Umma | Film Review

 

I hadn't heard much about this film before seeing it, but I knew the basic premise, and that it was a horror movie, so I was interested to see where it would go (and how scary it would be).

Amanda's (Sandra Oh) isolated life is turned upside down when her estranged mother's remains arrive from Korea.

I enjoyed this movie.

This is quite a short film (1hr 23mins), so it was surprising how long it took for anything significant to happen. The story takes a little while to get into.

I loved the way the film showed the relationship between Amanda and her daughter, Chrissy (Fivel Stewart). You understand their dynamic and how much they love each other instantly, and they are the emotional heart of the film.

The concept in itself is really original.

There are a lot of layers to this film - I would describe it as a psychological thriller rather than a straight horror, but it is so much more than that. It explores themes of family, love, loneliness, identity and duty in a really interesting way. It also explores really complex ideas about motherhood.

If anything, I would have liked these ideas to have been explored in a deeper way, rather than being just lightly touched upon.

For a film that was marketed as a horror/thriller, it wasn't particularly scary or thrilling.

Overall, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it is an interesting film that explores a variety of themes in an intriguing way.

6/10