I've been meaning to watch this movie since last year. That's when I bought the DVD, and I brought it home, and it was sitting on top of my blu-ray player staring at me...and I totally chickened out, guys. The image of Octavia Spencer on the cover of the movie just...creeped me out in that "under the skin" way that made me afraid that this would be one of the movies that gave me permanent psychological damage, and then this year happened, and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" sent me into a 4 day panic attack (I still get chills when I think about certain scenes from the movie) and I almost chickened out this year, too. But I love Octavia Spencer, and I really want to see this movie, so I'm going to stop being the world's hugest baby and just watch the damn movie already. If I totally snap and start creeping around in a room full of yellow wallpaper, it's been nice knowing you guys.
This movie is about a group of high school students who have a night of partying planned, driving around in a van getting drunk (oh to be young again) and they get a woman to buy them alcohol, and she becomes a de-facto friend. Another night, she offers to let them party in her basement as long as they follow a few rules (no taking the Lord's name in vain, one of them has to stay sober so he's safe to drive, and they absolutely cannot go upstairs). Soon they decide to party at her place again and again, but before they know it, her friendship is turning into an obsession, and their "fun nights" are turning into a nightmare.
I feel absolutely ancient now that Juliette Lewis is old enough to play the teenage girl's mom in a movie like this. I feel like it was just yesterday she'd be playing the cool teenager. When did we get so old?! She's a good actress, though. I feel bad for her character. It must suck returning to your hometown to raise your daughter when you left with big dreams about making it in California. She seems to be a good mom, too. She's got issues (don't we all) but she loves her kid and she's doing her best.
Octavia Spencer is great too, of course. I feel bad for her, because she seems lonely and it's fun being the cool place to hang out. I know a few parents who encourage their teens to drink at their house, because it's better than having them out drinking and not know where they are, and it feels good to be the "cool parents," but in this movie, I can see Ma's friendship slowly turning into something more sinister (the look in her eyes is creepy enough on its own even when she's not saying anything). As more of the plot is revealed, I felt a mixture of my heart breaking for her even while I want to run screaming for the hills. That's hard to do. Kudos to Spencer for pulling it off.
Another theme in this movie is how high school traumas can cause lasting damage. Maggie (Juliette Lewis's daughter in the movie and one of the teens who parties at Ma's house) begins to suspect Ma might be dangerous before anyone else catches on. Her mom doesn't seem to have been a huge asshole in high school, but a lot of the other adults in this movie apparently were, and they don't seem to have grown up much over the years. Eventually it becomes clear that a lot of asshole adults were asshole teens too. I feel bad for the bullying Ma received in high school, but that doesn't excuse her actions now.
After a slow build, everything eventually goes full-blown crazy, of course. All the secrets are revealed, and things get absolutely apeshit terrifying. The climax to the movie is insane. I won't give anything away, but good LORD. I'll never see Octavia Spencer the same way again (that's a good thing, though, because she's awesome in this movie). No apparent permanent psychological damage yet, but we'll see if Ma shows up in my nightmares. This is a great movie, though. Totally worth it.
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