Ma (2019) - Movie Review

 

Much like with Welcome To Marwen, we’re dealing with another film that was released theatrically over here, yet I personally see no evidence of it making it to theatres. The fact that there is more than one example of that this year, also from a rather high-profile background and in the midst of Disney's ultimate transformation into Omnicorp, is a bit concerning. At any rate, with its home video release, I can finally check out the latest from The Girl On The Train director Tate Taylor… and man, did I miss out not getting to see this on the big screen.

This goes beyond just being well-cast, from the bit parts to the main characters, and goes right into ‘the casting saves the movie’ territory. Octavia Spencer’s star has been rising quite adamantly these few years, and even considering her ability to shine with the worst kind of material from back with The Shack, I can’t help but think that this is her best performance yet. As the central instability that fuels the plot, she is phenomenally unsettling, balancing her genuine menace with some rather heart-breaking backstory to create one of those roles that is clearly villainous, but it’s pretty damn hard not to feel sorry for her at the same time.

The script definitely adds to that too, as the story here involving a small Midwestern town and how social cliques affect people even outside of high school has some serious bite to it. As an example of the worst-case-scenario for social starvation and exclusion, Spencer’s Sue Ann is essentially a David Wooderson flip as the lead in a horror flick: Living vicariously through the younger generation turned sadistic. It’s quite remarkable how effectively the film coasts on that alone, and when things get extra grisly, it not only feels wholly like a Blumhouse production, but it somehow feels tame alongside the more quietly fucked-up things going on.

Then again, on that same note regarding the writing, it has a bitch of an uphill struggle to make for its own efficacy. The main impetus for the plot is a group of teenagers looking for a place where they can drink and party without getting hassled by the police. This is also known as the premise to just about every single 2000’s horror flick in existence, not to mention a frequent recurrence in Eli Roth’s filmography. As much as it’s bolstered by the social commentary on offer, it’s still not enough to get past how the bulk of what’s being shown is so overplayed that it outright needs Octavia Spencer to make it interesting. Guess that’ll happen when your main star signs up for a horror film without even checking the script first.

And once again on that note, this is convenience galore when it comes to keeping the plot moving. Outside of the minor coincidence that everyone that Ma was scorned by back in the day are all still living in the same town, there’s also the major coincidence in how the teenagers in question keep making patently stupid decisions to justify going and re-going to Ma’s place. Then there’s the annoying lack of subtlety regarding most of the initial shocks that something isn’t right with her, with the filmmakers almost-literally dangling plot threads in front of the audience’s faces to justify its already rather telegraphed developments.

Between its quite evident flaws, its marketing (complete with a poster that apes The Martian, for reasons that will forever elude me) and the possibility of everyone leaving her behind as a result of her involvement in Green Book (not that I care all that much, but oh boy, the Oscars this year were wonky as fuck), I kind of get why this got lost in the shuffle. I mean, there’s only so many Blumhouse movies that can make it to cinemas, given Jason’s insanely prolific output. But even with its flaws in mind, I have to admit, I had fun with this one. Whatever proper issues it has (some of the performances, some of the writing, the hand-holding approach to psycho-horror) end up being weighed out by its positives (the rest of the performances, the rest of the writing, the still-effective approach to thrills), and by that merit, I’d say it’s worth checking out.