‘Ma’ Trailer: Octavia Spencer is the Mother of all killers

The Help and Shape of Water star Octavia Spencer is going to be flexing her horror muscles in this new film Ma, and judging from the first trailer (which you can watch above), it’s going to be a crazy dark ride!

Synopsis: “In this new psychological horror-thriller from Tate Taylor and Blumhouse, a lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and decides to let them party at her house. Just when the kids think their luck couldn’t get any better, things start happening that make them question the intention of their host.”

This movie looks to be taking the stereotype of a the sassy black lady and turning it on its head in a big way. The way the trailer initially sets up events pretty much tells it all, with the group of small town (mostly) white kids approaching a tired-looking working-class black lady, to aid in their illicit teen activities. There’s also a nice socio-political theme running throughout the trailer: Sue Ann’s acts of befriending and then terrorizing these teens is a combination of no-nonsense black mom authority over some wild and reckless teens, and the seemingly vicarious living of someone who wasn’t afforded the privilege of having a carefree childhood of partying, binge-drinking, and casual sexual encounters.

If you don’t see any of that more serious subtext beneath all the zany horror moments, just ask yourself why one scene has Sue Ann painting the one black member of the teen crew in white face. Director Tate Taylor has made the social privileges and challenges associated with race and class the motif of all his big directorial projects (The Help, Get on Up, The Girl on the Train), so there should be no assumption that Ma would be doing anything less subversive.

Ma will also have appearances from Missi Pyle (The Help), Luke Evans (Fast and the Furious 6), Juliette Lewis (From Dusk Til Dawn), and Allison Janney (I, Tonya), in addition to its ensemble of fresh-faced actors, playing the group of teens (led by Diana Silvers).

Ma will be in theaters on May 31st.