Ma (Movie Review)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

PLOT: When a group of teens befriend a lonely middle-aged woman, they believe that they’ve found the perfect adult to hang out with. This is especially true when she invites them to party and drink in her basement. Unfortunately for them, their new gal pal may not have their best interest in mind.

REVIEW: The trailer for the new thriller from Blumhouse entitled MA presented an intriguing idea. While this isn’t the first time filmmakers have hired a respected actor to play a horror villain, it's certainly an interesting choice. By taking an incredible talent like Octavia Spencer, and giving her the chance to chew the scenery a bit, you are going to have something memorable – which isn't always a good thing. Yes, this could’ve easily been a terrible memory that you try hard to forget. Instead, MA is a little bit wacky, as well as a little more vicious than expected. It also happens to be far more entertaining than a goofy flick about a lonely psycho that inserts herself into the lives of a group of teenagers has any right to be.

Diana Silvers is Maggie, a teenager who is forced to restart her young life with her mother Erica (Juliette Lewis) in a new town. She quickly bonds with a group of locals including Haley (McKaley Miller), Andy (Corey Fogelmanis), Darrell (Dante Brown) and Chaz (Gianni Paolo). When the gang are out searching for an adult to purchase alcohol, they happen upon a kind woman named Sue Ann (Spencer) who agrees to offer her services. Soon, she becomes so nice to the group that they end up spending a bit too much time in the strangers’ basement partying it up. That all changes when Sue Ann – who urges the kids to call her “Ma” – begins to show a deranged and obsessive interest in her new pals. The question is, how insane will Ma go? Well frankly, it was a bit crazier than I had anticipated.

Let’s stars with the cast. When it comes to making a thriller actually work, you have to care about the characters in jeopardy. And shockingly, MA does a fine job at bringing us a group of teens that aren’t completely obnoxious. Led by Diana Silvers, the young cast brings us a few dim, but engaging enough, kids that just want a place to hang and not be harassed by their parents. After all, if you are living in a small town there is only so much to do. And for the most part, it was believable enough that they would trust this strange woman. Albeit, one incident between Chaz and Ma that happens on their first visit would have been an instant hell no for this viewer. Aside from that, I liked these guys enough to root for them when Ma gets really pissed off.

That of course brings us to Octavia Spencer. What I’ve always respected about the actress was her willingness to take on a number of genres. She clearly handles the more high brow material beautifully, but she also likes to take a few chances when it comes to her filmography. As MA, the actress is having the time of her life playing a deranged woman still holding on to her past. Even if the movie was a complete mess, her performance here would have made it worth watching. Thankfully it's better than that, and Spencer gives the role the perfect amount of twisted vulnerability to make her slightly sympathetic in the beginning. Yet once she goes off, she goes off in a satisfyingly vicious way.

One of the most surprising things about this particular feature is the supporting cast and what they are given to do. First off, you have Juliette Lewis who manages to give us a warm and protective, yet flawed, mother to Maggie. As well, you have Luke Evans as Ben. While he may be a bit of a creep, he’s certainly willing to make amends for his former bad behavior. And then you have Missi Pyle as Mercedes, a vapid and self involved ex-friend of Erica who has a bit of a run in with Sue Ann. The most surprising casting though happens to be the incredible Allison Janney who has perhaps the most thankless role of all the actors. However, she’s so good that she manages to grab our attention for a moment or two.

Directed by Tate Taylor (THE HELP, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN), MA delivers a series of shocks and jump scares that work far better than you may expect. It also ramps up the suspense as we realize just how dangerous Ma can get well before she finally snaps and decides to throw one hell of a last bash. Taylor – who also appears in the film as Officer Grainger – creates a decent level of thrills with his particular style. Much of that comes from how he and his cinematographer (Christina Voros) shoot certain scenes that create an uneasy feeling, even in moments that appear to be just normal conversations. 

MA is a thriller that embraces its slightly campy nature, but with a serious tone. And thanks to Octavia’s excellent work, it’s easy to entertain in Sue Ann and her undeniably extreme obsession with Maggie and her pals. It also helps that the movie has a bit of fun with its R-rating and the level of F-bombs, brief and unexpected graphic nudity and fleeting moments of violence. The soundtrack is filled with classic dance songs, and a couple of decent modern tunes. And most importantly, you have Ms. Spencer giving us a lively villain. It may at times be ridiculous, but all in all, this is an entertaining flick that is well aware of how silly it could be – and it happily embraces that silliness openly.