Postal parents lose the plot

like a kid would – that helps distract from the wafer-thin plot; there’s shots from high above, extreme close-ups on a series of wildly emotive faces and on-screen mobile phone graphics.

Herds of zombie-like parents on the hunt also leaves a visual mark and Mom and Dad delivers the most disturbing movie birth scene since gruesome 2007 French horror Inside.

The sound design – led by a John Carpenteresque electronic score – is an effective mix of time-honoured tunes, chilling build-up and ear-bashing carnage.

And who better to head up such a crazy flick than Mr OTT himself, Nicolas Cage (Brent)? His manic style may suit his character but it’s a real shame to see a man who has proved he has real acting talent – witness Wild at Heart, Adaptation and Lord of War – become a parody of his newly formed wild man persona seemingly destined to star in schlock like this from now on; the best that can be said for him here is at least this hasn’t suffered the straightto-DVD fate of most of his last dozen or so movies.

Taylor devotes nearly three minutes to Cage constructing a pool table and while his subsequent rant about aging registers, scenes where he cries and adopts a saw-themed catchphrase – yes, really – are downright embarrassing.

Ace 2008 Brit horror The Children covered a similarly touchy central premise with more class and slow-burn tension; Mom and Dad is like the uncool parents your 13-year-old self wouldn’t want to hang out with in comparison.