Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 14: Mother of Flies (2025)

The latest movie by the Adams family of filmmakers came out earlier this year, but I decided to put off watching it until this countdown because it's been a bit of a tradition to try and include their films each year. (You can see past entries here, here, here, and here.)

Mother of Flies is a bit more of a return to the stories and style of movie they started out making, after last year's period piece Where the Devil Roams, and 2024's bigger budgeted and effects heavy Hell Hole. And I think they really do their best work when they're working on these simpler tales, closer to home, as I like this one a lot more than those last two.

The story, about a teenage girl with terminal cancer (Zelda Adams), who decides to see a witch (Toby Poser), as a last ditch effort at healing, and her skeptical father (John Adams), who does his best to support this plan, also hits close to home, as both Toby Poser and John Adams have dealt with their own cancer diagnoses in the past, and Zelda is dealing with the genetic implications of that.

And while I am not sure I entirely understand how the story ultimately plays out (the ending is a tad confusing), I really thought the cinematography was beautifully shot, and could feel the more personal aspects of the story play out in the dialogue and performances. 

I don't always love the movies the Adams family makes, but I will always absolutely love that they continue to make them. 

Mother of Flies is streaming on Shudder.