Come to Daddy

A troubled artist (Elijah Wood) answers a letter from his long last dad (Stephen McHattie) and goes to visit him at his ocean front property. What starts out as a sweet get together quickly devolves into a hellish experience where dad proves himself to be a lousier father than even first thought. Rather than being a supportive pop, he drinks a lot and declares his long lost son full of shit. He’s also got a few things going on in the basement. Director Ant Timpson throws in twists aplenty, and Wood delivers good work, but the film ultimately doesn’t come together. It flirts with dark comedy early on, and seems to be on its way to being a terrific nasty laugher, but it loses its way as it goes the cheap thriller route. It also opts to be depressing in its second half rather than outlandish, and the writing doesn’t back up that leap. Too bad. I legit laughed a few times during the first half, and this one gave me high hopes with its setup. In the end, it’s a tonal mess, and a blown opportunity for a memorable genre effort. (Available for home rental during a limited theatrical release.)