Serial Mom

Serial Mom is a 1994 American satirical black comedy crime film directed and written by John Waters and starring Kathleen Turner as the title character along with Sam Waterston as her husband, and Ricki Lake and Matthew Lillard as her children. Patty Hearst, Suzanne Somers, Joan Rivers, Traci Lords, and Brigid Berlin make cameo appearances in the film. Serial Mom was released theatrically in the United States on April 13, 1994, to mixed to positive reviews from critics, but was a box office bomb, grossing nearly $8 million from a $13 million budget. The film is widely regarded as a cult classic. Plot Beverly Sutphin appears to be an unassuming upper middle class housewife living with her dentist husband, Eugene; and their teenage children, Misty and Chip, in the suburbs of Baltimore. However, she is secretly a serial killer, murdering those who she perceives to slight her and her family or fail to live up to her moral standards. During breakfast, Detectives Pike and Gracey question the family about the vulgar harassment of their neighbor, Dottie Hinkle. Beverly is later revealed to be the perpetrator, retaliating against Dottie for having taken a parking space from her. At a PTA meeting, math teacher Paul Stubbins criticizes Chip's interest in horror films, believing that Beverly's parenting is adversely affecting his mental health. Subsequently, Beverly runs over Stubbins with her car, killing him; stoner LuAnn Hodges witnesses the murder. The following day, Misty is upset when Carl Pageant stands her up for a date. Beverly spots Carl with another girl at a swap meet and fatally stabs him with a fire iron.