[Review]: The Voices of Our Mother

Family can be pure hell, and no one knows this better than the estranged children of Harriet Scaflan, who have been brought together by the death of their grandmother in Mark O’Brien’s demonic horror The Voices of Our Mother. Starring Sheila McCarthy, Georgina Reilly, and the writer and director himself, The Voices of Our Mother seeks to explore familial trauma through the lens of a family curse of biblical proportions. 

When family matriarch Johanna (Anna Ferguson) falls ill and dies, the four children of her infirm daughter Harriet (Sheila McCarthy) gather in the familial house to discuss the care that their mother needs. But when Harriet begins to display deranged behaviour, and doctors are puzzled by her youthful physical health compared to her declining mentality, Annika, William, Therese, and Martin must put their differences and personal troubles aside to battle against the demons that have had a chokehold on their family for decades. 

The coming together of estranged adult children to circumnavigate a tragedy surrounding their family is not really a rare pathway for the horror genre to tread. With examples such as Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House tv series proving how well horror can encapsulate the tension and anxiety of family gatherings, any other media exploring these dynamics have a high standard to attempt to reach, and unfortunately, The Voices of Our Mother falls slightly short. 

Despite an alluring and competent set-up with grandmother Johanna appearing to be an overbearingly religious zealot whilst caring for her child-like adult daughter, as the story turns to Harriet’s children and their competency with her affliction, it soon falls apart. With very little chemistry between any of the four siblings, it becomes increasingly difficult to care or have any sort of investment in the proceeding acts.

One particular storyline throughout the film raises quite a red flag with the filmmaker’s intentions behind its inclusion, with the children’s father, having been described as a moral man before meeting their mother Harriet, becoming abusive and violent towards his family. Attributing the mother for an abusive man’s actions, even if it is a demonstration of the power of demonic possession and how far evil can reach, is victim-blaming at its core and leaves a sour taste for the rest of the film. 

Despite attempting to skew conventional possession stereotypes within horror, The Voices of Our Mother falls flat, and with some seriously questionable character commentary, perhaps its best left to avoid like an annoying family member at a long drawn out reunion.

1.5 Screams out of 5

The Voices of Our Mother is streaming on Shudder on June 19th.