Tired of feel-good mother stories? Here’s something new…

Enough with the schmaltzy films this Mother’s Day and their generic storylines focused on filial piety! It is time for dark cinema that explores the shadowy side of motherhood. If your mum is a true film buff, get the popcorn ready and settle in for these dark maternal stories. Whether a mother manifests as a haunting supernatural force or a neglectful parent leaving deep psychological scars, each film tackles motherhood in its own twisted way. In any case, these seven titles make for an unforgettable Mother’s Day marathon!

1/7 Mae Sue (Host) (2025)

dir. Pokpong Khumwan 

Starring rising star Thitiya “Baipor” Jirapornsilp, Mae Sue takes the comforting Thai myth of the “Mothers of Buying” – seven day-goddesses who supposedly babysit newborns – and gives it a thoroughly terrifying spin. Because in this film, those protective spiritual mothers are anything but forgiving. Things go downhill fast when Ing is shipped off to a remote, all-girls reform school on a tiny island. She is instantly targeted by Aim, the dorms’ resident mean girl, turning her daily life into an absolute nightmare. Her only glint of hope is Pin, a cute local boatman who might just be able to sneak her off the island. What Ing hasn’t realised yet is that she doesn’t actually need a rescue boat; an ancient, unseen entity has her back, and it’s about to wreak utter havoc on her bullies. You can catch it streaming on Prime Video.

2/7 Mae Bia (The Snake Lady) (2015)

dir. ML Pundhevanop Dhewakul

In a similar vein to Mae Sue, Mae Bia also features an overprotective mother figure, though this one comes with scales instead of a beating heart. Based on Vanich Charungkitanan’s famous novel, the story has seen plenty of adaptations, but the late M.L. Pundhevanop Dhewakul’s version gives it an erotic spin. Enter Mekhala, a tour guide harbouring a dark – and rather sinuous – secret. When she starts a risky affair with Chanachol, an attached young businessman, her scaled guardian goes full helicopter-parent, brutally handling anyone who threatens her. After earning a Best Supporting Actress nod at the 25th Thailand National Film Association Awards, this dark, venomous tale remains just as spellbinding as ever.

3/7 Rang (The Parallel) (2014)

dir. Pon Worravarunyou

Nothing beats a mother’s love, unless it is the vengeful jealousy of a mother’s love denied. Rang stars Paula Taylor as a woman longing for motherhood, until a sudden pregnancy leads to her lover deceiving her into an abortion. Broken, she eventually forms a deep bond with a ten-year-old girl left orphaned after a fatal robbery. Both are desperate to fill the gaping void in their lives, but their newfound mother-daughter dynamic draws the attention of a dark presence. Something long-denied is haunting them, consumed by jealousy over the reconstructed bond it believes was meant to be its own.

4/7 Sop Dek 2002 (The Unborn Child) (2011)

dir. Poj Arnon

To zoom in further on the abortion theme, look no further than Poj Arnon’s Sop Dek 2002, which is based on a horrifying 2010 news story involving thousands of fetuses stored away at Wat Phai Ngon Chotanaram. Director Poj Arnon takes this bleak piece of real-world history and turns it into hair-raising cinematic terror. As a couple and their young daughter are harassed by an increasingly violent ghost, every clue leads right back to a temple and a tragic number of abortions – 2,002 to be exact. Sop Dek 2002 proves Arnon is not just the king of Thai horror-camp; when he wants to get dark, he can deliver a moody, unnerving drama. 

5/7 Nang Nak (1999)

dir. Nonzee Nimibutr

Based on Thailand’s most infamous ghost legend, Nang Nak proves that a mother’s instinct can transcend even death itself. Returning from war, wounded soldier Mak finds his wife Nak and their newborn baby waiting at home. But here’s the twist: both died in childbirth months ago. Driven by an obsessive, eternal maternal bond, Nak’s spirit plays the dutiful mother and wife, turning extremely violent against any neighbour who tries to tell her husband the terrifying truth that she’s actually no longer human.

6/7 Sia Dai (Daughter) (1994)

dir. Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol

Directed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol, Sia Dai is an unflinching 1990s social drama about four teenage girls driven away by abusive and neglectful parents. Finding comfort in their shared misery, the group descends into a destructive spiral of heroin addiction, homelessness, and underground crime. Whether through emotional absence or sheer passivity, the mothers in the film fail to provide a haven. The film exposes the dark consequences of broken homes and parental failure; it is a heartbreaking reminder of young lives tragically thrown away. 

7/7 Nampu (The Story of Nampu) (1984)

dir. Euthana Mukdasanit

Based on an autobiographical work that stands as a true classic, this story hits painfully close to home. Its author, Suwanni Sukhontha, tragically lost her real-life son Nampu to drugs, before her own murder added a grim punctuation mark to a narrative about Thailand’s enduring struggle with alienated youth and addiction. The story follows Nampu, a troubled teenage boy adrift after his parents’ divorce. Starved of attention by his famous, workaholic writer mother, he seeks solace in substance abuse, embarking on a downward spiral that ends in tragedy.