Can you remember what you did with your time on a Friday or Saturday night as a teenager? For me, there were two phases. Phase one involved merely hanging out a selected friend’s house, watching movies, playing video games, and the night ended by going to one of the late night restaurants that happened to be open 24 hours.
Phase two started junior year of high school. As a group, we collectively decide we are going to drink for the first time at a high school party, and we were lucky enough to have a buddy who had a 21-year-old brother, which meant he was legal and could buy booze. We had our first fun time dabbling in high school debauchery, and then it became a mission to duplicate that experience.
The issue at hand is that our friend’s brother wasn’t always around because he had better things to do than make himself available to purchase alcohol for us. That’s when we had to get crafty, and eventually, some of us would be tasked to stand in front of a liquor store and try to get older people to buy alcohol for us. Looking back on it I’m surprised by how many people actually did it and even more surprised by how many of them would then try to party with us. We’re not talking people in their early 20s. We’re talking people in their mid-20s to early 30s who somehow thought it would be rad to party with high school kids and supply a party house.
Back then, nothing about it felt overtly weird; perhaps it was a different time when some of us were more naive to how out of place it was. We were high school kids who watched movies like Dazed and Confused in which the older person trying to party with teenagers was played for humor rather than dread. As an adult, I see how inappropriate it was, and on top of that, how potentially dangerous it could’ve been for us had we came across the wrong person with evil intentions.
This is the sense of uncomfortable dread that permeates through Ma, a horror/thriller that walks a brilliant line between pure camp and compelling psychological study. What if you convinced an adult to buy you booze, and suddenly they were supplying you with a space to party “safely?” What if you slowly realized that this person was more than a little unhinged and the safety of that party space turned into a trap? Ma, despite its trailers that probably make you think this is all a bit ridiculous, manages to get realistic thrills out of a situation that feels inherently authentic. You might think that Ma couldn’t happen in real life and then you think back to your own experiences as a teenager trying to find a good time and realize it was more than possible, especially with the naivety of your limited high school experience.
Ma‘s setup is simple enough. Maggie (Diana Silvers) is a new teenager in town who has moved with her mom (Juliette Lewis) back to her mother’s hometown. Maggie quickly makes friends in the always up for a party Haley (McKaley Miller), the boy who is clearly into Maggie, Andy (Corey Fogelmanis), the douchey Chaz (Gianni Paolo) and the agreeable Darrell (Dante Brown). It’s refreshing that the film skips the typical high school struggle of making friends because sometimes misfits find other misfits and good times are had by all.
Quickly Maggie sees that their favorite pastime is to ride around in Andy’s dad’s work van and drink alcohol. The problem at hand is getting the booze, and this leads to the crew standing in front of the liquor store trying to convince adults to supply, which routinely fails. Maggie is then tasked with giving it a try, and eventually, she gets the attention of Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer). At first, Sue Ann gives them the same answer as the other adults, but a specific something makes her change her mind, and she ultimately decides to buy the kids alcohol. Sue Ann comes off as anyone’s cool aunt and makes it a point to make sure to tell the kids to drink responsibly. A series of events leads to the kids getting caught with the alcohol, and when they have another encounter with Sue Ann for booze, she suggests they use her basement as a haven to party. It’s like having a parent who knows you’re going to drink and would rather you do it at the house (I had several friends with parents who lived by that mantra).
One of the kids nicknames Sue Ann “Ma” and at first, the arrangement seems wonderfully ideal for the group. Sue Ann only has two rules: don’t use the Lord’s name in vain and don’t go upstairs. It’s when the latter rule is broken that Maggie, in particular, begins to question hanging out with “Ma” and it’s when we start to see that Sue Ann’s cool aunt exterior is hiding deep scars and a very obsessive nature.
Ma is much more than is what’s happening on the surface. The screenplay, from Scotty Landes, actually provides a backstory for Sue Ann that is feasible and is expertly woven into the present-day narrative. The secrets in Ma aren’t groundbreaking, but they come with revenge fantasy shades of Carrie that connect the dots and don’t cheapen the story. The script lives in the realm of camp, but it’s balanced well with a story that never feels outlandish. This balance isn’t natural to achieve, but he does so nicely.
Primarily maintaining this balance is Octavia Spencer, who is an actress of such a caliber that she makes Sue Ann consistently feel grounded, even when she’s becoming more and more unhinged. Director Tate Taylor, who directed Spencer to an Oscar win in The Help, allows her to show a side of herself that she has never shown before. It probably helps that they share a friendship that has spanned over 20 years because it’s clear he knew she was capable of going dark, and he lets her play and control just about every scene. It’s a credit to Spencer that even when Sue Ann is at her utmost crazy, you feel some sympathy for her and she makes you understand her intentions. That’s not to say they’re justifiable by any means, but she’s not a one-note villain that we don’t understand. Some of us are aware of what it’s like to be an outsider, and some people carry those scars with them for a lifetime, and this is what Spencer shows while she’s also clearly having fun being entirely controlled going over the top.
Spencer is adequately supported, but no one ever outshines her. The young cast does their job of portraying realistic teenagers that we can stand while the other vets, particularly Juliette Lewis, also hold their own in the story. There is also a fun cameo role of sorts for Allison Janney which serves as a bit of a reunion for the crew from The Help.
On the edge of the psychological thrills, Ma is gloriously campy and isn’t ashamed to show it. Horror fans will get a kick out of some of the scenes that have shades of dark humor mixed with moments of surprising violence that catch you off guard. There were a few scenes that left me uncomfortable while also putting a smile on my face. Some scenes left me squirming in my seat because I was surprised the film was willing to go there. The film succeeded in the cringe factor on several occasions judging from the reactions during my screening.
The film only stumbles a tad during its climax. Most of it is handled well, mainly just how far Sue Ann goes to enact her punishment, but you can tell they didn’t know exactly how to wrap things up. The situation goes a bit off the rails and film turns on the auto-pilot, but so much of what comes before makes Ma an enjoyable treat. Thanks primarily to Octavia Spener and a surprisingly nuanced script, the film is far better than a horror film that is churned out on the assembly line. This is a film with a cult classic written all over it.
