Ma

Beyond a far-fetched and almost-laughable script, the actors play pretty well, especially Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers and Juliette Lewis. The introduction languishes, lasts about an hour and one has overall the impression that the mountain has brought forth a mouse. Although I obviously do not belong to the intended audience which is probably narrowed to teens, it's worth a try with low expectations.

New high school transfer student Maggie Thompson (Diana Silvers) lives with her mother Erica (Juliette Lewis) who moved back to her home town after various failures to work as a casino waitress. Maggie is befriended by Haley (McKaley Miller) and her friends. They try to recruit adults to buy them beer and Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) agrees. Later, she invites them to party at her house and it becomes a student hot spot. She asks them to call her Ma.

This could be a functional horror movie. I can see a crazy Octavia Spencer turning on a group of hapless teens. It doesn't work here for a variety of reasons. It tries to slow burn the story. It tries to have another layer with her daughter. It tries to explain her by giving her a history. The ending has a lot of bad decisions and bad turns. Octavia is giving it all into the role but it's a top price steak in a sour stew.

Decent thriller, I did not feel like I lost two hours of my life.

Pros: Seeing Octavia Spencer in this type of movie is refreshing, she has real acting chops and they show even with this limited script.

Cons: Movie did not give a proper development to what happens. We see something earlier on, but there would have been a pattern long before the 'thriller' part started happening. The changes in tone felt 'rushed'.

Not winning awards, but watchable.

The concept is gold: maladjusted adult tries to live her unfulfilled teenage dreams. The realisation is absolutely terrible tho: after an adequately creepy start, the movie script becomes more and more implausible. There are a lot of over the top moments which I won't spoil which are well delivered but aren't valorised enough. The final twist feels wasted.

I watched this at home on BluRay from my public library. My wife skipped, not her type of movie.

While there are several other effective actors, the movie rides on the performance of Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann. She is still living in the town she grew up in, as are several of her old classmates, all graduated from high school some years earlier, many of them have sons or daughters who now are in high school.

Sue Ann is approached by a group of teenagers who want an adult to buy some beer and whiskey for them. At first she is reluctant, but when she notices the van the boy is driving, and realizes he is the son of an old boyfriend, she decides to help them. And further, convinces them to party in her basement out in the country, it would be safer than riding around. The kids resort to calling her "Ma".

But we sense very early, and is later confirmed, that her intentions are not for the good. It turns out she was humiliated in high school, there is a flashback scene, and now sees this as a way to get back at the parents, to get her revenge in a very twisted manner.

For what it is, a twisted psychological thriller, it works very well. There isn't anything I would change about it.