From the Blumhouse production company that brought you Get Out, comes Get In which could double as the rallying cry of the titular party host Sue Ann “Ma” Ellington (Octavia Spencer) who by day operates on automatic pilot as a veterinary assistant to the droll if under-used Dr Brooks (Allison Janney) but by night opens her doors to a horde of teenagers in search of an empty whom she lures into her basement by accepting their offer to buy them alcohol at the local off-licence.

The reason for her generosity? Ben Hawkins (Luke Evans), the father of one of the shot-sinking cuties Andy (Corey Fogelmanis), boyfriend of newbie Maggie Thompson (Diana Silvers), humiliated her as a child in a cruel sexual prank which has knocked her confidence to the point of personality disorder and led to her ostracisation from her Ohioan hometown.

Revenge, they say, is sweet. And Ma takes sweet satisfaction in tracking down and later taking down her persecutors one by blood-spurting one – including Juliette Lewis as Maggie’s mother Erica and Missi Pyle as Ben’s unhinged “fuck buddy” Mercedes – before turning her attention to their offspring.

Blades are thrust and veins are breached in a pulsating final quarter, but most of the jumpy scares and creepy chills are down to the erratic behaviour of Ma and the electrifying performance by Octavia Spencer whose gleeful nastiness brings to mind Dick Emery’s catchphrase, “Oh, you are awful, but I like you.”

Some of the dialogue by director Tate Taylor (The Girl On The Train) and co-writer Scotty Landes jars, particularly the initial exchanges between Maggie and her newfound friends hunky Chaz (Gianni Paolo), chatterbox Haley (McKaley Miller) and chipper Darrell (Dante Brown) which sound too “down with the kids” to ring true.

However, the action slowly builds up to a frenzy and holds the attention throughout; and the casting like the performances are spot on, particularly Octavia Spencer whose star turn is the hallucinogenic glue which holds the paper-thin premise together. Get in!

Director: Tate Taylor
Writer: Scotty Landes
Stars: Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis
Peter Callaghan
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