Spoilers don’t vibe with flying bugs.

I’ve followed the career of the Adams Family thanks for their offerings to Fantasia starting with The Deeper You Dig (2019), Hellbender (2021), Where The Devil Roams (2023) and Hell Hole (2024). The family team have slowly evolved from a minimalistic startup to a full blown horror film factory, albeit always keeping their scope family-focused. This is also reflected in most of their films’ narratives, all of them being horror movies, of course.

(Credit: Shudder)

Mother of Flies (2025) was written and directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser. Young Mickey (Zelda Adams) has survived cancer but the disease has surfaced once again. After trying all the regular treatments of traditional medicine without luck, she has opted for an alternate method. She has accepted going to see an actual earth witch, Solveig (Toby Poser). Her skeptical father, Jake (John Adams), decides to come along reluctantly for support.

It mostly works. This is a slow, but visually packed, film. Although the plot’s framing appears to be Mickey’s affliction, it is Solveig’s backstory that is slowly revealed through past visions. To paraphrase another film critic friend of mine, this is return to form for the filmmaker family. Toby Poser is, as usual, the standout performer here. Zelda’s got a few moments as well. John’s acting is much less strong, however, which did take me out of the experience. The ending is just ok, with a mild reveal you’ll probably see coming.

Recommended with some reservation. The pacing is rather slow, which sort of fits the narrative and the visual elements make for something to watch, but they don’t particularly help keeping the tension alive. That being said, at least Toby Poser’s performance makes the film worth watching. Worth a watch, but don’t expect any jumpscares.

That will do for now.