Ma: A Haunting and Unsettling Journey into Revenge
Ma offers the audience an unsettling ride through a lonely woman Sue Ann past traumas and how they led her astray. Her new ‘friends’ are a group of high-school students, who also become her victims involved in manipulation and revenge. Ma also uses rich character histories and complicated connections in order to bring a raw an revenge into view and make audiences reflect on themes such as bullying, loneliness, and resultant trauma. It has a somewhat ominous feeling and shifts between themes of teens’ friendship and horror. Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis and others give good support adding the emotional layer to the film.
The film Ma is directed by Tate Taylor who has a good vision keeping the exploration and horror part smooth, plausible transition between the horror and psychological drama as well as portraying Sue Ann’s transformation from the collector to the paranoid person and maintaining tension throughout.
The music used in Ma is good, adding to the eerie feeling of the movie. Despite not being quite remarkable it supplements the film’s mood exceptionally well, layering more suspense to scenes which does not overpower them. It is crucial of course to maintain visually storytelling to heighten the psychology and horror aspects of the movie.
The look and feel of the movie is superb in capturing small town America and eventually contrasting the suburban backdrop with the dark reality of Sue Ann’s life. Sue Ann’s basement takes a lead as part of horror storyline elaboration which was apparently enhanced by simple special effects used in the movie. It adds to the horror experience without going so far that it becomes unrealistic and takes all attention away from psychological effect.
Ma’s editing is effective and is used for the purpose of creating suspense and a build-up throughout the movie. They pace is bearable, and helps build tension and unveil some significant points within the plot at the most convenient time.
Some may argue that the pacing of the overall film is slow. It builds up suspense thus taking the viewers to Sue Ann’s world of madness and unhinged before they are given a climax. Such scenes, as Sue Ann’s interactions with the teenagers, reveal the main character’s developing psychosis and peel layers off her personality.
Ma does an excellent job with the psychological horror genre; yet the movie’s pace is going to be a problem for some people. Some moments seem underdeveloped and it would have been interesting to see the teenagers get more development as characters.
Ma is a well-made psychological thriller that will leave the audience feeling disturbed. It presents the darker aspects in human life and behavior and gives some of the most memorable acting, especially by Octavia Spencer.
