A group of friends acquire the help of a seemingly nice woman for
​alcohol, only to learn her true intentions are much more sinister.

HORROR

Ma (2019)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Scotty Landes

Starring Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo, Dante Brown, Luke Evans

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Caleb Leger

October 19, 2020

4/10

I held off on this movie for a while. Why? Well, the trailer seemed to tell the entire movie and reviews, once released, were not kind to say the least. All signs pointed to this being one of those terrible studio horror films where the only thing offered is the all-star cast. And, even worse, it was mainly banking off the stardom of its lead actress, with nothing else beyond that being offered. So, not exactly two things which screamed quality horror film to me. But, being the horror person that I am, I was going to watch it eventually. Which is why it found its way to my Netflix DVD queue. And, yes, I still subscribe to that part of the service. Once it came in, I watched it. Keep in mind, I watched this, like all my previous films, with an open mind. Unfortunately, it still fell short.

To start with, the main story. I’ve never watched a film where plot threads and characters just come and go the way they do here. Ideas are brought up and then dropped out of nowhere. Characters are made to seem important, but only appear for maybe five minutes’ worth of screen time. And that’s not even counting the inconsistency of various characters. For example: Luke Evans is introduced being pleasured in his car, then presented as a grieving dad, then a complete dick; all with no story points to flesh him out more. They just happen. The only character who seems to be even remotely fleshed out is Ma. And that’s mainly due to how good Octavia Spencer is in the role. But, I still have issues with her motivations and why she needs to hurt our main characters who are innocent.

Honestly, Ma is a train wreck of a horror film. The story is all over the place. The characters are amazingly inconsistent. And this is the least terrifying horror film I’ve seen. The only saving grace is Octavia Spencer. So, if you’re looking for a horror film with a psychopath involved, look elsewhere. This is not the horror film you seek.