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- 2022
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Releasing
- 1 h 23 m
- 2022
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Releasing
- 1 h 23 m
Summary Umma, which is the Korean word for “mother,” follows Amanda (Sandra Oh) and her daughter (Fivel Stewart) living a quiet life on an American farm, but when the remains of her estranged mother arrive from Korea, Amanda becomes haunted by the fear of turning into her own mother. [Sony Pictures]
Directed By: Iris K. Shim
Written By: Iris K. Shim
- 2022
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Releasing
- 1 h 23 m
- 2022
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Releasing
- 1 h 23 m
Umma
51
4.5
Where to Watch
Summary Umma, which is the Korean word for “mother,” follows Amanda (Sandra Oh) and her daughter (Fivel Stewart) living a quiet life on an American farm, but when the remains of her estranged mother arrive from Korea, Amanda becomes haunted by the fear of turning into her own mother. [Sony Pictures]
Directed By: Iris K. Shim
Written By: Iris K. Shim
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
51
23% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
69% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
51
23% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
69% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Umma is a solid entry for Shim's debut with a strong story and standout leading performance from Oh. It examines generational trauma, identity, and what it means to confront your past, and it does so effectively.
The film bizarrely takes what could have been a touching and powerful drama about the traumatic family ties that bind (and occasionally choke) and attempts to refit it as a straightforward, if mostly low-key horror exercise chock-full of scenes involving various things popping up out of the darkness with numbing regularity.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 User Ratings
4.5
31% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
27% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
42% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 26 User Ratings
4.5
31% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
27% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
42% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Despite its flaws, Umma is an impressive debut for Shim, the kind of outing that hints at plenty more under the hood or tucked inside a massive suitcase, just bursting with secrets.
Umma turns out to be a “quality” thriller that can’t be bothered to get down and dirty and scary.
Oh aces her leading role with customary aplomb, and Stewart makes for a game scene partner, but Shim’s economical-to-a-fault screenplay rarely allows them enough downtime to fully flesh out their characters.
There are so many interesting components of Umma that never click, wasting a completely original idea on banality.
Throughout its slim but slow 83 minutes, Umma piles up missed-opportunity scenes that cry out for a ghoulish sense of humor or an audience-rattling jump.
O filme tem tudo que um clássico de terror clichê adora: uma locação afastada da civilização, um segredo do passado fruto de pendências familiares não resolvidas, sustos aleatórios, personagens principais bem em seus respectivos papéis.
Mas tudo acaba aí. Em que pese também seja bacana ver a homenagem à cultura coreana feita por mãe e filha, o filme não sai do lugar comum. Usa de uma edição estranha, e e é comum uma cena em que tudo não se passava de uma alucinação da mãe. Sério isso? Sim, aqui temos aos montes.
A edição meio frenética nas cenas de terror e a fotografia muito escura escondem o potencial dos sustos, que poderia ser potencializado caso as cenas estivessem mais claras. Ainda assim, n]ao há muito o que fazer com o material, mesmo alguns personagens secundários que aparecem (o tio, o revendedor), o roteiro não os envolve na trama, cabendo às duas fazer a proeza de arrancar sustos. Ou seja, não há exatamente um tom de mistério, já que a trama consegue se desenrolar quando são explicadas a origem daquela maldição.
Assim, mãe e filha partem para os acertos e ficamos assistindo na cadeira com absoluta normalidade, e até que se resolvem e.... Fim da sessão! Ao menos elas estão muito bem em seus respectivos papéis, há uma força dramática que segura a peteca, e além disso o filme é bem curtinho para o aborrecimento chegar.
Assim, Umma tem a façanha de ter um roteiro pífio, superficial ao extremo, mas há algo no filme que não nos deixa abandonar a sessão, uma curiosidade que casou com o suspense esperado. Talvez pela atuação, direção ou ambientação mesmo, mas o fato é que os minutos passam voando e ao menos garantem uma boa dose de diversão.
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I watched Umma simply on the premise that I think Sandra Oh is a good actress AND because we’re both from Toronto! But this film fell a bit short of what I was hoping it would be. It could have been better.
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Too reliant on jump scares Umma fails to be be a spiritual successor to Ari Aster's Hereditary. That being said the first 10 minutes or so is unnerving and there are many interesting shots that deserved to be in a better movie.
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First of all, Umma is an incredibly dark movie. I couldn't see anything most of the time. The film, which carries a horror element from Korean culture to America, is unfortunately weak as a story. And also "the culture" isn't scary either. Not a good try.
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This **** was bland, boring, and completely empty of any sort of fear, emotion, or entertainment.
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