“Serial killer” could serve as its own subgenre within the crime thriller genre. Many people (myself included) are infatuated with true crime or crime influenced fiction, stories centered around the attempt to dive into the mind of a human and what could motivate them to commit such unbelievable and horrific acts. It’s unfortunate that Like Father Like Son does not take its time to try to develop any sense of understanding or empathy. The film immediately begins with violence and brutality with no concept of empathy. It would have been better to market this film as full blown horror, and really leaned into that genre instead. 

 

Gabe (Dermot Mulroney) plays Eli’s (Dylan Flashner) father, who witnesses an innocent, young boy being bullied by another older kid. Gabe violently attacks the bully, killing him and scarring Eli. Eli turns his father in for the murder, who eventually is sentenced to the death penalty. Eli struggles to find stability in life, unsuccessfully selling life insurance (ironic?) over the phone, telemarketer-style. This is where the story starts to jump all over, never really having a meaningful scene and instead moving way too quickly toward the next thing. The film uses nothing to aid it in building tension, with no motivation for Eli’s upcoming actions other than unresolved rage and unmanaged anger, or is the audience just expected to assume he is a monster because of the genes he was given? 

 

Eli meets a lady friend, who will inevitably become his love interest, Haley (Ariel Winter). Haley is troubled and has run away from home because of a sexual assault from her mother’s boyfriend. Eli continues to go on a deadly rampage at every opportunity. In one instance, he kills a man who gropes Haley in an alley, which then contributes to a shared bond between the pair; she feels like he saved her life, and he feels like she is the best thing to happen to him. Yup, this makes no sense. Eli goes on to kill many more people including Haley’s boss, his former boss, a drug/gun dealer, Haley’s mom and mom’s boyfriend, and the list goes on. Eli has no other solution, ever, to any problem he faces. His solution is violent murder. 

 

Not only is the plot weak, the script and dialogue is so horridly written that it becomes laughable. A violent build-up to a conclusion that is both ridiculous and abrupt. Like Father Like Son is a disappointing thriller that is not worth anyone’s patience.