Amanda (Sandra Oh) has raised her daughter Chris (Fivel Stewart) on a bee farm in rural America eschewing the use of electricity due to a childhood phobia. When Amanda’s uncle arrives with her mothers ashes and the news that she has died her fears of becoming like her mother deepen and start to impact both her and Chris’ life. 

Umma, which is Korean for mother has an interesting and universal story hidden deep within a traditional jump scare horror movie. The fear of becoming like your parents must exist in all of us to a lesser or greater extent. In one moment of the film Amanda’s only friend Danny (Dermot Mulroney) grimaces and complains about a sore knee before lamenting that he is beginning to sound like his mother. If only he knew the extent to which Amanda worried about the same thing. 

The film opens with a young girl trapped in a cupboard begging her mother to release her. Only for her mother to use a damaged wire on a lamp to electrocute her. This was Amanda’s childhood and she is desperate to not be that sort of mother to her daughter. But Chris is thinking of leaving for college and feelings of abandonment start to bubble up within Amanda. 

All of this sounds like it could be excellent grounds for a good horror movie. Unfortunately though the film never really succeeds in being particularly scary or dramatic. The lack of electricity allows the film to be incredibly dark, so much so that it almost is to its detriment. Not being able to see much of anything for long periods of time generally result in you just getting used to the idea. Whilst the themes of childhood abuse and the possibility of those mental scars resulting in Amanda having psychological issues as a result is under developed. 

Overall I could not help but feel disappointed in the end product.