Summary: A lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and decides to let them party at her house. Just when the kids think their luck couldn’t get any better, things start happening that make them question the intention of their host.
This will be a short review.
Pros:
Octavia Spencer as Ma. She’s great lol and she carries the movie. Sue Ann is prompted by some teenagers to buy some beer and she does. Later, she does it again for them but this time invites them to her house to party in her basement. She soon enough becomes friends with these teenagers and shenanigans ensue lol. I’ve never seen Octavia Spencer play a role like this and I think she had a ton of fun and she was great. Those intense looks she gives in general worked really well in this film. She was intimidating when she had to be, scary and even “kind” when she needed to be. It’s quite interesting as the movie goes on, how her backstory unravels and you begin to understand her in a lot of ways.
Thriller Aspect. I think this movie is a fun thriller. I mean, it doesn’t break the mold or anything but it has fun with this aspect. Octavia Spencer is delightfully unsettling so it really goes off of her and of course the jump scares. I actually jumped way more during this movie than when I watched It: Chapter Twolol. I don’t know, maybe I just wasn’t expecting to feel so uncomfortable because I feel like this would really happen. People are crazy.
Interesting Premise. The idea that this lonely woman befriends some teenagers and allows them to party in her house and she continues to grow more and more possessive is super interesting. Plus, you notice, pretty early on once some names are revealed, that she has special interests in Andy and that she might be making connections to her past and she might just take things out on the teenagers. I mean, it’s all interesting stuff and Octavia Spencer is so good that I wish the movie was much better and on her level.
Cons:
The Teenagers. Unfortunately, I didn’t think any of the main teenagers we see in the film, were that great nor were they interesting. They seemed to be the stereotypical teenage tropes you normally see, but they weren’t interesting, nor did the movie give them the chance to really be interesting. It tried with Maggie and Andy but it never really followed through.
The Ending. We have the climax as we always do, Maggie vs Ma and some other things happen. You see them in the trailer, where Ma has done something to the other teenagers but she and Maggie have their collision and a solution and then the movie just ends. I wasn’t expecting to know everything but there needed to be more of a resolution. What happened to the survivors? Did anyone actually die? I mean, I need to know. It was just an aerial shot and then credits. I was like wait whaaatt??
Wasted Potential. The biggest issue with this movie is the writing is really lazy because stuff could have been avoided if people actually followed through with the thoughts they clearly have. There are so many red flags that pop up and there are many moments where Maggie is clearly unsure but never says a word but she didn’t seem to have a problem voicing her opinion any other time. I mean, with a movie like this, it’s important for people to be stupid otherwise there wouldn’t be a movie but I mean, don’t treat your audience like they’re stupid like your characters. Be a bit smarter in your decisions so the characters can have the chance to be interesting and not just skeletons. Besides, I think certain things started to come to a head towards the end and it was like a breakneck pace and the movie just ended lol. Ma clearly has some issues and a dark past and you can see certain things throughout the movie, but the movie never really follow through. It might be mentioned or kind of alluded but…I don’t know, it’s just so weird. There’s this whole thing with the Andy kid that was really interesting, weird, but interesting and I feel like there could have been more there.
Overall, I really enjoyed Ma, way more than I thought I would. It’s a fun movie to be honest. Octavia Spencer is a gem and the best thing about the movie. Her acting chops are amazing and she hits every beat expected of her. The premise is really interesting and I wish the writing was smarter and more fine-tuned to reach the level it could have been on. Also, it’s an effective thriller, it follows the usual tropes but I think it works for this kind of film. Now, I didn’t think the teenagers were interesting, nor did I really care what happened to them, outside of Andy, just because he was sweet lol, and other story elements they put in there. The acting wasn’t that great from any of them, Maggie was probably the best out of the group but meh. The ending is horrible and there is so much wasted potential in this one. BUT I think it’s fun. If you just want to check it out, I think it’s worth checking out.
Rating: 2.89 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen Ma? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!
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