Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

It's hard to describe just how awful this movie is.  "Bad" simply isn't strong enough.  Let's start with the fact that when originally released, the title was Dead Babies.  Nice, huh?  But even with its new, much more innocent title, Mood Swingers is still terrible. 

A group of really messed up twenty-somethings gather together for a weekend of debauchery.  A weekend with nothing on the menu except drugs and sex.  Most of the group is British, and they're anxiously awaiting the arrival of their American friends, the ones who will be supplying the drugs.

Let's look at the characters:  Quentin (Paul Bettany) has married a rich girl, and enjoys his life of sex and drugs.  Keith (Andy Nyman) was in a mental institution, and trust me, he should be back there again.  You can tell, immediately, that something is just not right with him.  Giles (Charlie Condou) inherited the huge mansion where the group gathers for the weekend.  He spends his time worrying, crying, whining, and drinking.  What's he worrying about?  Pretty much everything.  He's especially worried about his teeth - constantly dreaming that they've fallen out.   Andy and Diana are married, but Andy can't "perform" anymore - no doubt due to his overindulgences. Lucy is appropriately named, as she has the reputation of being "loose".   Then there's the American drug supplier, Marvel.  He's played by William Marsh who is also the film's director.  Marvel has taken under his wing a misfit named Skip whom he rescued from the streets.

There you have it - can you imagine a worse group of characters?  Not a likable one among them.  Regardless, they spend their weekend doing all kinds of nasty things, in scenes that are clearly designed more to shock than to entertain.  There's plenty of nudity, animal abuse, and violence.  Pretty much anything you can take offense to will be shown in this film.

Oh - to create some amount of intrigue and mystery, it seems that one of the guests is not entirely what he/she pretends to be.  And bodies start piling up.  There's a whole other plot about an Internet-driven group of terrorists called Conceptualists.  But, honestly, I didn't care by the time all was revealed at the end.  I wasn't intrigued, wasn't at the edge of my seat, I simply couldn't wait for it to be over.

It's hard to talk about performances when the script and the characters are so bad.  Still, I actually enjoyed the way Marsh played Marvel.  Kind of like a 60's hippy drug dealer in today's world.  He seemed a whole lot more "real" than these other clowns.  But, again, I fault the script far more than the actors (except I can't understand why they signed on for the project).

Based on the 1975 book called Dead Babies by Martin Amis, I have to assume this movie simply lost something in the translation.  Do not see it for any reason unless you want to play a drinking game... you could down a shot at every offensive scene, and be flying high by the midpoint.

Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age