Iris K. Shim’s Umma (Korean) is a 2022 American supernatural horror film she wrote and directed. Sandra Oh, Fivel Stewart, MeeWha Alana Lee, Tom Yi, Odeya Rush, and Dermot Mulroney feature in the film. The film features Sam Raimi as a producer. Amanda (Oh) is a single mother who lives with her daughter on a remote farm and is haunted by the spirit of her mother.
Sony Pictures Releasing distributed Umma in the United States on March 18, 2022. Critics commended Oh’s performance and the film’s themes, but condemned its formulae as clichéd, its storyline, and what they viewed as an over-reliance on jump scares and a lack of tension.
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Umma, Is Haunted by the Soul of Her Mother
March is shaping up to be the first jam-packed month of the 2022 film season, and while everyone’s attention is on a certain bat-centric movie that just came out today, there are a bevvy of other films to look forward to this month.
One of the movies is Umma, a supernatural horror thriller directed and written by Iris K. Shim and starring Sandra Oh. To promote this terrifying narrative ahead of its March 18th theatrical release, Sony Pictures has released a new teaser, poster, and photos. Amanda, played by Oh, appears to be a single mother in the trailer, raising her child (Fivel Stewart) on a farm in America.
When a guy brings her dead mother’s ashes in a box from Korea, Amanda’s world is turned upside down, and a mystery presence begins to pursue her family. “Some Koreans believe that their ancestors’ troubled spirits cause life’s trials,” Amanda tells Atypical star Stewart, which could explain the film’s horrific events.
Iris K. Shim, a Korean-American actress and writer, wrote and directed Umma, her debut feature film in both roles. She previously directed the documentary The House of Suh and collaborated on Jackie Chain’s The Foreigner.
The group is completed by Hanna’s Dermot Mulroney, Lady Bird’s Odeya Rush, MeeWha Alana Lee (who joins Oh in The Chair), and veteran Tom Yi. Two of the film’s Executive Producers are Oh and André Verdal.
The picture is produced by Zainab Azizi and Sam Raimi, according to The Screenrant, and is one of several new horror projects backed by the Evil Dead filmmaker. Meanwhile, on March 18, Umma will make its way to theatres.
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Umma: Ending Explanation
A malevolent spirit arrives soon after the ashes arrive, intent on seizing Amanda’s body for itself. As the mysterious events surrounding the transport of her mother’s ashes develop, from visions to anguished Korean spirits to a meeting with a kumiho, Amanda grows increasingly paranoid and concerned that she is slowly becoming her own mother.
When Amanda tries to bury the ashes, Umma successfully controls her daughter, confirming her fear. Chris discovers her mother, who is dressed in a mask and hanbok, performing the Jesa. Amanda attacks her, but she manages to escape death by pleading for her life. Amanda makes the difficult decision to approach her mother. She forgets about the abuse and forgives her.
Amanda acknowledges that Umma’s being forced to raise a child alone in a foreign country and in her circumstances was unjust, but that there was no excuse for the abuse.
Umma may now move on and be at peace thanks to her compassion and understanding, since she had realised that what she had done to Amanda was unjust. Amanda rediscovers her lineage and shares it with her daughter at the end of the film, as well as coming to terms with Chris’s need to live her own life.
Cassey Moore is a features writer for Quest. I’m a British writer of both horror and supernatural series. Cassey is also a digital marketing manager.