Shut in movie ending spoiler11/10/2023 ![]() ![]() The conformist black teenager, Dante, receives a splash of white paint across his face, with Sue Ann noting that “there’s only room for one of us” - a meta-joke about teen movies that often feature just one clichéd black character. The loudmouth, Haley, has her lips sewn shut. Ma tortures each of the students, and the specifics are associated with past bullying and high school archetypes. Meanwhile, a grounded Maggie escapes from home and finds her unconscious friends and Ben's body at Ma’s house. In the basement, Sue Ann spikes the drinks, and the teenagers are knocked out. Sue Ann then kills Ben quite gruesomely: giving him a transfer of canine blood taken from Maggie's dog, and then slitting his wrists and letting him bleed out. First, Ma invites Ben to her home and quickly injects him with diazepam. In Ma's final act, Genie returns when Sue Ann organizes another party. This causes Maggie and Haley to become even more skeptical of Sue Ann, as they feel bad for Genie and don't like that she’s being kept at home. Ma has been gaslighting Genie - manipulating her daughter into believing a false reality. Maggie and Haley know Genie as the wheelchair-bound girl from school, so they’re surprised she can walk. She’s Genie (Tanyell Waivers), Ma’s teenage daughter.Īt first, Genie appears to be a threatening character, but she’s revealed to be a soft-spoken girl. A young girl wearing a mask frightens them. So, they break into Sue Ann's home and receive a big surprise. The girls ultimately decide to break into Sue Ann’s house after two important events: Ma” reveals she has pancreatic cancer (a lie), and that’s why she’s been acting strange and the students notice that “Ma” has clearly been stealing jewelry. Later, Maggie and Haley try to find a bathroom, and they’re scolded by Sue Ann. Early on, the teenagers are told not to go upstairs. Ma’s big twist changes the film’s power dynamics. In Ma, Sue Ann is still clearly angry about past bullying, but she also wants to belong. This concept drives the first half of the film. But on a psychological level, it suggests an ulterior motive for actually pursuing a friendship with the teenagers. Sue Ann could be motivated by curiosity or pure revenge - probably a mixture of both. ![]() On a practical level, this moment explains why Sue Ann immediately decided to investigate Andy Hawkins in Ma's opening sequence. Sue Ann was set up, and her peers laugh wildly as she exits the closet. The final flashback sequence reveals that Sue Ann gave oral sex to boy she thought was Ben, but turned out to be a different classmate. Later, Ben requests a romantic meeting in a school closet. Another flashback sequence show her forming a relationship with Ben. The first flashback sequence shows a teenage Sue Ann being invited to a party at a local rock pile. Various flashback sequences reveal Sue Ann’s backstory, and explain her lack of empathy. ![]() As a veterinary technician, she protects dogs and other animals because she was treated like one in high school. Sue Ann’s line of work is connected to past bullying. During the first basement party, he teases Sue Ann about not being "cool." She subsequently pulls out a gun and forces him to strip - but then smiles and keeps the party rolling. In addition, a student named Chaz (Gianni Paolo) is symbolic of the high school jock. Whereas young Andy and Maggie remind Sue Ann of the romance she never had, Haley and Mercedes remind her of the archetypal mean girls. McKaley Miller portrays a loud-mouth student name Haley, a girl who later sends a derogatory video message about "Ma." In Sue Ann’s mind, Haley reminds her of a former bully named Mercedes (Missi Pyle), who just so happens to be dating Ben. In Ma, it’s the side characters who further distress Sue Ann. For Sue Ann, Andy and Maggie represent the dream high school couple, and they're symbolic of what evaded her as a teenager. Most importantly, though, they remind Sue Ann of their parents. Maggie takes too many shots and can't remember what happened the following morning. When Maggie mouths off during a party and calls Sue Ann a “loser,” she’s quickly a taught an important lesson about peer pressure. In Maggie, Sue Ann sees a passive and naive young woman - just like her mother, Erica. In Andy, Sue Ann sees the archetypal “Cool Guy,” a heartbreaker just like this father. For the audience, though, it may be initially unclear why Sue Ann is still angry about the past. As she spends more time with the teenagers, she recognizes personality traits that are connected to her high school bullying. Her actions aren’t random but rather calculated. Sue Ann’s basic motivations are established from the start. ![]()
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