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Celebrate Father’s Day With the Best and Worst Dads in Horror History!

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It’s Father’s Day! What better way to celebrate dad than spending the day together watching movies? Movies have long explored the paternal bonds between father and child, and the emotional terror and madness that raising children often brings. Horror has given us an extensive roster of terrifying fathers that were never fit for the title, as well as many dads willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their child.

In salute of fathers everywhere, we revel in horror’s worst and best dads:


Worst

Don– 28 Weeks Later

Don (Robert Carlyle) demonstrates what kind of father he is before his kids even enter the film. When a group of survivors holed up in a rural cottage let in a boy being pursued by infected, he pleads with his wife to abandon the boy and make a getaway. She refuses, and he barely hesitates in making his decision to abandon her and the boy as the infected descend. When Don is reunited with his kids, he lies about their mother’s fate and the part he played in it. Don is already a terrible father, but then his guilt leads to him getting infected. When most infected with the Rage Virus are content to shred anyone in their path, Don prefers to stalk his children the entire rest of the film.


Daddy – The People Under the Stairs

Anyone who prefers to go by the name “Daddy” is one you should probably give a wide berth. In Wes Craven’s The People under the Stairs, Daddy (Everett McGill) is one half of an incestuous brother and sister duo that have very high standards for their children. Mommy and Daddy have a tendency to raise a child up until the point where they deem the child too flawed to continue, cut out their offensive body parts, and then dump them in the basement where the child then has to resort to cannibalism to survive. Both are unhinged, but Daddy is far crazier and a bit more dangerous. His leather gimp outfit clearly proves it.


Jerry Blake/Henry Morrison/Bill Hodgkins – The Stepfather

Operating under many aliases, the eponymous Stepfather shares a lot in common with The People under the Stairs’ Daddy in that all he wants is the picture-perfect family. Unlike Daddy, this guy doesn’t just settle for dumping the kids in the basement when they fall out of line. He looks for vulnerable single mothers, woos them, and assimilates himself into their makeshift family. When it doesn’t work out, he slaughters them. It’s creepy enough, but when the Stepfather is played by an intense Terry O’Quinn it’s downright terrifying.


Chris Cleek – The Woman

It takes a lot to paint the feral, cannibalistic Woman (Pollyanna McIntosh) as the empathetic one. Enter Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers), a lawyer that initially comes across as charming and put together. He captures the Woman and brings her back to his home so his family can attempt to “civilize her.” It reveals just how dysfunctional his family is thanks to his ruthless sadism. His son is following in his footsteps, observing dad rape the Woman and knock mom unconscious when she threatens to leave. Verbally and physically abusive to older daughter Peggy (Lauren Ashley Carter), it becomes painfully clear that there’s not a single redeeming quality about this father.


Jack Torrance – The Shining

Jack continues to be the standard by which all horrible fathers are measured. His previous dalliances with alcoholism resulted in dislocating his son Danny’s shoulder, a move that would earn any dad a Worst Father Ever award. When he relocates his family to the Overlook Hotel for a job as hotel caretaker, his paternal instincts go from bad to zilch as his mounting frustrations become more violent. Jack Nicholson nails Jack’s descent into madness, and the breaking point that drives Jack to murderous intent toward his wife and child remains an all-time high (or low) point in horror.


Best

Lt. Donald Thompson– A Nightmare on Elm Street series

I know what you’re thinking; how did Nancy Thompson’s father earn this spot? Divorced from Nancy’s alcoholic mother and caught up in his police work, he not only refuses to really listen to his daughter but he even uses her as bait to capture suspected killer Rod. Even still, it’s clear that he loves his daughter and was very worried over her perceived declining mental health. Also, out of the two parents, he’s the most stable option Nancy has. Lt. Donald Thompson exemplifies that all dads make mistakes; sometimes because they’re blinded by thinking they know what’s best. He makes amends for his mistakes in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, having finally realized Nancy was telling the truth to the point of losing his career. He ultimately loses his life in his contribution to stop Freddy Krueger once and for all, and his relationship with Nancy remains one of the most touching in horror.


Captain Spaulding – The Devil’s Rejects

Sure, he may be a bit of a homicidal maniac, but Captain Spaulding sure loves his kids. It’s primarily through his fatherly love that the Firefly clan winds up being the anti-heroes of the film. When Sheriff Wydell raids the Firefly house, Baby and Otis run to their dad, Spaulding, for shelter; mind you, it’s unclear if Otis actually is Spaulding’s child, but Spaulding nevertheless acts as a father figure to him. Baby, Otis, and Spaulding are betrayed and captured by Wydell, who intends to torture them slowly out of vengeance. Dear dad Spaulding consistently tries to bring Wydell’s attention back to him so that Baby will be spared the torture and shows visceral response at her suffering. Even more heartbreaking is when the two fall into each other’s arms after reuniting. Sure, the Firefly family might be a bunch of psychopaths, but their strong family bond, love, and loyalty stems from patriarch Captain Spaulding.


Jesse Hellman – The Devil’s Candy

Jesse (Ethan Embry) is instantly relatable as the dad struggling to provide for his family. A painter often forced to paint art that goes against the grain of his personality for the sake of buying his wife and teen daughter a house, Jesse feels like an everyman. His strong bond with his daughter over music demonstrates a depth of love. What makes him one of horror’s finest fathers, though, is that his love for her overrides everything, including the strong lure of the Devil. Even when literal temptation from the Devil distracts him momentarily, he walks through fire and injury for his daughter.


John Collingwood – The Last House on the Left (2009)

This remake changed a key detail from Wes Craven’s 1972 original; the Collingwood’s daughter Mari survives her harrowing encounter with Krug and his gang. It heightens the stakes in that her injuries mean a race against the clock. Under the shock and realization of what Mari’s endured, he’s forced to give her an emergency tracheotomy using household items. He also knows he needs to get the key to the boat to get her to a hospital ASAP, with Krug’s gang staying in the guest house. With fierce determination (and rage), John gets the key by any means necessary. Including a lot of well-deserved death toward those that were responsible.


Seok-woo – Train to Busan

If you only get to choose one film to watch with dad this Father’s Day, make it this one. A divorced workaholic, and therefore absentee father, Seok-woo has made many mistakes along his journey in fatherhood. So much so that his daughter wants him to take her back to her mother’s for her birthday. So they board the train to Busan. The only problem is that his daughter’s birthday seems to coincide with a zombie apocalypse, making their trip a horrifying fight for survival. Seok-woo may not have been the ideal father, but he quickly proves he’s there for his daughter when it matters the most. Fighting tooth and nail (and zombie) to protect her during onslaught after onslaught, Seok-woo rebuilds his relationship with his daughter in the process. This is a rare horror film that will pull at the heartstrings (or rip it out) simply for its portrayal of the daddy-daughter relationship.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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