Festivals: Mother of Flies (2025) by John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser: Witching Grief Into Ritual Magic
- dailyentertainment95
- Sep 17
- 6 min read
Ritual as Resistance to Loss
Mother of Flies is a folk-horror drama directed, written, and performed by the Adams Family filmmaking trio — John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser. The story follows Mickey (Zelda Adams), a young woman diagnosed with terminal cancer, who chooses to explore alternative rituals of healing instead of conventional chemotherapy. Together with her father Jake (John Adams), she visits Solveig (Toby Poser), a mysterious spiritual healer in the woods, setting off a journey into grief, faith, and transformation. The film blends intimate drama with eerie ritualistic horror, delivering a 92-minute meditation on mortality and choice. Premiering at Fantasia International Film Festival 2025, it quickly drew acclaim for its mix of raw emotion and bold genre experimentation.
Why to Recommend Movie: Witchcraft, Vulnerability & Inventive Horror
Deeply personal emotional core — The film is rooted in the Adams Family’s own experience with illness and grief, which gives the story an authenticity and emotional urgency. Mickey’s journey feels achingly real, making the audience experience her desperation, fear, and determination alongside her. This intimacy elevates the narrative, turning it into more than just a horror story — it becomes an act of catharsis.
Bold exploration of bodily autonomy and choice — Mickey’s decision to seek alternative healing is a striking act of agency that frames much of the tension. The story challenges audiences to think about who has control over a body in crisis, and whether choosing pain for a chance at life is empowerment or tragedy. It adds a layer of moral complexity that makes the film linger long after it ends.
Atmospheric folk horror rooted in family collaboration — The Adams Family writes, directs, edits, and performs, giving the film a deeply unified creative vision. Every frame feels deliberate, from the haunting natural landscapes to the intimate interiors where rituals are performed. This collaboration produces a sense of handcrafted authenticity that makes the horror uniquely personal.
Poetic pacing with visceral payoff — The film takes its time, building a hushed, eerie rhythm that mirrors Mickey’s fragile emotional state. When the story erupts into moments of body horror and ritualistic imagery, they are all the more powerful because of the slow build-up. This careful pacing creates a rhythm that pulls the viewer into a trance-like engagement with the narrative.
Haunting, evocative soundtrack — The score, performed by the family’s band H6LLBND6R, provides both quiet melancholy and aggressive, ritualistic energy. The music underscores moments of transformation and despair, making the emotional beats even sharper. This integration of sound and story enhances the film’s hypnotic atmosphere and elevates key scenes.
Where to watch (industry professionals): https://pro.festivalscope.com/film/mother-of-flies
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36871027/
About movie: https://yellowveilpictures.com/mother-of-flies/
What is the Trend Followed: Folk Horror with Familial Empathy
Mother of Flies taps into the resurgence of folk horror that emphasizes rural settings, ritualistic imagery, and psychological realism. Rather than focusing purely on fear, it weaves horror with tenderness, grief, and bodily vulnerability. This trend moves the genre toward intimate, emotionally charged storytelling where the supernatural becomes a metaphor for deeply human struggles.
Director’s Vision: Family-Made, Fear-Forged Magic
The Adams Family uses their DIY filmmaking approach to create an intimate, fully realized world that feels both mythic and grounded. Their control over writing, editing, and acting ensures a singular, cohesive vision that blurs the line between reality and ritual.
The decision to slow the pacing allows viewers to live with the characters and feel the gravity of every choice and ritual. It is as much a meditation on mortality as it is a horror experience.
Their filmmaking rejects the polished, commercial aesthetic of mainstream horror and embraces the strange, the handmade, and the heartfelt — giving the story a rare authenticity that resonates with fans of art-house cinema.
Themes: Mortality, Belief, and the Price of Magic
Death and desire for life — The specter of Mickey’s illness drives every choice, turning the film into a meditation on what it means to fight for more time. Her struggle forces viewers to confront their own feelings about mortality and acceptance.
Faith in alternative healing — Rituals and folk magic are depicted with respect rather than sensationalism, asking whether belief itself has power to heal. This theme challenges viewers to consider the blurred line between hope and danger.
Parental devotion and helplessness — Jake’s character wrestles with supporting Mickey’s choices while fearing the cost. His arc embodies the conflict of loving someone so much that you are willing to follow them into darkness.
Ritual as transformation — The ceremonies depicted in the film are both terrifying and beautiful, serving as catalysts for emotional and physical change. They suggest that transformation — even if painful — can be a necessary step toward closure.
Key Success Factors: A Grim Bloom of Art, Heart, and Horror
Authenticity and intimacy — The story is anchored by real emotional stakes, making it far more affecting than a conventional genre exercise. This authenticity deepens the horror, as every ritual feels consequential and irreversible.
Immersive production design — The forest locations, Solveig’s cabin, and ritualistic props all contribute to an otherworldly yet tangible atmosphere. The setting becomes a character in its own right, heightening the tension.
Performances that resonate — Zelda Adams delivers a performance that balances vulnerability and fierce determination. John Adams and Toby Poser bring depth to roles that could have been archetypal, instead filling them with warmth, fear, and mystery.
Bold sound and visuals — The film uses its score, sound design, and practical effects to keep viewers emotionally engaged. These choices make the climax both shocking and cathartic, leaving a lasting impression.
Awards & Nominations: Festival Honors
Mother of Flies won the Cheval Noir Award for Best Film and the Best Score Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2025. These wins highlight both its narrative strength and its unforgettable use of music. It has also been nominated at other genre festivals, celebrated for its daring mix of personal storytelling and horror craftsmanship.
Critics Reception: Eerie, Emotional, and Soulful
Phantasmag called the film “witchy woodland horror with a punk edge,” praising its deeply personal emotional stakes and the haunting atmosphere created by the Adams Family. They highlighted how the film turns grief into something transformative rather than exploitative.
MovieJawn emphasized Zelda Adams’s performance, describing it as “ferociously vulnerable” and one of the standout indie performances of 2025. They praised the way the film invites audiences to sit with discomfort while rewarding them with a powerful finale.
Jared Mobarak (The Film Stage) rated it 7/10, noting the balance of beauty and brutality in the ritual sequences and the courage to end on a note that feels earned rather than neat or comforting.
Overall, critics agree that Mother of Flies is an emotionally raw, beautifully crafted folk horror that continues the Adams Family’s rise as one of the most exciting voices in independent horror.
Reviews: Slow Burn, Sharp Ritual, Raw Emotion
Film Threat praised the pacing, calling it “an exercise in controlled dread” and applauded its DIY spirit, noting that every element from score to SFX feels handcrafted with care. They wrote that the film “builds a world you can smell and touch, then burns it down before your eyes.”
Rue Morgue highlighted the special effects and makeup work, which they said “elevate the rituals from eerie to unforgettable.” They appreciated the way the climax merges practical effects with emotional catharsis, leaving viewers shaken but satisfied.
Bloody Disgusting singled out the score as one of the year’s best, describing it as “ritualistic, angry, and heartbreakingly tender,” perfectly aligning with the film’s tone.
Overall: Reviews are overwhelmingly positive, celebrating its ambition, emotional honesty, and willingness to challenge genre conventions while delivering a satisfying horror experience.
Release Date on Streaming
Mother of Flies will stream on Shudder in 2026, ensuring a global audience of horror enthusiasts can access it after its festival run.
Theatrical Release
The film premiered at Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2025 and will have a limited theatrical rollout in independent and genre-focused theaters before streaming release.
Movie Trend: Intimate Folk Horror with Real-World Stakes
The film reflects the growing trend of folk horror where nature, ritual, and grief converge to tell deeply personal stories. It avoids cheap jump scares, favoring atmosphere and emotional engagement, aligning it with contemporary elevated horror.
Social Trend: Illness, Autonomy, and Healing Narratives
Mother of Flies speaks to a cultural shift toward honoring bodily autonomy and alternative medicine in narratives about illness. It explores the universal question of how far we are willing to go to reclaim agency over our own mortality.
Final Verdict: Witchy Farewell That Haunts
Mother of Flies is an emotionally charged, atmospheric horror that turns grief into ritual. Its slow burn, strong performances, and uncompromising vision make it one of the most significant indie horror films of 2025. This is a must-watch for those who seek horror that is not just frightening but deeply, hauntingly human.
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