REVIEW: Octavia Spencer is very disturbing in 'Ma' but you'll feel for her character

Ma is one of those films that defy categorisation. While it's billed as a psychological horror film, it feels more like a rather unnerving drama or a fairly intense thriller, with horrific elements. However, the film does set out to do what director Tate Taylor wanted, which was to "do something really f***ed up". It peels back the human mind to reveal the perversions within. The worst part of it all? We can all find a little bit of ourselves in the film's titular character.

Ma revolves around a group of teenagers befriending a lonely middle-aged woman. They have regular parties together, but those parties soon reveal that there's something strange about the woman, and they discover that something sinister lurks behind her seemingly kindly visage. The teenagers discover a story that spans generations as they race to protect the ones they loved against Ma.

There's no doubting how depraved Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) is. She's affectionately called "Ma" by the teenagers she befriends, hence giving the film its title, yet she's anything but a mother to those children. The entire premise of the show hinges on the demented machinations of Sue Ann, which slowly escalates as the film progresses. But what makes it all the more disturbing is that her deviant behaviour descends down a slippery slope — a slippery slope we can all identify with. When we see Sue Ann stalking people online, it's creepy but forgivable to an extent, since who among us has not done the same thing? But as her actions escalate, she blurs the line between the uncomfortably acceptable to the dangerously taboo, resulting in the conflict in the film.

What magnifies the already disturbing premise of Ma is the excellent, nuanced performance of Octavia Spencer as the lead character. She makes you believe that she's a kindly old matron (which she is, to a certain degree), but that she's also a psychotic pervert (which she definitely is), and it all comes together in such jarring juxtaposition that you watch her horrific actions in disbelief. Spencer's portrayal of Sue Ann is a multi-dimensional one, showing us so many facets of the central character's personality that we understand how her insecurities have led her to this state — but we also see how she has let herself fall down such a dark abyss. It's a brilliant performance that shows us Spencer's range, and also leaves us with the lingering fear of becoming such a person in the future.

The five teenagers who are the objects of Sue Ann's attention — Maggie (Diana Silvers), Andy (Corey Fogelmanis), Haley (McKaley Miller), Chaz (Gianni Paolo), and Darrell (Dante Brown) — successfully convey the innocence of youth and the capriciousness of immaturity, even though it can be difficult to sympathise with them as victims. However, their reactions to Sue Ann's increasingly unhinged behaviour border a little on being unbelievable, since they seem fairly nonplussed by her actions.

Two stories run throughout the film, and while it's apparent that one of them was tacked on (with blatantly obvious cues for a transition to a flashback when Sue Ann suddenly gets all misty-eyed in the present), they still mesh together fairly well. Of course, the entire point of running parallel plot lines is to provide justification for the events in the present day, and its objective is rather opaque in this sense. Still, it works, if only because it serves to reminds us of how fresh and vivid childhood trauma can be in real life, no matter how much time has passed.

As twisted as the ending was, it wasn't quite as satisfying as one would have expected. It left one expecting more, hungering for more, but perhaps that was the whole point of the conclusion — to leave us wanting as much catharsis as Sue Ann herself did in the film. That's not to say that plot threads weren't properly wrapped up or that the climax didn't fit, but that it just left you wanting more out of the film.

Ma, while not being a traditional horror film, leaves you with your hair standing as you almost connect with the main character, but fall short of actually sympathising with her behaviour. It's a thoroughly demented film that still manages to hew itself close enough to reality that you'll watch your back after leaving the cinema. After all, what will you do if a Ma secretly lurks in your life?

Should you watch it at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.

Should you watch it more than once? No.

Score: 4.0/5

Running time: 99 min

Ma is a psychological horror drama.

The film revolves around a group of teenagers in a small town who make friends with a lonely middle-aged woman. While it all seems fun at first, they slowly discover that there's something wrong with her. As their friendship takes a turn, they find that the woman's depravity is much more far-reaching than they realised.

Ma is directed by Tate Taylor and written by Scotty Landes. It stars Octavia Spencer (Sue Ann "Ma" Ellington), Diana Silvers (Maggie Thompson), Juliette Lewis (Erica Thompson), Luke Evans (Ben Hawkins), Corey Fogelmanis (Andy Hawkins), McKaley Miller (Haley), Gianni Paolo (Chaz), Dante Brown (Darrell), and Missi Pyle (Mercedes). It is rated NC-16.

Ma opens in cinemas:
- 25 July, 2019 (Singapore)
- 10 July, 2019 (Philippines)

Marcus Goh is a television scriptwriter who writes for “Crimewatch”, as well as popular shows like “Lion Mums”, “Code of Law”, “Incredible Tales”, and “Police & Thief”. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find him on social media as Optimarcus and on his site. The views expressed are his own.

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