Ma
Universal Pictures | Release Date: May 31, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
22
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelMay 29, 2019
Ma is one loony little horror film, and Octavia Spencer has a grand old time being the craziest thing in it. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleMay 29, 2019
There are times when Spencer’s character feels less subversive and more like a gonzo Annie Wilkes from Misery; it’s clear that the filmmakers understand how to write Sue Ann in opposition to tropes, less clear that they know how to turn that into something meaningful. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 1, 2019
Many years ago, an acquaintance of mine said “Who needs good art when you’ve got great trash” and that applies here. Although I would stop short of calling this a “gem,” it is at times creepily effective, at least during its first three-fourths. As the film approaches its climax, it loses some of its uniqueness but there’s plenty to like about it before it starts to feel overly familiar. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoMay 30, 2019
This time, the over-the-top craziness that Spencer slyly serves up fills more than just a pie plate. Read full review
75
ConsequenceTheo EstesMay 30, 2019
Ma may not cover entirely new ground, but the execution still manages to be refreshing. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 29, 2019
Audiences will walk out with that good chiropractor feeling, the one that says, “Yes, I have been manipulated. I have been nothing but manipulated and pounded on for the past 90 minutes. And it was a very satisfying thing.” Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesBrent McKnightMay 29, 2019
Campy and goofy, vicious and bloody, if that sounds like a good time, you might have a lot of fun partying with Ma, even if you won’t remember much tomorrow. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMay 29, 2019
Even as the story descends into full bloody camp at its crescendo, Spencer holds the more ludicrous plot threads together. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMatthew PassantinoJun 1, 2019
The greatest pleasure the movie has to offer is a chance to watch Spencer perform completely unhinged and relish every moment doing so. Read full review
70
SlateSam AdamsMay 29, 2019
Between the exhilaration of great movies and the disappointment of bad ones lie the particular pleasures of trash. Ma isn’t a bad movie, and it’s sure as hell not trying to be a good one, but it scratches a particular itch that neither noble failures nor cranked-out hackwork can touch. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeMay 29, 2019
Spencer provides her character the kind of human dimension only a performer of her caliber could muster. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 30, 2019
Ma is, at heart, an overly familiar story of terrorized teens, albeit one that manages to find a few new twists to that tired trope. Read full review
63
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMay 30, 2019
Ma is a much more enjoyable ride than the even more preposterous “Greta,” which got lost in undeserved self-seriousness. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshMay 29, 2019
Known for her lovable roles in "The Help" and "Hidden Figures," Spencer goes dark and sadistic with an enthusiastic glee, her signature smile (and those bangs!), and she creates one of the most memorable horror villains in recent history. She makes "Ma" worth it. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJun 2, 2019
Those who enjoy Blumhouse productions for their unabashed silliness will be pleased to discover a sticky slice of schlock, with both household appliances and prosthetic genitals given their genre moments. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMay 29, 2019
When Ma breaks bad, it breaks bad hard, with some real wince-inducing moments of bodily harm. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMay 29, 2019
Spencer makes sure few people will ever forget Ma. She’s the primary reason this genre exercise works to the extent that it does, taking what easily could have been an early-summer eye-roller and turning into a genuinely enjoyable guilty-pleasure thrill ride. Read full review
60
The VergeKeith PhippsMay 29, 2019
Watching Ma, it’s hard not to wish it either gave Spencer more space to work through some of the character’s contradictions over the course of a more thoughtful drama (with some killing thrown in for good measure, of course), or that it went all-in on being a trashy exploitation film that let the blood and social commentary flow freely. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeMay 29, 2019
Spencer works hard to keep us on her side and it’s her messy, melancholic character work that endures, a portrait of a woman broken and breaking those around her that’s really quite hard to shake. Ma is a few more drafts from perfection but the actor playing her is the real deal. Read full review
59
TheWrapYolanda MachadoMay 29, 2019
Attempts to be a psychological campy thriller but gets so lost in trying to construct a message that all the exaggerated thrills die before even lifting off. Read full review
50
The Film StageAlycia RipleyJun 1, 2019
While Ma mostly melds well from quasi-comedy into horror while keeping viewers on edge, it continually fails to investigate its most interesting ideas. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Angelica Jade BastienMay 31, 2019
Ultimately, to borrow a phrase from writer Michele Wallace, Ma is too wistfully hegemonic to truly work. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Sarah-Tai BlackMay 31, 2019
Unfortunately, more often than not, Ma settles into its lack of a refined generic vision and stalls out just before it’s able to hit most of its horror talking points squarely on the head. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenMay 31, 2019
The film proves to be more shallow than its edgy premise and subsequent themes promise. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 29, 2019
So it’s a kick to see Spencer dig into the title role in Ma, a Blumhouse scarefest that tries but rarely lives up to the irresistible dynamo at its center. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 29, 2019
The movie ties itself up in knots as it tries to be provocative without giving offense, and offering more complacency and comfort than terror. Read full review
50
IGNMatthew DoughertyMay 29, 2019
There’s plenty to giggle at throughout, and even a few moments that might just give you goosebumps. Those qualities alone, despite the film’s flaws, make Ma an almost endlessly entertaining watch. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoMay 29, 2019
Ma is a showcase for Octavia Spencer's ability to turn her typecasted traits into utterly disturbing obsession destabilization, but the film's less potent genre punch never lives up to its main character's psychotic allure. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 29, 2019
You can’t take Ma seriously. It’s a squalid formula picture that’s too busy connecting dots, hitting beats, engineering situations designed to make you squirm. But you will squirm. Read full review
50
The PlaylistKimber MyersMay 29, 2019
Taylor’s film only really works if you turn off the rational part of your brain, which isn’t fully developed until you’re in your 20s anyway. If you can ignore the plot holes and gaps in logic, Ma is a fun, dumb time at the movies. Read full review
50
IndieWireJude DryMay 29, 2019
The suspense builds creepily enough, with a classic fake-out in a strong first act. But when the movie turns into full-blown horror, which it eventually sort of does, the pacing of the violence is all out of whack. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 29, 2019
It’s just that there’s much to recommend it outside of those failings, sharp observations about the trap of small town life and the persona you take on in your teens than you never escape, the casual cruelty of teenagers that can (in the movies, anyway) leave scars that linger forever, the craving for acceptance that once denied, you never outgrow. Read full review
40
EmpireIan FreerMay 30, 2019
There should be something fun in watching Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer drop C-bombs and go apeshit. Instead, Ma is an ersatz, misjudged exercise in psycho-horror that lacks the courage of its B movie convictions. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangMay 30, 2019
Spencer succeeds much more than the movie itself does; even when the writing and the filmmaking fail her, which is annoyingly often, she’s awfully good at using her beatific smile and tough-talking charm to elicit your nervous chuckles. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMay 29, 2019
It quickly spins its shaky premise off into an unconvincing study of emotional need and an even harder-to-believe revenge thriller. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 29, 2019
A midnight-movie, exploitation-savvy version of this film, with Spencer chewing up the scenery like nobody’s business, might feasibly have been a camp classic. But this is Tate Taylor’s version: too nervous to thrill, too daft to upset anyone, and constantly policing how much fun it lets Spencer have. Read full review
30
Screen DailyStephen Whitty May 29, 2019
The script takes forever to get started, and once it’s going, labours to create a single plausible character. Nor can Taylor, who last handled the dreary The Girl On The Train, wring any suspense from his scenes. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedJun 1, 2019
In a violent, stupid and nauseating creature feature called Ma, she (Spencer) plays a cruel, bloodthirsty monster who tortures and kills off half of a suburban town for fun. It’s a horrible disgrace, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineHenry StewartMay 29, 2019
In the end, the filmmakers settle for stigmatizing victimhood, abusing Sue Ann almost as much as her former tormentors. Read full review
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