They say no love is stronger than a mother’s for her child. While this bond can create great things and nurture a child to be a better person, the opposite can also be true, and a mother’s love can be misguided, awkward, or downright malicious. Cinema has also been an ideal place to explore these awkward relationships, with movies like 1981’s Mommie Dearest becoming synonyms with broken family relationships under a misguided matriarch. Yet, when it comes to mother-son relationships, things can get a bit messy (just ask the Greek gods), and these tales of exaggerated or frighteningly realistic family connections can make for some unsettling and uncomfortable films.
These films deal with some uncomfortable subject matter, but all approach it with a degree of artistic merit or notable shock value to make them powerful watches despite the content. We will count down to what we think is the best movie exploring the dysfunctional relationship between a mother and son committed to film in movies you can also choose to enjoy without delving deep into the psychology of what is happening.
15
The Baby (1973)
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The Baby
Release Date
March 1, 1973
Director
Ted Post
Cast
Anjanette Comer
, Susanne Zenor
, Ruth Roman
, Marianna Hill
, Tod Andrews
, Michael Pataki
, David Mooney
, Beatrice Manley
, Virginia Vincent
A social worker gets one of the most bizarre cases of her career when she is introduced to the Wadsworth family. Housing a home where drugs and partying are commonplace, a matriarch and her daughters watch over their youngest brother, whom they only refer to as ‘Baby.’ Baby is an adult man still trapped inside the mind of a baby and treated as such, yet his cruel mother and siblings are also quick to dish out torture to the infantile man. The social worker takes it upon herself to save Baby, who she believes may have been conditioned to act that way.
The Body of a Man, the Brain of a Baby
There is a certain degree of camp in this famous exploitation film that makes it hard to put any further down this list. Yet, its bizarre premise makes it undeniably one of the most memorable portrayals of a messed-up mother-son relationship. Ted Post’s bizarre feature is not for the faint, and while there is little that happens here that is graphic, it is incredibly uncomfortable to watch a man act like a baby while his ‘mother’ whips him. The ending is equally bizarre, making this more of a curioso than a classic. You can stream The Baby (1973) on Fandor, Night Flight, or Plex.
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14
Throw Momma From the Train (1987)
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Throw Momma from the Train
Release Date
December 11, 1987
Cast
Billy Crystal
, Danny DeVito
, Kim Greist
, Anne Ramsey
, Kate Mulgrew
, Branford Marsalis
, Rob Reiner
, Bruce Kirby
, Annie Ross
, Oprah Winfrey
, Raye Birk
, Olivia Brown
, Joey DePinto
, Philip Perlman
, Stu Silver
, J. Alan Thomas
, Randall Miller
, Andre Rosey Brown
, Tony Ciccone
, Larry McCormick
, Peter Brocco
, Hettie Lynne Hurtes
Runtime
88 minutes
Writers
Stu Silver
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For a more lighthearted look at a terrible mother/son relationship, you can’t do better than 1987’s Throw Momma From the Train. Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) can’t get over his ex-wife’s betrayal (she took credit for a manuscript he wrote) and is teaching a writing class when a student approaches him, Owen Lift (Danny DeVito), who lives with his wretched mother (Anne Ramsey). Inspired by the movie Strangers on a Train, the two decide to make a deal to ‘take care of’ the other’s problem.
A Devious Deal to Dethrone a Dotting Mom
Directed and produced by Danny Devito, Throw Momma From the Train earned Anne Ramsey an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The performance became influential, inspiring many a ‘mean old woman’ going forward, and her overbearing and cruel attitude toward her son was comedic gold. Overall, the movie is a delightful comedic romp and an excellent love letter to Alfred Hitchcock, taking inspiration from his film Strangers on a Train and giving it a dark, comedic twist. You can stream Throw Momma From the Train on Pluto TV.
13
The Grifters (1990)
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The Grifters
Release Date
January 25, 1991
Runtime
110 Minutes
Writers
Jim Thompson
, Donald E. Westlake
Anjelica Huston and John Cusack play Lilly and Roy Dillon, mother and son con artists. Lilly is a bleached blond, hardened professional who works for a mob bookie named Bobo and hasn’t seen her son in years. When she drops in for a visit, she finds him internally bleeding after a scam gone wrong. She’s disappointed with his inferior scamming skills and with his girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening), whom Roy is unaware is also a con woman. Lilly wants Roy to get out of the game altogether, while Myra wants him to go in with her on a long con, and obviously, something has to give.
Mother Scams Best
Director Stephen Frears amps up the dark angle of this 1990 thriller with Lilly resorting to murder, trying to rob her son, and attempting to seduce him to get away with it all. Huston was initially reluctant to play the role of this vicious mother, and it’s easy to see why. Still, there is a wicked wit to The Grifters, backed by a sleek noir aesthetic that makes it highly engaging despite its troubling premise around a distorted mother/son relationship. You can stream The Grifters on Paramount+.
12
Ma Mére (2004)
Directed by Christophe Honoré and released in 2004, it’s based on a posthumously published erotic novel by Georges Bataille, a controversial figure who wrote in excess on sex and violence. The film is the story of Hélène, mother to 17-year-old Pierre (Louis Garrel, already known by this point for starring in Bertolucci’s The Dreamers), and a recent widow. Hélène uses the death of her husband to introduce her son to a world of depravity.
We All Deal With Death a Little Differently
French art house darling Isabelle Huppert is known for pushing boundaries in her films, and her role as Hélène in Ma Mére is no exception. From the outset, her character is sexually inappropriate towards her son, telling him in detail about past promiscuity before involving him in an orgy with her friends. This is just the beginning of Pierre’s obsessive downfall under the guidance of his mother. The movie was hit with an NC-17 rating in the US, although an R-rated version is available.
11
Hush (1998)
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Hush
Release Date
March 6, 1998
Cast
Gwyneth Paltrow
, Jessica Lange
, Johnathon Schaech
, Nina Foch
, Debi Mazar
, Kaiulani Lee
, David Thornton
, Hal Holbrook
, Richard Lineback
, Richard Kohn
, Faith Potts
, Tom Story
, Jolene Carroll
, Jacob Press
, Joe Inscoe
, Catherine Shaffner
, Lenny Steinline
, Rick Gray
, Tom Holmes
, Owen Valentine
, Ricardo Miguel Young
, Woody Robertson Jr.
, Charles Thomas Baxter
, Jayne Hess
, Sarah Elspas
Runtime
95 minutes
Writers
Jane Rusconi
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Martha (Jessica Lange) dotes excessively on her son, Jackson (Jonathan Schaech), although his girlfriend Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) finds it more than a little stifling. Soon after they visit Martha’s home, Helen realizes she’s pregnant, and she and Jackson marry, with Jackson’s paternal grandmother insinuating that Martha is not to be trusted. Despite Helen’s wishes, the couple moves in with Martha. It soon becomes apparent that family secrets from the past regarding Jackson’s deceased father are not what they seem and that Martha’s goal is to keep Jackson and the baby for herself.
Dealing with the Mother-in-Law
Jessica Lange is the real star of Hush. Even though the film received a mixed reception, almost unanimously, the actor gave a career-defining performance as the plotting mother-in-law. The way the film explores the awkward family dynamic between the three leads to some uncomfortable moments, with the movie delivering a thrilling premise, albeit with a bit of cliché and predictability that keeps it from being a true standout of the psychological thriller genre. You can rent Hush on Apple TV or Amazon Video.
10
The Babadook (2014)
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The Babadook
Release Date
November 28, 2014
Cast
Essie Davis
, Noah Wiseman
, Hayley McElhinney
, Daniel Henshall
, Barbara West
, Ben Winspear
, Cathy Adamek
, Craig Behenna
, Hachi
, Tim Purcell
, Chloe Hurn
, Jacquy Phillips
, Bridget Walters
, Adam Morgan
, Pippa Wanganeen
, Peta Shannon
, Michelle Nightingale
, Tony Mack
, Carmel Johnson
, Michael Gilmour
, Craig McArdle
, Terence Crawford
, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight
, Lucy Hong
, Sophie Riggs
, John Maurice
, Stephen Sheehan
, Alicia Zorkovic
, Lotte Crawford
, Chris Roberts
, Annie Batten
Runtime
94 Minutes
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Amelia and her son Samuel are struggling. Amelia, with the past and the death of her husband, leaves her to raise a child alone, and Samuel is acting out. Things are made worse when Samuel becomes convinced that a creature from a book, Mister Babadook, is trying to kill him and his mom, making him lash out violently. As Amelia starts to experience strange occurrences around the home, she becomes increasingly paranoid and lashes out, often at Samuel.
When a Mother Loses to the Monsters Under the Bed
There is a degree of empathy for Amelia as a mother, even as she turns delusional and struggles to remain civil with her son. Both seem to have gotten a bad shake in life and are struggling to find a sense of normalcy. Still, this does not make the relationship any less toxic, as Samuel’s outbursts are made worse by Amelia acting back in kind; seeing them interact can be very uncomfortable. Still, as a slow-burn horror film, The Babadook is pure perfection. You can stream The Babadook on AMC+, Mubi, Plex, or The Criterion Channel.
9
Ready or Not (2019)
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Release Date
August 21, 2019
Cast
Nat Faxon
, Kate Ziegler
, Elyse Levesque
, Chase Churchill
, Elana Dunkelman
, Andie MacDowell
, Liam MacDonald
, Mark O’Brien
, Nicky Guadagni
, Adam Brody
, Henry Czerny
, Ethan Tavares
, Kristian Bruun
, Melanie Scrofano
, Samara Weaving
, Etienne Kellici
, John Ralston
Runtime
95 minutes
Writers
R. Christopher Murphy
, Guy Busick
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Former foster child Grace (Samara Weaving) seems to have lucked out with the well-heeled family of her husband-to-be Alex (Mark O’Brien), although she wonders why he’s been a little scant with the details of their estrangement. Upon meeting them on her wedding day, they appear to be a highly dysfunctional family, headed by matriarch Becky (an icy Andie MacDowell). Grace figures she can survive the family tradition that Alex’s father Tony brings up, involving a puzzle box and the drawing of a card.
A Family Bonds over Hunting the Deadliest Game
Unfortunately, Alex doesn’t explain to her until after she’s drawn the Hide and Seek card that the family tradition is now for his family to hunt her down and kill her or risk death themselves. What follows is a violent, nightmarish night during which there are moments when both Alex and his brother Daniel (Adam Brody) try to help Grace escape. Still, Becky has none of it, and she is determined to protect her sons from the family curse by killing her daughter-in-law in this comedy horror from 2019. You can stream Ready or Not on Hulu.
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8
A Christmas Tale (2008)
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When steely French matriarch Junon (Catherine Deneuve) learns she has leukemia, she asks her children and grandchildren at the family Christmas gathering to see if they are eligible to become bone marrow donors. This causes deep friction in the family, especially between Junon’s daughter Elizabeth (Hippolyte Girardot) and son Henri (Anne Consigny), who already have a tumultuous relationship. Their mother’s sickness also recalls the traumatic loss of their brother Joseph when they were children.
Release Date
May 16, 2008
Runtime
143 minutes
Writers
Arnaud Desplechin
, Emmanuel Bourdieu
Catherine Deneuve stars in this 2008 dysfunctional family drama as the glamorous matriarch of the Vuillard family, Junon, who is welcoming her children and their families home for Christmas. She and her husband Abel are dealing with the news that she has leukemia, which is a particularly fraught diagnosis for the family. There were originally two children born to Junon and Abel: Elizabeth and Joseph. When Joseph was a child, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and his parents conceived another son in a desperate bid for a bone marrow match.
A Matriarch Takes Control of Christmas
Henri (Mathieu Amalric) has always known of his provenance and his failure to save his brother. He reacted by becoming the black sheep of the family, generally delighting in stirring up emotions the rest of the family would rather leave buried. It’s a beautiful film about a noisily dysfunctional family, and Deneuve and Amalric are at the top of their game as a battle-scarred mother and son with good reasons for distrust. You can stream A Christmas Tale on AMC+ or Mubi.
7
Luzifer (2021)
Maria, a recovering drug user, has decided to take to a hermetic existence with her mentally challenged son, Johannes. Here, the two form a bond based on the pressures of extreme isolation, religious fervor, and a deep dependency on one another for everything. When their home is threatened by a corporation looking to build a ski resort, the relationship between Maria and her son becomes more intense as she tries to come to terms with the situation and the breakdown of the utopia she had built for them.
A Mother and Son that Suffer Together
What makes Peter Brunner’s Luzifer so engaging is how it challenges conceptions of morality around family. The mother/son combo lives almost entirely free of society and adapts to their ritualistic lifestyle; if a child only knows one existence removed from society, how is it amoral if no physical harm comes to him? Still, from an outward perspective, there is something sinister going on, as a mother injects her severe fears into a child incapable of fully contemplating the severity of her words, having never experienced the outside world.
Things get even more complex as Maria begins setting up and punishing Johannes, in a bid to regain some degree of control in her life as she is losing it to outside forces. Asking your son to be both your savior and the devil to your beliefs is a bizarre yet deeply engaging emotional roller coaster in Luzifer.
6
Savage Grace (2007)
Tom Kalin’s 2007 drama is based on the life of Antony Baekeland (played by Eddie Redmayne), heir to the Bakelite plastic fortune, and his killing of his mother, Barbara Daly Baekeland (Julianne Moore), as a young man. Antony and his parents lived a peripatetic, luxurious lifestyle, traveling the world in a decadent manner, with both parents engaging in extramarital affairs. They divorced after Antony had an affair with a bisexual man, who also introduced him to drugs. Antony began to show signs of schizophrenia as a young man, and rumors of an incestuous relationship with his mother swirled.
Based on a Tragic True Story
Savage Grace is a heady mix of money, sex, drugs, and madness, with a mother who loves her son too much at its dark center. Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne’s performances push the production into the realm of realism, bringing the harrowing details of the real-life ordeal to the screen. The production has a lot of psychological depth, and it is a film that will leave viewers feeling uncomfortable yet fascinated by the story of what Antony went through. You can stream Savage Grace on AMC+.
5
Pietà (2012)
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In Seoul, a loan shark’s brutal enforcer (Lee Jung-jin) turns away from his violent lifestyle after he meets a woman (Jo Min-soo) who says she’s the long-lost mother who abandoned him when he was just an infant.
Release Date
September 5, 2012
Director
Ki-duk Kim
Cast
Min-soo Jo
, Jeong-jin Lee
, Ki-Hong Woo
, Eunjin Kang
, Jae-ryong Cho
, Myeong-ja Lee
Runtime
104
Writers
Ki-duk Kim
Lee Kang-do is an orphan turned unrelenting debt collector, who has no issue taking a limb to have insurance pay for an outstanding amount. Living in the poverty-stricken slums of South Korea, Lee’s days are marked by exacting cruelty with little regard for anyone else or personal drive to better himself. However, when Mi-sun enters his life, claiming to be his long-lost mother, Kang-do slowly opens up to the idea, despite the initial anger and abuse thrown towards this woman he believes to be an impostor. Yet, with acceptance comes a myriad of emotions long suppressed.
A Lifetime of Trauma and Hatred Compacted Into a Single Meeting
Korean Director Kim Ki-duk thrives on exploring awkward familial relationships, and 2012’s Pietà is one of his most brutal and uncomfortable works. Incest, cannibalism, and extreme acts of violence all happen within the film, which made the work highly controversial on release. Yet, to get bogged down just in the sensational elements does a disservice to this complexly woven tale of broken relationships, a flawed capitalist society, and a long-strung tale of revenge unlike anything that came before it. As far as mothers go, Jo Min-soo as Min-so becomes the catalyst of dark acts, making her a menacing force greater than that of the ever-violent Lee Kang Do. You can stream Pietà on Tubi, Fandor or Flixfling.
4
Santa Sangre
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Release Date
November 24, 1989
Cast
Axel Jodorowsky
, Blanca Guerra
, Guy Stockwell
, Thelma Tixou
, Sabrina Dennison
, Adan Jodorowsky
, Faviola Elenka Tapia
, Teo Jodorowsky
, Jesús Juárez
, Gloria Contreras
, Mary Aranza
, Sergio Bustamante
, S. Rodriguez
, Zonia Rangel Mora
, Joaquín García Vargas
, Teo Tapia
, Edgar E. Jiménez Nava
, Jacobo Lieberman
, Héctor Ortega
, Brontis Jodorowsky
, Valérie Crouzet
, Óscar Serafín Álvarez
, Billy Motton
, Hilario Popitekus Vargas
, Guadalupe TNT Aguilar
, Arturo Rinoceronte Contreras
, Gustavo Aguilar Tejada
, Roger Fayard Arroyo
Runtime
122 Minutes
Expand
Trying to explain the plot of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film is like describing a Dali painting; so many intricate details and tangents make his work uniquely his own, with many surreal elements. At its core, Santa Sangre is a tale of a young man, Felix, growing up in a circus working with his father, a knife thrower, and his mother, his stage partner. After an accident causes his mother to lose both her arms, Felix goes insane and becomes institutionalized; when he is released, he returns to the circus to find his mother has become a cult leader who begins using his arms to commit murders.
Mother Runs a Murderous Cult
Perhaps best loosely described as a surreal slasher, Santa Sangre has a young man carrying out various murders at his mother’s bequest. Where it gets very bizarre is that when his mother uses his arms, he seemingly has no control over his actions, making his willingness to comply questionable and mysterious. Their interactions throughout are undoubtedly unsettling. There is a lot of abstract storytelling and visuals going on here; Santa Sangre will be more for the art house crowd. You can stream Santa Sangre on Prime, Screambox, or Kanopy.
3
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
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Release Date
September 28, 2011
Runtime
112 minutes
Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin was adapted from Lionel Shriver’s acclaimed 2003 novel about the aftermath of a school massacre. Tilda Swinton is Eva, a working mother who has always felt detached from her son Kevin (Ezra Miller). He resists her weak attempts at affection with manipulation but seems like a normal, happy child in front of his father, Franklin (John C. Reilly). When another child, Celia, is born, Kevin’s sly manipulation refocuses itself on her, to the point of what seems like intentionally maiming her.
A Mother is Supposed to Love Her Son, Right?
Nature vs. nurture is the key to Eva’s uncomfortable relationship with her son Kevin; when a mother sees a monster within her son, she cannot rationalize it. The performances here are perfect, with Tilda Swinton’s already masterful screen presence at her best as she tackles a myriad of complex emotions. The movie would garner 26 wins and 66 nominations across various festivals and awards ceremonies, becoming one of the most talked-about films of 2011 due to its phenomenal execution and exploration of complex themes. You can stream We Need to Talk About Kevin on Prime, Mubi, Plex, Kanopy, or Pluto TV.
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2
Mother (2009)
A decade before his international hit Parasite, Bong Joon-ho directed the dark and masterful Mother, starring a compelling Kim Hye-ja as the titular mother. She plays a nameless widow living in virtual poverty, struggling to get by as a herbalist. The light of her life is her shy but volatile son, Yoon Do-joon, an intellectually disabled young man. After a local high school girl is discovered murdered, Do-joon is arrested due to proximity, but his mother suspects his thuggish friend Jin-tae is to blame and sets out to prove her son’s innocence.
A Mother Will do Anything to Protect her Child
A mother’s love can sometimes blind them to the truth around them when it comes to their children, and by many definitions, Kim Hye-ja plays the perfect vision of a loving matriarch. Yet, the larger repercussions of her actions paint a different picture. This is a complex morality tale that is wonderfully scripted and performed. Mother is director Bong Joon-ho at his best, an unforgettable story that touches on the lengths a mother will go to protect her child. You can stream Mother on Plex.
1
Psycho (1960)
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Release Date
September 8, 1960
Runtime
109 minutes
The classic tale of a dysfunctional mother/son relationship, Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller for the ages, Psycho. We start out thinking the film’s focus is Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and the large sum of money she steals from her work. And it is, that is until she checks into the Bates Motel with its friendly proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). What follows is a complex investigation into Marion’s mysterious disappearance, and suspicions are raised regarding Norman and the sickly mother that no one seems to be able to get face-to-face with.
Boundary-Pushing Cinema
Boundary-pushing cinema at its finest, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho broke so many rules of cinema, from showing a couple sharing a bed to depicting violence with blood. Yet, for many, it was the core story of Norman Bates holding onto the memory of his mother as a means to still exert control over his actions and commit heinous crimes. It’s a masterpiece of suspense, still worth watching decades after its release.
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