The feature length debut from Laurence Vannicelli, best known up to this point for being a co-writer of Porno, is a memorably twisty, paranoid horror that continues Kyle Gallner’s hit-rate of memorable horror films, matched in energy and commitment by his co-star Holland Roden. In Mother May I? Gallner and Roden play a couple, Emmett and Anya, engaged and ready for the next stage of their lives, once they have flipped Emmett’s recently deceased mother’s (Tracey) house.
It’s a familiar horror set-up so it’s no surprise when the film suggests that perhaps Tracey hasn’t completely moved on and Emmett has some repressed memories to reckon with. Where Vannicelli does his own flip on the narrative is addressing the emotional baggage head on and explicitly contextualising it through therapeutic terminology. This is most evident in Emmet and Anya’s engagement with a performative ‘game’ where they take on each other’s persona and express their feelings about each other via the other character.
From the moment it’s introduced, there is a tension built into this activity – who exactly is this for and what do they actually gain from doing this? It’s not clear if it is designed to open up emotions or just ends up further closing them off from each other. I have no idea if this is a real exercise used in psychotherapy, but the fact that it is one suggested by Ayna, inspired by her mother’s work as a psychologist, is enough dramatic context to suggest this is a one-sided way of dealing with mental struggles.
The game takes on a particularly uneasy edge when Anya takes on the persona of Tracey on a 24-hour basis. It’s definitely one that rewards repeat viewings as it plunges further into pyschological confusion from each of the two lead’s perspectives. Is Anya trying to help Emmett or communicate her own concerns about motherhood? Is Emmett’s aggressive response to his fiancee’s transformation from genuine confusion or a continued refusal to engage with his trauma from his mother’s abandonment?
Like Leigh Janiak’s Honeymoon, Vannicelli gradually builds tension between the couple, drip-feeding information about their background at the same time as ratcheting up the sense of dread. Whispering voices echo around this isolated house (Robin Winn Moore doing excellent vocal work as the ghostly voice of Tracey) which has blank masks hanging on the wall and home videos of Emmett’s childhood are played on repeat. Hopefully, like Janiak with Netlfix’s Fear Street series, Vannicelli’s clear talents will be given a bigger platform based off of this notable debut. It’s an uneasy thrilling watch that provides an original spin on familiar tropes.
Mother May I? Is out now on digital platforms through Vertigo Releasing
