Mother, May I? – Movie Review (4/5)

MOTHER, MAY I? is a new horror thriller movie with a very strong psychological horror story. Both Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden deliver extremely strong performances in this one. You’ll want to watch this. Read our full Mother, May I? movie review here!

MOTHER, MAY I? is a new psychological horror thriller with Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden in the two all-important lead roles. Of course, there are also a few supporting roles, which are played by wonderful actors as well. However, the story is hinged entirely on these two core characters, so they have to work. And they do!

The story is full of mind games. Some of them are “just” your standard psychological games that people play with one another. Others are downright scary and might be with a touch of something paranormal.

Continue reading our Mother, May I? movie review below. Find the movie in select theaters or On Demand from July 21, 2023.

A boy and his mother

The core story in Mother, May I? is a hardcore psychological horror-thriller. Not in a way that features blood or violence, but rather a brutal assault of one person’s mind.

When Emmett’s mother dies, he wants to clean and flip her house as quickly as possible and forget all about it again. That’s why his arrival at his recently deceased mother’s house follows the very simple plan of “Get in, get out”. All in the hope of avoiding any trauma that this house may stir in him.

His troubled past includes being abandoned by his mother at a very young age. At least that’s what he seems to remember or has been told.

Anya, his fiancé, wants something more from this visit to Emmett’s mother’s house.

She sees it as an opportunity for Emmett to finally deal with this trauma. Once he has dealt with it, they can move on and be true and full partners for one another. In order to help open up, Anya convinces him to take mushrooms. This results in something strange while they’re tripping: Anya starts behaving like his mother.

The following morning Emmett wakes up sober, but Anya is still acting like his mother.

Having already established earlier, that Anya loves playing games, both Emmett and the viewer are left wondering if she’s playing or game or if his mother’s spirit is truly inside Anya now.

Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden shine

As already mentioned, Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden are amazing in Mother, May I? Fortunately, they also get plenty to work with in this movie, which helps them shine.

We see Kyle Gallner as Emmett, a nice and very decent young man who wants to be a good partner and a father, but still has his own demons. Holland Roden is Anya, who wants to help Emmett, but also has her own issues and feels they’re less important to address.

At least for the time being.

Horror and genre fans will no doubt recognize both actors. Kyle Gallner from The Walking Dead, Smile, and Scream, and Holland Roden from Teen Wolf and Channel Zero. In this movie, they both get to portray adult characters as opposed to the more teen-based characters of their early careers.

Watch Mother, May I? in theaters or On-Demand

Laurence Vannicelli is the writer and director of Mother, May I? and it makes me have very high hopes for his next project. Whatever that may be. I haven’t watched any of his previous movies or short films, but I’m thinking that’s something I should remedy.

He has a very intriguing way of telling stories that aren’t easy to tell or watch. The ending will no doubt leave viewers divided, but it somehow also feels perfect for this movie. One last mindf*ck that feels almost inevitebale.

On a personal note, I cannot read the title of this movie without hearing the opening line of Beth Hart’s amazing song “Mama”. In case you don’t know it (or the brilliant singer-songwriter), I highly recommend you check it out. Here’s a link to the song on her own YouTube channel. Once you hear it, you’ll probably feel the same way about the title.

Mother, May I? is out in select theaters and on demand on July 21, 2023.

Details

Director: Laurence Vannicelli
Writer: Laurence Vannicelli
Stars: Kyle Gallner, Holland Roden, Chris Mulkey, Michael Giannone, Daphne Gaines