What would someone diagnosed with late-stage cancer, trapped in a hopeless state, do to stay alive after repeated failures of scientific cures? In Mother of Flies, the pursuit of black magic presents a proactive yet imaginative alternative to treating a disease that is often perceived as demonic.
Collectively written and directed by John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter Zelda Adams (with Lulu Adams appearing), also collectively known as The Adams Family, the film unfolds with a young girl, Mickey (Zelda), who embarks on a dangerous journey as a last resort to keep the Grim Reaper at the brink of her life. Bathed in cerulean colour grading and high-contrast backgrounds, the question of life and death is translated into a bodily experiment.
Stepping into a labyrinthine forest with luxuriant foliage and evergreens, Mickey connects with Solveig (Toby), a woman believed to master magic capable of healing incurable disease. She promises that the cure is free and that within three days Mickey's tumour will be healed. However, as her father, Jake (John), suggests, there is no free lunch in the world. The cost Mickey must pay is unexpected pain through a series of mystifying rituals, one that Jake deeply doubts, yet is powerless to prevent.
Guided by the bizarre witch Solveig, the film exploits the forest as an isolated realm, a psychological inner space that amplifies the precarity of what lies ahead. While the buzzing of flies creates a sense of tension between the known and the unknown, the characters' delusional experiences effectively convey a dreadful body horror, in which the pain of cancer and caesarean birth can be equally felt through striking visual design and set decoration.
Alongside the poetic rhyme intoned by Mickey, the journey through the woods drifts into an emotionally charged venture, where Solveig's secret is gradually revealed through her manipulation of Mickey's physicality (if one considers modern medical technology, they may surprisingly reach the same conclusion). Both women in the film suffer loss to different extents. For Mickey, the loss of her uterus results in her inability to conceive; for Solveig, she loses her baby and witnesses the way it was burned by the malicious.
The mesmerisation of Mother of Flies lies in the reversal of "girls help girls," making it appear as "crabs in the bucket" on the surface -- yet essentially, it is a story about reciprocal exchange, a dark and agitated attempt to reclaim maternity. This creates an intimate image of powerful maternity, even if the story is not an absolute feminist one.
As a collective, The Adams Family controls almost every aspect of production while operating fluidly across different crew roles, allowing greater freedom and creative space. The frequent use of close-ups is a strong testament to their performances, all of which are held remarkably well, especially Toby Poser's dolorous, enigmatic expressions. John's portrayal of Jake adds further dynamics to the pair, bringing a looseness to their relationship that occasionally offsets the film's heavy subject matter.
Beyond the family collective, Trey Lindsay makes a significant contribution to the film's special visual effects and digital makeup. The lingering baby face imprinted in a tree trunk, the slithering python, and the cramping internal organs deliver a raw and surreal feeling. Although the film thrives on suspense, the editing could have benefited from a stronger montage structure, particularly toward the end, where Solveig's secret is finally unearthed.
For a low-budget production like Mother of Flies, the film hints at how creativity can be efficiently amplified and freely shared through solidified collaboration. Thematically, it suggests that death is not something to be expelled as an external force, but something that grows within us. Only when one holds death as a form of deep faith can it be postponed, and it is then that a newborn (also meaning a once-dead) life begins to breathe again.
The film is now streaming on Shudder.