Mommie Dearest (1981)

 

The abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted.

From memory: High-volume bio-pic gives Faye Dunaway the chance to give her the most over-the-top performance of her career depicting Joan Crawford as a real-life monster; film is full of bone-chilling scenes you'd otherwise find in a bona fide horror movie; campy, but must be seen to be believed.

Halliwell (no star): "On the screen it all seemed too silly for words, and nobody cared anyway."

Maltin**1/2: "Vivid, well-crafted filmization of Christina Crawford's book...Knowing that the story is (allegedly) real makes watching this film a creepy experience...though now it's seen as a camp classic!"