In 2019, Blumhouse released another horrifying movie that featured Octavia Spencer as its lead. Often known as a woman who plays feel-good roles, Spencer's initial casting in Ma surprised quite a few. Doused in mixed reviews, critics had a difficult time coming to a unanimous opinion of Ma, but it's clear that Spencer proves she's a woman of many talents.
Blumhouse is a horror giant responsible for films including Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Hush, Get Out, Us, The Invisible Man, and most recently, Halloween Kills. Like these films, Ma takes viewers on a psychologically invasive journey that asks Spencer to leave her typical inspiring attitude at the door.
The film's title derives from the nickname Spencer's character, Sue Ann, is given after she forms a peculiar bond with the teens in her Ohio town. Among those children is Maggie Thompson who recently moved with her mother to her mother's hometown. Maggie quickly finds friends in Haley, Chaz, Darrell, and Andy. During one of the gang's hangout sessions, they try to bait Sue Ann to buy them alcohol. As a vet tech, Sue Ann appears like an innocent enough woman to ask the favor of. She even appears reluctant to abide by their request at first but ultimately gives in. Sue Ann soon realizes that a twisted form of fate has stumbled into her lap, and the teens fail to understand how much danger they now face at the hands of Sue Ann.
Framing her master plan in concerns, Sue Ann invites the teens to hang out in her basement so she knows they're in a safe place. With it, she gives them a few rules they must follow, including the ominous promise that they must never go upstairs. Agreeing to her seemingly easy rules to follow, the group of five is soon joined by other kids at school, as Ma's basement becomes a popular sanctuary for teens to hang out. Soon enough, Ma's troublesome antics begin to catch up with her, alerting the kids that something about her isn't right.
Ma's double-faced antics are evident early on, as she turns the kids in shortly after buying them alcohol. After gaining their trust and coaxing them into her basement, she often drugs them, allowing her to steal their jewelry amongst other things. When Maggie and Haley become aware of what she may be doing, they become standoffish. This increases after they realize Genie, who they often see at school in a wheelchair, is Ma's daughter and is capable of walking. As the group pulls away from her, Ma becomes obsessive, blowing up their phones with texts, calls, and videos, questioning where they've been and why they are so actively ignoring her. How the teens respond drives her further mad, forcing her to make up a lie that allows her to worm her way back into their lives.
Once parents begin to get involved, Ma becomes past the point of rational thinking. By the end, she lures the children back to the basement and drugs them so she can torture them. Her choice of their torture is a reflection of the way she views them. She sews the mouth shut of loudmouth Haley, irons the stomach of Chaz, the jock, and paints Darrell's face white to show how he has tried to conform to his white friends. Andy is stabbed after he tries to seduce Ma and Maggie is nearly hanged. What becomes apparent is that Ma's treatment isn't only a reflection of how she views the children individually, but who some of them remind her of.
As a teen, Ma was bullied heavily and one incident from her teen years sticks with her well into adulthood. Ma holds Andy's father accountable for the horrid, sexual prank he played on her and accuses Maggie's mother of being a silent bystander during her abuse. Flashbacks prove that Ma's own recount of the events is true but it doesn't excuse the tortures and murders she conducts throughout the film. While Ma is a true testament to the way trauma affects individuals well into their adult lives on many levels, Spencer's ability to convey it through action, expression, and speech, deserves to be acknowledged.
Spencer shines in telling this tragic and horrifyingly traumatic tale of Sue Ann. Her ability to put on a facade that allows her to venture into town as a normal citizen before returning home to lie to her daughter, traumatize teens, or commit a gruesome murder, is an impressive feat. Spencer's ability to be convincing on all fronts is spectacular. When combined with the fact that Spencer has become associated with the feel-good roles she has played in projects like The Help, Red Band Society, The Shape of Water, Snowpiercer, and Hidden Figures, Spencer proves that she is capable of doing more. The layers of Sue Ann are what make that clear. She is not just a villain who does bad things merely for doing them, but she has a proper motive. Harboring resentment for the actual event and people involved with it, the children who are parented by her tormenters, and what those children remind her of in a modern context, all drive the decisions she makes throughout the film.
Ma is now available on Hulu.