Decent thriller, I did not feel like I lost two hours of my life.

Pros: Seeing Octavia Spencer in this type of movie is refreshing, she has real acting chops and they show even with this limited script.

Cons: Movie did not give a proper development to what happens. We see something earlier on, but there would have been a pattern long before the 'thriller' part started happening. The changes in tone felt 'rushed'.

Not winning awards, but watchable.

New high school transfer student Maggie Thompson (Diana Silvers) lives with her mother Erica (Juliette Lewis) who moved back to her home town after various failures to work as a casino waitress. Maggie is befriended by Haley (McKaley Miller) and her friends. They try to recruit adults to buy them beer and Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer) agrees. Later, she invites them to party at her house and it becomes a student hot spot. She asks them to call her Ma.

This could be a functional horror movie. I can see a crazy Octavia Spencer turning on a group of hapless teens. It doesn't work here for a variety of reasons. It tries to slow burn the story. It tries to have another layer with her daughter. It tries to explain her by giving her a history. The ending has a lot of bad decisions and bad turns. Octavia is giving it all into the role but it's a top price steak in a sour stew.

The 16 year-old Maggie (Diana Silvers) and her mother Erica (Juliette Lewis) move from San Diego to a small town in the Mississippi to start a new life. Soon Maggie befriends a group of teenagers from the high-school and together they befriend the nice Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer), who works at the local pet shop. She invites the teenagers to drink and party at her house but what they do not know is that Sue Ann is a psychotic woman that is plotting a revenge.

"Ma" is a reasonable thriller but with many overrated reviews in IMDb. The plot is unoriginal and predictable with the combination of insanity due to a humiliation of the psychotic lead character and revenge. The screenplay never surprises and is full of cliches. However entertains and is worthwhile watching with lower expectations if the viewer does not have a better option. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Ma"