Ma (2019) honestly just made me feel really sad. Less of a spine-chilling horror and more of a slow burn, this film interrogates aspects of loneliness and childhood trauma in ways that make you reflect upon the nasty things you’ve had said to you or even the nasty things you’ve said to others in the past. Obviously, Ma is your classic worst-case scenario, but it still makes you question just how far loneliness can push someone…

Octavia Spencer is a powerhouse actor that honestly brings the grit and depth to this film that is otherwise lacking in its plot and dialogue. Her natural, organic ‘happy-go-lucky’ and homely look gives her a false approachable-ness that makes for a fantastic horror figure. You inherently trust in those doe-eyes of hers which makes it all the more confronting when you realise that she is, in reality, a psychopathic killer on the hunt for some sweet revenge. The nuance in her depiction of ‘Ma’ makes for an entertaining watch and it is a brilliant side-step from her usual role of the strong, sassy, loveable woman. She will give you mixed feelings and that is the beauty of her performance.

Another success of this film is its ability to make the viewer relate to and almost pity the antagonist. Ma is isolated, she has spent her life believing in taunts like ‘loser’ thrown at her throughout her childhood. All she really wants is to feel a sense of belonging, which she temporarily experiences with this group of high school kids. Granted, it is extremely unnerving seeing a grown woman (who is believed to not know any of the teenagers) party with and buy booze for a bunch of naive, underage people. But it is this strange desperation that draws you towards Ma. We have all been in place where we yearn to belong and to feel accepted.

Not all of us harbour life-long grudges against their wrong-doers, however. Ma obviously takes revenge very seriously and will not rest until all of her enemies are knocked off, one at a time – leaving Ma as queen bee amongst the children of those that she just brutally killed? Not much logic there, but I assume Ma’s rational logic sort of flew out the window as soon as she sewed that chatty girl’s mouth shut with a blunt needle.

This movie is fine, saved mainly by Octavia Spencer’s glittering talent. Did it make me shiver or plunge into existential consideration (as many horror movies tend to do actually), no. The only lessons I could really elicit from it were to avoid bullying anyone and to be wary of strangers. But neither of these lessons are revolutionary. I will accept that it is always enjoyable watching a group of annoying teenagers forced to swallow their egos thanks to a collective near-death experience. That never gets old.