Octavia Spencer will re-team with director Tate Taylor, who she worked with on 2011’s The Help, for an upcoming horror film that is “a combination of a horror pic and a psychological thriller,” according to Variety. The horror film Ma is set to begin production in Mississippi this month and will star Spencer alongside Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear) and Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast). Blumhouse Productions, best known for their wildly successful low-budget horror franchises including Paranormal Activity and The Purge, will produce the film with Blumhouse head Jason Blum and John Norris (The Help) set to produce.
Taylor gave very little to go on as to what “dark material” the plot will focus on and states he wouldn’t exactly call Spencer’s character a villain. He goes on to describe the role as being “the most complex character she’s ever played” and with a career as illustrious as Spencer’s, that is an impressive claim to make. Deadline reports she will portray “a lonely woman who befriends a group of teenagers with torturous consequences.” Scotty Landes penned the script with Blumhouse VP Ryan Turek set to co-produce and is being credited with originally bringing the project to the production company. Ma will also star Diana Silvers, Corey Fogelmanis, McKaley Miller, Dante Brown, and Gianni Paolo.
Spencer is a three-time Oscar award nominee, winning the coveted trophy in 2012 for her role in The Help. Taylor praised her talent, revealing he immediately wanted her to be the lead for this “weird and awesome” upcoming thriller.
“She’s an extraordinary actress at the top of her talents right now… To have her in one of our movies is just a real confirmation of the value that we’ve built with our little system.”
The film has no release date as of yet. Are you looking forward to Ma? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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