Ma

"Get home safe."

2019 1h 39m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 2,525

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Sue Ann is a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.

“Get home safe.”

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Cast

Octavia Spencer
Sue Ann
Juliette Lewis
Erica
Diana Silvers
Maggie
McKaley Miller
Haley
Corey Fogelmanis
Andy
Luke Evans
Ben Hawkins
Gianni Paolo
Chaz
Dante Brown
Darrell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tate Taylor
Writers: Scotty Landes, Wade Acuff
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $61M — a 12.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Ma Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tate Taylor, shot by Christina Alexandra Voros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Gregory Tripi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lucy Donaldson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Octavia Spencer and Juliette Lewis and Diana Silvers carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Get home safe.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tate Taylor directs. Christina Alexandra Voros behind the camera. Gregory Tripi scores. Lucy Donaldson cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $61M — a 12.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
2Released 7 years ago.
3Part of the "Ma Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Tate Taylor, shot by Christina Alexandra Voros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Gregory Tripi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Lucy Donaldson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Octavia Spencer and Juliette Lewis and Diana Silvers carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Get home safe.".
9IMDB entry: tt7958736 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 17 themes, including "casino", "kidnapping", "psychopath", "underage drinking".

The technical file

Cinematography: Christina Alexandra Voros
Original score: Gregory Tripi
Editing: Lucy Donaldson
Production design: Marc Fisichella
Costume design: Megan Coates
Makeup / hair: Karri Farris
VFX supervisor: James David Hattin
Sound: Craig Mann
Stunt coordinator: Lex D. Geddings
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,000,000
Box office: $61,220,856
Return: 1224% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Ma (2019)

Part of

Ma Collection

The Ma collection consists of American psychological horror thriller films.

Also by

Tate Taylor

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-09-06
★ 5/10
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
Gimly2019-10-02
★ 5/10
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.