Arrow within the Head evaluations the psychological thriller Mom, Might I?, starring Kyle Gallner and Holland Roden
PLOT: When Emmett and his fiancée Anya spend a while in the home that belonged to Emmett’s deceased mom, Anya begins appearing identical to the useless girl.
REVIEW: Author/director Laurence Vannicelli’s movie Mom, Might I? (watch it HERE) has been described as a psychological thriller, however any style followers who flip to this one hoping for heart-pumping scenes of thrills and scares received’t get what they’re in search of. This isn’t actually the type of film that may hold you on the sting of your seat. Whereas there are actually moments the place characters show unusual conduct which may creep you out, for essentially the most half Mom, Might I? is perhaps higher described as a “psycho-drama”… and taking part in out all this drama permits lead actors Holland Roden and Kyle Gallner to show the movie into an awesome showcase of their abilities.
After I heard about this film, Gallner was the primary drawing level for me. He has been racking up style credit for a pair a long time now, together with Pink State, The Strolling Useless, Scream (2022), and Smile, and I’ve been a fan for the reason that early days of The Haunting in Connecticut and Jennifer’s Physique. You possibly can all the time rely on Gallner to show in a strong efficiency, even when the film he’s in doesn’t work very effectively (the Nightmare on Elm Road remake, for instance). Roden, I wasn’t accustomed to. Though she has over thirty display screen credit to her identify, I haven’t seen any of them besides an episode of Misplaced and an episode of Memphis Beat. I missed all 100 episodes of the Teen Wolf collection she was in (and the latest film). So this was my first time seeing her play a serious function – and I used to be very impressed with what Roden does on this film.
Gallner performs Emmett, a younger man who tends to keep away from his feelings, bottling them up and burying them deep inside. His mom deserted him as a toddler and he has hasn’t heard from her since – however when she passes away, he learns that she has left her dwelling to him. It’s the place he lived in as a child, however he has repressed the reminiscences of that point. He decides to promote the property, however first he and his fiancée Anya (Roden) go there to test it out, planning to remain there lengthy sufficient to repair it up and get it in the marketplace. The daughter of a psychoanalyst, Anya feels it is rather essential that Emmett discover his emotions about his mom whereas they’re in her dwelling. She even tries to speak with Emmett by way of one thing she calls “share reversal”, the place they roleplay as one another to say issues they assume the opposite particular person isn’t correctly expressing.
Then the roleplay goes too far. After taking psilocybin mushrooms, Anya begins speaking, dressing, and appearing like Emmett’s mom, even placing on her garments and make-up and taking up her behavior of smoking cigarettes. Her conduct can’t simply be blamed on the ‘shrooms, as a result of this goes on for days… and that makes up the majority of Mom, Might I?’s 99 minute operating time. Each freaked out and angered by Anya’s conduct, Emmett has to attempt to determine if Anya is simply exhibiting a disturbing dedication to her roleplaying or if she has by some means turn into possessed by his mom’s spirit. Regardless of the case, it does trigger him to confront the emotions he has about each his mom and Anya.
Gallner does an awesome job of taking part in the feelings of his troubled, baffled character, whereas Roden is given the chance to play two utterly totally different characters. Anya and the “Emmett’s Mom” persona are each odd, however Roden is ready to play them as two separate individuals. It’s clear when she’s in Anya mode and when she’s in Mom mode, and never simply because one wears make-up and one doesn’t. They communicate otherwise, they carry themselves otherwise. After watching this film, I’m left keen to look at extra of Roden’s work so I can see extra of her vary.
Mom, Might I? might be too sluggish and unusual for some viewers, and will probably be disappointing for anybody who’s seeking to watch an outright horror movie, however it’s an intriguing drama that’s carried on the shoulders of the terrific performances delivered by Gallner and Roden. It’s price watching simply to see the 2 of them at work.
Darkish Sky Movies is giving Mom, Might I? a VOD and restricted theatrical launch on July 21st.
7