Serial Mom (1994)If you’re ill mannered, have a poor sense of social responsibility or are just plain careless, beware… Beverly Sutphin (Kathleen Turner) may seem like an ordinary suburban housewife but she also has an appetite for murder – and you could be next. Moving on from the bad taste, midnight-movie part of his career, John Waters ascended to his ‘Trojan horse’ phase with films that looked respectable on paper yet allowed their subversion to creep up on the audience.
Serial Mom is funny from start to finish and en-route still has something to say about the cult of celebrity, pop culture, crime and the underbelly of suburban life. Turner has never been better, deftly wielding a leg of lamb as a weapon and immortalising pussy willows as something to treasure. She’s motivated to kill for all the best reasons: not rewinding videos before returning them; a disregard for recycling etiquette; and worst of all, people wearing white after Labour Day.
I couldn’t imagine a world without Serial Mom – it’s been my go-to feel-good film for half my lifetime, and in isolation it continues to keep a smile on my face.
Justin Johnson
Lead Programer