Film Review: "Ma" (2019).

"Get Home Safe" in Ma. This psychological horror film directed by Tate Taylor, written by Taylor and Scotty Landes, and produced by Blumhouse Productions. The film centres on a lonely middle-aged woman who befriends some teenagers and decides to let them party in the basement of her home. But there are some house rules: One of the kids has to stay sober, don't curse, and never go upstairs. They must also refer to her as Ma. But as Ma's hospitality starts to curdle into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma's place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on Earth.

Ma came together as a result of Taylor's desire to direct a film about "something fucked up", and a conversation he had with Octavia Spencer in which she told him that she was "sick of only being offered the same role and never getting to be a lead." Taylor then went to pitch his desire to Jason Blum. Blum then introduced Landes' script to Taylor, which Blum had bought the day before. Although the original draft was written with a white woman in the title role, Taylor immediately thought about Spencer. He immediately called Spencer, and asked her if she would like to be in a horror film; without reading the script, Spencer boarded the project. There was no backstory for the title character in the original script, which made her "a complete monster that no audience member could sympathize with." The filmmakers made it a priority to give the character an authentic backstory for the role. By February 2018, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo, Dante Brown, Luke Evans, Missi Pyle, and Allison Janney rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, with a budget of $5 million, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in March. Filming took place in Natchez, Mississippi.

The film stars Spencer, in the title role, Lewis, Silvers, Miller, Fogelmanis, Paolo, Brown, Evans, Pyle, and Janney. Spencer's talent as an actress has been evident for a quite while, but this film announces her as a genuine versatile actress.

Ma may not be wickedly smart and playfully subversive, nor does it challenge the audience's expectations, but it does leave audiences leaning on the edges of their seats. The film's reveal isn't worthy of the apprehension it creates, which is chiefly down to Spencer's surprising lead performance. Thriller fans may be reasonably sated but the film lacks distinct juju. Yet, the film is darkly unnerving, it's deft, controlled maneuvering of plot, character, style, and tone is damn near perfect for Taylor's Blumhouse debut—even if it is in service of a very standard genre piece. The film chillingly illustrates what happens when a group of teenagers have to deal with an unsuspecting yet unrelenting adult who they partied with. Clever and atmospheric, the film has enough twists to keep the average viewer guessing. The violence is always emotional and psychological, not bloody and physical, which makes the film that much more disconcerting.

Simon says Ma receives:

Also, see my review for The Girl on the Train.