Anomaly Film Festival 2025 Coverage
Mother of Flies review
The Adams Family’s latest tale of dark magic hits out at real world fears.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Mother of Flies
Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser
Written by John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser
Starring John Adams, Lulu Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser
Mother of Flies Review
The movie I was most excited to see at this year’s Anomaly Film Festival was the latest film from The Adams Family, Mother of Flies. It’s not every day you get to see a new picture from Scare Value Award winning directors. The filmmaking family previously brought us Hellbender and Where the Devil Roams. Mother of Flies looked to be another unique story of people encountering (or seeking out) the dark arts. Writer/director/actress Zelda Adams was even on hand for a post-screening Q&A. Needless to say, The Adams Family’s latest did not disappoint.
Mother of Flies was preceded by the short film Vowels. While not as obvious a fit with the feature film it was attached to as others at the festival…Vowels was one of my favorite shorts shown this year. It involves a girl with a speech impediment trying to film an audition tape. She scratches at her neck to the point of irritation, explains her condition as best she can to an interested party…and then Vowels lands a pitch perfect finish that made it stand out from the pack.
Now…onto Mother of Flies. If I had asked a question during the Q&A portion of the show…I would have asked Zelda Adams what it is about black magic that interests the family so much. Hellbender, Where the Devil Roams and Mother of Flies all contain some magic in their narratives. I didn’t ask that question. So, we are all left to wonder until someone else asks it. Sorry about that. My bad.
What’s most interesting to me about the family’s use of magic in their stories is how different each movie manages to be while at least brushing up against the same topic. With Mother of Flies, they do something completely different than they had before. It introduces completely normal people to a world of dark magic. Hellbender’s mother/daughter wiccan story saw the magic coursing through our lead characters. Where the Devil Roams saw its leads stealing magic to benefit their road show. Mother of Flies sends a skeptical father (John Adams) and his hopeful daughter (Zelda Adams) into the woods to seek out a magical healer (Toby Poser).
Zelda Adams’ Mickey is sick. Dying, in fact. She has cancer and this magical healer is the only hope she has left. Her father Jake doesn’t believe in any of this…but he is there to support his daughter through anything. Unlike The Adams Family’s previous stories, Mother of Flies drops two people from everyday life into a tale of dark magic. The skepticism and hope hit differently here. Jake is a likable everyman. Mickey is an instantly relatable college student. And they have no idea whose door they’ve just knocked on.
Speaking of that door…the main setting of Mother of Flies is just incredible. You’ve seen cabins or houses in the woods before…but this house practically is the woods. It creates a very cool environment that never lets anyone feel at home. Solveig (Poser) lives there alone…and she says she can cure Mickey with her…alternative measures. But she may be harboring an alternative motive.
Mother of Flies is full of creeping dread. It’s weird to state that something isn’t quite right in a movie about dark magic…but something isn’t quite right. Jake grows more and more weary of Solveig’s methods (and intent). It forces a wedge between Mickey and himself. She needs this to work…and the closer Solveig gets to her…the more she believes it will. Finding out who is right is one of the best things about Mother of Flies.
As with every Adams Family movie, Mother of Flies has a banging soundtrack. They do their own music too…because writing/directing/acting/editing isn’t enough stuff on their plate. The uniqueness of their films not only from other independent horror but also from each other is the true magic trick. Their interest in magic is obvious as the theme runs throughout their various works. I still wonder where that comes from. I wish someone had asked.
Scare Value
Getting to see new work from Scare Value Award winning filmmakers is always a treat. Mother of Flies continues the family’s fascination with dark magic…and turns it into another unique story. This time…there is a real-life horror at the center of the story’s supernatural impulses. Unlike Hellbender and Where the Devil Roams, the Adams Family introduces regular folks into a witchy story. The result is something beautiful and horrific in equal measure. A mix that perfectly describes the work of this filmmaking family.
