Umma: more psychological than horror

I was once again faced with boring choices in Red Box, so I went with the movie with Sandra Oh, Umma. It's classified as a horror movie, but at PG-13 you know it would be quite mild. In fact, it looked more like a psychological drama.

So, Sandra Oh's character in a California (?) woman living off grid with her daughter keeping bees. Her life is quiet and her business is quite popular... until her Korean uncle drops by with her mother's remains. He claims that "she will always be with her" and that her rage of being left alone will seep through her...

As I said, this movie is more psychological drama and less horror, although there are some jump scares and scary moments. I don't know how close it is to Korean folklore, but I have to salute Hollywood to try and open up to other cultures. Oh's character, even though she doesn't believe in it, does know about it and explains it to her daughter who's completely ignorant about it.

As far as the horror elements, there is no blood or murder; just flashback and apparitions showing Oh's deep trauma from her childhood. I do hope Korean Ummas (mothers) aren't that cruel.

In short, Umma is an OK movie that is short and sweet. It doesn't linger in useless details or gores and focus on the deep trauma Oh's character suffers.

Final rating: 3/5