Better known for her comedic work in Schitt’s Creek, Emily Hampshire shifts her attention to horror for her starring turn in Adam O’Brien’s Mom. Hampshire plays Meredith, a new mother who finds herself questioning everything around her after a tragedy at home changes everything.
As Meredith, Hampshire is truly fantastic. So often actors better known for their work in comedy prove themselves to be formidable horror actors, and Hampshire is no exception. There are similarities between the skills needed to make a viewer laugh and those required to instil fright, and Hampshire expertly wields her newfound power. Meredith is a tricky role, the range of emotions and actions are a lot to juggle. Hampshire makes it look effortless. The character is trickier still for the viewer as she is not necessarily the typical hysterical and innocent mother that is usually presented on screen. An accidental mother, Meredith is struggling to connect to her son and later events serve only to drive wedge further between mother and child.
Meredith isn’t alone with her parental responsibilities, there is also her husband Jared (François Arnaud). Like Meredith, Jared was also not planning on having a child; however, whereas Meredith struggles, Jared thrives. He embraces being a father, but not in a way that is helpful to his wife. Instead of supporting her, he belittles her for having spent all day at home ‘doing nothing’, disappointed in the unkempt house.
Jared also constantly corrects her, boring her full of information about the ‘proper’ way to deal with a baby. Worse than that, he patronises her postpartum pains, telling her that she should be fine by now. Unfortunately this is a horribly accurate part of life, especially post pregnancy when everyone thinks they know the mother’s body better than the woman. Anyone watching who has lived through that horror will find themselve irrationally irritated with the character, which is proof that Arnaud is playing the part perfectly.
To say too much about the events that unfold in Mom would detract from the viewing experience, but suffice to say that it ventures into some dark subject matter. Once into this arena, the focus and tone of Mom shifts. The once bright family home darkens and in doing so a flood of moody and uncomfortable atmosphere sets in. This envelops the audience and tightens its grip the more it progresses. As director, Adam O’Brien manages to invoke an unwelcome feeling of dread and the air is thick with pathos, creating the perfect setting with this postnatal nightmare to unfold within. Moody and atmospheric at the same as being tragic, triggering and traumatic Mom is a complex dark chiller that will rattle those with children.
Mom
Summary
A tragic postnatal nightmare, Mom is made whole by a fantastic performance from Emily Hampshire.
Mom was reviewed at FrightFest Glasgow 2024.
