It’s starting to feel like a yearly ritual that a John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser project lands on Shudder early in the year, and Mother of Flies follows tradition. I liked pieces of Hellbender and didn’t care much for the ooey-gooey punchline energy of Hell Hole, and this one lands somewhere in the middle. The straight-faced approach is my favorite part of it, very little musical hand-holding, deadpan line deliveries, and a heavy commitment to classic folk-horror imagery. The downside is that the script feels barebones, like they’re working through a familiar premise instead of finding a new angle that only they could pull off.
The setup may feel familiar. A young woman named Mickey (Zelda Adams) receives a terminal diagnosis and, instead of going the conventional route, heads into the woods with her dad Jake (John Adams) to meet a witchy figure named Solveig (Toby Poser). Solveig offers help that comes with a cost, and the film pivots into a curse bargain story where relief is never really relief. There are moments where the movie’s handmade texture is genuinely unsettling, especially when it leans into ritual, decay, and the creeping feeling that Mickey has stepped into a place that does not follow normal rules.
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I just wish there was more on the bone. Even with the quieter, more serious tone, Mother of Flies plays like a form exercise with a premise you’ve seen time and time again, and it doesn’t quite generate the momentum or escalation needed to make its final turns hit hard. Still, I’ll take this version of their work over the winking stuff. The craft is there, the atmosphere is there, and the consistency of their output remains enticing. I just wanted a sharper hook, or a weirder swing, to make it stick.
Score: 5/10
Mother of Flies (2026)
- Cast: Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, John Adams
- Director: Zelda Adams, Toby Poser, John Adams
- Genre: Horror
- Runtime: 92 minutes
- Rated: NR
- Release Date: January 23, 2026
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