After venturing into thriller territory with The Girl On The Train, The Help's director Tate Taylor is trying his hand at horror, teaming with Blumhouse to create Ma. The film will star Octavia Spencer, Luke Evans and Juliette Lewis.
Scotty Landes wrote the script, which Blumhouse boss Jason Blum brought to Taylor. All involved are keeping the plot details under wraps for now, though it'll be shot under the company's usually low budget (around $5 million) conditions. "It’s dark material, but it’s also really fun," Taylor tells Variety. "Octavia is so damn likable that we usually see her in certain roles. But she’s such a good actress and this is such a complex character that if I do my job right, people in the audience are going to want to push pause and say, 'Can we please take you out for coffee so you don’t do what you’re about to do.'" And Taylor promises that it will also inform while it unsettles the audience. "More than being scary, it’s going to make people think," Taylor said. "It’s going to have meaning and purpose. At the same time, there will be all the tropes of a horror movie, where you scream and cover your eyes."
Part of keeping the costs low involves shooting on Taylor's own property in Mississippi, with the cameras starting to crank on Monday. "It’s going to be a blast," Taylor says. "We’ll be living in my house in Mississippi and shooting on my land during the day, and then making dinner and telling stories and breaking bread later that night."
He's also happy that the material got to him, which in turn offered the chance to work again with a friend dating back to the time they were both trying to break into the entertainment industry. "It was so serendipitous, because Octavia and I are always complaining about being offered the same s—, and I read this and thought, 'Oh f—,'. This is so f—ing weird and awesome and I want Octavia be the lead. I wouldn’t call her a villain. It’s definitely the most complex character she’s ever played, if I may be so bold as to say that."
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