| Matriarch | |
| Director: | Ben Steiner |
| Starring: | Jemima Rooper Kate Dickie |
| Distributor: | Hulu |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Matriarch is a 2022 American horror film written and directed by Ben Steiner and starring Jemima Rooper and Kate Dickie.
At breaking point after a near fatal overdose, a woman returns home to confront her childhood traumas, and her mother.
The film was released on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2022.
The film has an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews.[1] Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting awarded the film two and a half "skulls" out of five.[2] Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central awarded the film three and a half stars out of five.[3]
Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote, "But none of how Matriarch resolves is particularly scary or surprising. The finale — filled with dark, barely legible imagery — is a letdown both visually and dramatically."[4]
Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review and wrote, "Steiner’s film shrewdly shifts back and forth between the real physical threat of dark supernatural forces and the more elusive harm done by a lifetime of bad parenting."[5]
Martin Unnsworth of Starburst also gave the film a positive review, calling it "a slowly simmering powder keg of a film that mixes relatable human drama with a portion of Cronenberg mixed with a soupçon of The Devils."[6]