Sunday Scaries: Could a Father’s Day Fright Flick Work? (Revisited)

Once again, let me start this by wishing a very Happy Father’s Day to those who celebrate it. In particular, well wishes go out to Awards Radar’s own Steve Prusakowski, who balances out parental responsibilities with helping make the site actually function. Plus, you know, my own father, I guess? (Kidding, my dad is fine). Now, on to business. The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! This time, it’s even a special holiday edition of the column…

Today, in honor of Father’s Day, I was wondering if we’ll ever get a true fright flick about the day? As you’ll see below, the premise has been largely avoided, which I find interesting. Horror is a genre that does try to touch all manners of the human experience, so why has this one been shunned? Plus, that question seems all the more interesting when you realize that its inverse hasn’t had the same fate.

Mother’s Day has already been the subject of multiple efforts, including Mother’s Day as a horror film (then remade decades later) as well as a romantic comedy. Father’s Day surely works as a rom com (or the 1997 Billy Crystal and Robin Williams buddy comedy), since any premise does, but what of its horror potential? The only attempt I know of is in a segment from Holidays, but it barely made use of the premise. What I’m wondering is if a feature could truly work?

I think that there’s certainly a filmmaker out there who could pull this off, but it may never happen. The holiday is just inherently less interesting, cinematically, it seems. Moreover, it lacks the genre allure that other holidays due, which is why horror writers have shied away from it. Hope springs eternal, though, and if someone could figure it out, it would be a breath of fresh air, that’s for sure.

What do you all think? Is a scary movie set around Father’s Day a good idea? Is it a bad idea? Of course, the answer likely is somewhere in between. We may never know, either. But, as we celebrates dads of all sorts today, the mind wanders…

Could a Father’s Day horror film work? Let us know!