Mentions of murder and abuse.

Warning: spoilers for Ma.

Summary

• Ma is not based on a true story, but it takes inspiration from real-life horrors to shape its chilling plot and title character.
• Director Tate Taylor wanted to make a movie about something disturbing, and Octavia Spencer accepted the role of Ma because she enjoyed playing the villain.
• Ma shares similarities with Stephen King's Carrie and the true story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother, both of which involve trauma, manipulation, and hidden secrets.

The psychological horror movie Ma sees Octavia Spencer as a truly terrifying villain, and here are the stories that inspired Ma’s horrible actions. In 2019, Tate Taylor brought Ma, which introduced viewers to the title character, Sue Ann “Ma” Ellington, a lonely middle-aged veterinary technician who befriended a group of teenagers. Ma earned their trust by buying them alcohol and letting them and other teenagers drink and party in her basement, but the more time they spent with Ma, the more disturbing her actions and purposes became.

Ma carried a lot of unresolved trauma for years that she ended up channeling in unhealthy, harmful ways, which made her a danger to not just her family but those around her. Ma got mixed reviews from critics but was a box office hit, and it has gained a cult following online due to its themes and how it mirrors some real-life horrors. The latter have raised the question of whether Ma is based on a real-life story or not, and the truth is that it has different inspirations.

Ma Is Not Based On A True Story

Although many horror movies bring real-life stories to the big screen (with various changes for dramatic purposes), Ma isn’t part of that list. Ma isn’t based on a true story, but it obviously takes inspiration from real-life horrors to build the title character, her backstory, and her modus operandi. Ma is the result of director Tate Taylor’s desire to make a movie about “something f***ed up” and Octavia Spencer wanting to branch out, as she was best known for dramatic roles but not leading ones (via CinemaBlend). After visiting producer Jason Blum, Taylor was given Scott Landes’ script, which Blumhouse Productions had bought the day before.

In the original script for Ma, the title character was written for a white woman, but Taylor still offered the role to Spencer, who accepted once she learned she was the villain, not the victim. As noted by Syfy, Ma has some similarities to Stephen King’s Carrie, with Ma going through traumatic experiences of bullying as she was the shy and awkward girl in high school. One particularly horrible prank was what triggered Ma’s thirst for vengeance, very much like what happened to Carrie during prom. Ma also has similarities to Carrie’s mother, Margaret, as she kept her daughter hidden on the second floor of her home – and this is also similar to a disturbing true story.

Ma's Similarities To Gypsy Rose Blanchard's True Story Explained

Among Ma’s secrets was her daughter, Genie (Tanyell Waivers), who outside her house used a wheelchair. When Maggie and Haley broke into Ma’s house, they found that not only was Genie her daughter, but Ma forced her to use a wheelchair and constantly drugged her to make her feel sick so she wouldn’t leave the house. This is very similar to the real-life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother, DeeDee Blanchard, the latter praised in life for her efforts to look after Gypsy, who was supposedly paralyzed from the waist down and was battling cancer, among other health issues.

When DeeDee Blanchard was murdered at her home, the truth about Gypsy and DeeDee came to light: Gypsy wasn’t sick, but DeeDee tricked doctors and many others into believing she was. DeeDee Blanchard was posthumously diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental disorder in which a parent or caretaker exaggerates, induces, or makes up illness in a person under their care in order to gain sympathy or attention. Just like DeeDee did with Gypsy, Ma kept Genie away from others to keep her own secrets safe and to not be alone, but just like Gypsy, Genie managed to escape, both with horrible consequences. Ma isn’t actually inspired by the case of Gypsy and DeeDee Blanchard, but the similarities are hard to ignore.

Sources: CinemaBlend, Syfy