Well, I’ll be damned. A gothic witch movie on Shudder that isn’t too cringe and is actually above average compared to the rest? Mother of Flies, directed by and starring the “Adams family,” was actually a quite enjoyable movie that deals with death, decay, religion, faith, and beliefs. It was only afterwards I learned of this family trio consisting of mother, father, and daughter. I remember having watched a previous movie of theirs, which also dealt with witches, but Mother of Flies is much more memorable.

I think it’s very evident what this movie, or more correctly the cast, needs to work on: the dialogue between the characters. I find it funny, only afterwards, that both real-life daughter and father seem so awkward with each other in the film. I would think that there would have been more chemistry between the two, but that’s not to be, and I think much more work and improvement in this area would make their films much better in the future. John Adams, in my opinion, was a tad bit stiff in his performance, except for one scene or two. Add in the wooden dialogue, and it makes it hard for viewers to stick with the movie till the very end. What’s clear-cut to me, however, is that the best performer in the family goes to Toby Poser, playing Solveig the witch. I think she really thrives in roles that require mysticism and mysteriousness in a character. She somehow can invoke both horror, dread, or calm, whichever is required for the scene.

As to the story itself, I like it. We have a witch who is portrayed not as your typical witch but one that focuses on death, decay, decomposition, and life itself. The story transitions between the present and the past of Solveig’s life. I didn’t care too much for the pagan poetry as it was a bit too “artsy” for me. I think it provided a nice touch to Solveig’s life and personality, but honestly, it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo gibberish. There were, however, some pretty good visual effects for what I presume is a low-budget movie, along with some gory scenes or two, but I guess that’s to be expected. In the end, I think if the cast can get their dialogue act together, along with being less wooden in their delivery, this family of actors and actresses can make an even bigger impact in the indie movie industry scene than they already have and really take it to the next level. Shooting outdoors in the open forest I think was a really good decision. If the movie had been shot more indoors and in a more claustrophobic setting, I feel it would not have made as good an impression on me and would have harmed the story instead. Some of the scenes also looked really oversaturated. That or they cranked up the exposure a whole lot during post-editing. Not a fan of it, but honestly, this Shudder movie original gets a recommendation from me, especially for any fans of witches and the likes.