Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that mothers play such an important role in the life and development of their children, they have often been the subject of horror movies. This includes the recently released Umma, which stars Sandra Oh as a woman who, raising her daughter off the grid, is haunted by the vengeful spirit of her mother.
Exciting and terrifying and thought-provoking in equal measure, the movie also calls to mind many other horror movies through the decades that have explored the deadly dynamics that can poison the roots of even the most loving of relationships.
Hereditary (2018)- Streaming On Showtime
Toni Collette is rightly regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation, as she has shown from any number of her excellent movies and TV shows. These talents are very much on display in Hereditary, the shocking and disturbing horror movie in which she plays a mother whose children are tormented by the malevolence of their deceased grandmother.
Like all good horror movies, it probes at the areas that frighten the viewer most and, like Umma, explores the deadly nature of intergenerational trauma.
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane (1962)- Streaming On HBO Max
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is the paradigmatic example of the psycho-biddy genre, a group of movies that flourished throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as a pair of showbusiness sisters locked in a toxic dynamic, its horror stems from the gradual unraveling of the title character as she begins to torment and torture her wheelchair-bound sister. Just as Umma explores what happens when family traumas go unaddressed, so Baby Jane reminds the viewer of the deadly nature of thwarted ambition.
The Witch (2015)- Streaming on Showtime
The Witch is understandably seen as one of the best horror movies of 2015. Focusing on a colonial family sentenced to eke out a living on the edge of a primeval forest, it is primarily about a young girl, Thomasin, as she and her family confront the specter of the witch living in the forest.
However, as with the best of horror movies, much of the tension stems from the family’s gradual breakdown, and Thomasin repeatedly faces her mother’s wrath, until it all ends in a deadly confrontation.
Saint Maud (2020)- Streaming on Paramount+
In addition to exploring the issue of motherhood, Umma is about the past and being unable to let go of it and move into the future. This is one of the key themes in Saint Maud, a disturbing and compelling psychological horror movie that focuses on a nun who rechristens herself as Maud as she attempts to save one of her patients.
Beneath this seemingly altruistic act, however, there is a much more sinister set of issues, something that the movie explores with dark finesse.
The Others (2001)- Not Streaming
There’s no question that Nicole Kidman is one of the best actresses working in Hollywood, with many movies and TV shows to demonstrate her formidable talents.
In the chilling and disturbing The Others, she plays a mother who becomes increasingly distressed as she and her children are supposedly haunted. However, it’s the movie’s twist that really earns it a place in the pantheon of horror movies, particularly since it turns out that Kidman’s Grace is far more sinister than she at first appears.
Mother! (2017)- Streaming on FX
There are few directors with quite the unique imagination of Darren Aronofsky, and mother! shows all of the hallmarks of his signature style.
In this movie, the titular character, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is in essence a metaphor of Mother Earth, while Javier Bardem’s Him is a sort of brutal creator figure. Given its brooding and strange atmosphere and the stunning performances delivered by Bardem and Lawrence, it should appeal to those who found these aspects of Umma similarly compelling.
Psycho (1960)- Streaming On Peacock
Alfred Hitchcock is, of course, one of the most famous directors of all time, and he has left behind a remarkable legacy in several different genres. Arguably one of his most famous movies, however, is Psycho, which helped to set the standard for dangerous and deadly mothers in horror.
The fact that Norman Bates, the movie’s tortured villain, has essentially split his mind in order to atone for his murder of his mother, remains one of the most chilling revelations in horror history.
Carrie (1976)- Not Streaming
Carrie is inarguably one of the best of the adaptations that have been made of Stephen King’s work, particularly since it features such a powerful and haunting performance from Sissy Spacek as the title character, a young woman blessed (or cursed) with the power of telekinesis.
Many aspects of this movie make it an ideal choice for those who enjoyed Umma, but what makes it especially appealing is the fraught yet strangely loving bond between Carrie and her extremely religious mother.
The Woman In Black (2012)- Streaming On Paramount+
The figure of the dead mother who wants to be reunited with her children at any cost is an enduring theme in horror movies, and it comes up repeatedly, including in Umma.
In this movie, the malevolent entity of the title is a woman who seeks vengeance for having her children taken away from her, luring many more children to their deaths. Even though it is a somewhat old-fashioned movie, it still manages to capture the brooding and sinister dread that is the hallmark of the best examples of the genre.
Mama (2013)- Streaming On HBO Max
Like Umma, the central conceit of Mama focuses on the vengeful spirit of a dead mother, though in this case, the ghost takes in two orphan girls as replacements for her own dead child. Matters get complicated, however, when the girls’ uncle seeks to rescue them and return them to human companionship.
There is much to recommend this movie, which has a sinister atmosphere, and the title creature is quite frightening. Though the writing can at times be a bit contrived as it gets its characters where they need to go, there are still a number of old-fashioned chills that make it a compelling viewing experience.