When it comes to horror, nothing hits harder than a mother’s love – especially when it’s possessed, cursed, or coming from beyond the grave. From Bollywood’s haunted havelis to Hollywood’s creaky staircases, filmmakers have long tapped into the eerie power of the mother-child bond. After all, who better to unleash hell than the one who gave you life or maybe took a few along the way. Buckle up for a spine-chilling trip through tales where moms are fierce, fearsome, and occasionally – full-on feral!
Goodnight Mommy (2022)
In this unsettling English horror, twin boys grow suspicious of the woman who returns home after facial surgery, claiming to be their mother. What follows is a slow-burn psychological horror filled with paranoia, identity crises, and disturbing twists. It revolves around the themes – maternal trust, trauma, mistaken identity, and psychological horror.
Chhorii (2021)
A pregnant woman finds herself in a haunted village, uncovering horrifying traditions that celebrated female infanticide. Themes revolve around motherhood, prenatal protection, social evil.
Kaali Khuhi (2020)
A young girl and her mother return to a village with a dark past involving female infanticide, where spirits of the wronged children haunt them. Themes involve guilt, mother-daughter bonding, supernatural revenge.
Hereditary (2018)
After the death of her secretive mother, a woman and her children begin to uncover terrifying family secrets. The themes revolve around legacy, possession, and generational trauma.
Bird Box (2018)
In a world where mysterious entities drive people to suicide upon sight, a mother must lead her two children – blindfolded – through treacherous terrain to safety. Sandra Bullock delivers a gripping performance as a woman who transforms fear into ferocity. Themes revolve around survival, maternal sacrifice, apocalypse, and unseen terror.
Sinister 2 (2015)
A mother hides out with her twin sons in a rural house, unaware it’s marked by the same demonic entity from the first Sinister. As one of the boys is lured by ghostly children and sinister home videos, the mother must fight to keep her family from becoming the next cursed footage. It’s about maternal protection, possession, trauma, and supernatural manipulation.
The Babadook (2014)
A widowed mother struggles with her son’s fear of a monster, only to discover a sinister presence lurking in their home. Themes are grief, motherhood, mental health, supernatural.
Ek Thi Daayan (2013)
A magician’s life is haunted by memories of a sinister mother figure who may have been a witch. Childhood trauma, motherly betrayal, and dark fantasy are the themes.
Mama (2013)
Two little girls are found after years in the forest and are taken in by their uncle and his girlfriend. But a mysterious “Mama” has followed them. Theme celebrates motherly love from beyond the grave, protection, trauma.
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
Continues the story of a family plagued by spirits, including a subplot involving a murderous, possessive mother. Themes revolve around the mother-son bond and spiritual possession.
Orphan (2009)
A couple adopts a 9-year-old girl after losing their unborn child, but the mother suspects the child isn’t who she claims to be. Themes are maternal instinct, deception, and psychological horror.
Hum Kaun Hai? (2004)
A remake inspired by The Others (2001), this eerie film features Dimple Kapadia as a protective mother whose children suffer from a strange light sensitivity—and possibly much more. Shadows, secrets, and spine-tingling suspense await as the mother digs deeper into her unsettling reality. Themes revolve around maternal instinct, ghosts, isolation, and psychological horror.
The Ring (2002)
A journalist, Naomi Watts, races against time to unravel the mystery of a cursed videotape after her niece dies—and her own son becomes the next target. Equal parts eerie and emotionally gripping, this one pits a mother’s love against a relentless supernatural force. It’s about maternal protection, cursed child, and psychological terror.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
A psychological horror masterpiece where a young woman (Mia Farrow) becomes suspicious of her eccentric neighbors—and her own pregnancy. As her paranoia grows, she suspects she’s carrying something far more sinister than just a baby. Themes are paranoia, satanic cults, unwanted motherhood, and betrayal.
(Contributed by Wajeeha Syed)