Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, and McKaley Miller make a lot of great faces, but this is maybe one of the least inventive horror movies I've ever seen - the only surprises are non-sequiturs, the characterization is... extremely thin, and the pacing is completely off, with essentially no tension until the final act. The director has said in interviews that the origin of this movie is him saying to the president of the studio "Dude, I want to do something really fucked up" and yes, this is the kind of movie that you get when that pitch is enough to get a movie rolling and the director that makes the pitch... has never attempted fucked up before. Octavia Spencer signed on before she'd read the script because she got to play a character that kills a bunch of people, and... yes, that also shows.

Whoever did hair for Diana Silvers, though, that was the thing that took this movie from two stars to three - it's so exactly the correct mix of hairstyles for a slightly naive 15-year-old itching for a little more differentiation from her mom in a new town. (Everybody's hair in this movie, actually, is believable and expressive of the character - significantly more than the dialogue.)

**Gives you the chills as MA is properly shattered**

This movie is amazing really good horror thriller film to watch so creepy that it gives you the chills as MA all she wanted is people to like her, nevertheless she finds the kids of the parents that bullied her badly when she was younger, where she does an underage booze run then sets up a party in her basement where the only rule is not to go upstairs into as she calls it messy house in the middle of nowhere with no houses or other people about to see and report what she is up to. Octavia Spencer has done an amazing job as MA her acting is on point that it really something different for her as she tends to play nice down to earth characters, where MA is just extremely shattered from being bullied, she enjoys being in control and being the centre of attention. All the while trying to stalk the kids and their parents and trying to get back at their parents in the meantime who bullied her viciously as kids. She also has a condition of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy where she as a vet nurse tries to use her skills from that job to self medicate especially when it comes to her daughter as she thinks her daughter has something really wrong with her and the doctors do not see it yet MA gives her daughter in perfect health vets medications in her eyes to try and make her daughter better, which is a symptom of this mental disorder, that is caused from her being shattered with humiliation by the kids parents when they were kids. Diana Silvers has done an amazing job too with her phenomenal acting is so on point her character is suspicious of MA from the start where she frequently asks questions about MA being too good to be true, which it comes in handy to protecting them in turn ends up saving their lives before it is too late. Overall loved this movie really gives you the chills while watching it, nevertheless I highly recommend you watching it if you have spare time on your hands you will be so impressed and not regret it. Also Well done to the amazing cast and crew for putting this masterpiece together.

I was sort of annoyed by _Ma's_ promotional campaign. When that very first trailer dropped, I was hooked instantly. It very much played up the mystery. You knew there was something not quite right, but no idea what. I couldn't even be certain the angle they were gonna play up was Octavia Spencer as a villain. Then every bit of marketing material afterwards showed the hand almost immediately. Ma's a headcase no doubt about it and that great act 2 twist we had waiting in the wings was ruined. Then I actually watched the thing, and, no, it's totally fair, because the escalation on her craziness is pretty much complete by the end of day 1. Things from the first trailer that I thought could maybe sow of doubt towards making the audience dubious about her intentions, in the actual movie take place **after** she's already commited murder in broad daylight. So my expectations were off, that's on me. All that aside though, _Ma_ really isn't that great. It is okay, not terrible by any stretch, but probably doesn't merit a revisit. Octavia Spencer's character does provoke both genuine sympathy, and an overwhelming creep-factor, and hitting those two opposing aspects is quite impressive, but there is so much that _Ma_ completely drops, it almost feels unfinished.

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

So-so thriller, that could've been straight out of the 90s, features some decent performances, particularly Octavia Spencer and Diana Silvers. Nothing special and outside of the language and sexual content, kind of feels like something that would be on the Lifetime Movies network or something. Probably worth a rental, not much more. **2.5/5**