

Because of its ties to "The Bad Seed," the movie did get a little bit of mainstream press following its premiere and around the time of its home video release, including glowing reviews from critics like Leonard Maltin. In 1996, the movie premiered on Lifetime, and it aired infrequently on the network for a few years.

Speaking candidly, there's one thing that keeps this campfest from being truly great: One can't discern what the hell's going on half of the time. The movie was shot on video (pre-DV), and a lot of it takes place either at night or shrouded in darkness.

However, in terms of both lighting and story, sequel Mommy 2: Mommy's Day, was vastly superior. Mommy's Day finds McCormack being rehabilitated and released from prison, only to be the prime suspect in another string of murders... that she may or may not have committed. Mommy 2 is sort of The Bad Seed's take on Psycho II, and it's pretty effective. And much like the first film, you can jump into two without having seen one.

The films were each released as stand-alone DVDs. Later they were reissued in a DVD boxed set called "Max Allan Collins- The Black Box Collection: Shades of Neo-Noir." This set includes both Mommy films, retains all of the extras from the previous releases and includes a bunch of new features, including original making-of footage, new audio commentaries and a featurette with Collins reading the original short story... which he later expanded to a novel.