Good Madam

2021

1h 32m

Horror

List

86%

44 Reviews

Tomatometer

36%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

Tsidi, a single mother, is forced to move in with her estranged mother Mavis, a live-in domestic worker caring obsessively for her catatonic white 'Madam'. As Tsidi tries to heal her family however, a sinister spectre begins to stir.

Read More

Read Less

Critics Consensus

Even if its ambitions are occasionally unwieldy, Good Madam offers effectively slow-burning horror anchored by thought-provoking themes.

Read Critics Reviews

brad p

‘Good Madam' may have good intentions but something is amiss. However, the actors are phenomenal and make it worth the watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Emma Lungiswa d

An unsettling family portrait with moving and detailed character work - there are no cheap thrills in this study of the lingering horrors of apartheid.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/01/22

Full Review

Emil T

I'd never heard of this film and delved right in without even checking out its trailer, so it was a pleasant surprise to say the least. The best horror film I've seen this year so far!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/01/22

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Jenna Cato Bass

Director

Chumisa Cosa

Actor

Nosipho Mtebe

Actor

Kamvalethu Jonas Raziya

Actor

Sanda Shandu

Actor

Khanyiso Kenqa

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

93%

Surrogate

TRAILER

for Surrogate

94%

62%

Raging Grace

TRAILER

for Raging Grace

83%

0%

Dementer

47%

36%

DASHCAM

TRAILER

for DASHCAM

72%

43%

Madres

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

“Good Mother” rattles not with gore but with the weight of history and injustice.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 21, 2022

Full Review

Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Doesn’t shy away from magic spells and arcane African blood rituals, but the real dark mojo that Bass is bringing so starkly to the big screen involves the cycles of privilege and exclusion that seems to persist through every attempt at exorcism.

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Good Madam is an intriguing, atmospheric movie which doesn’t quite tie up all its sinister portents and implications in a satisfying ending. Yet there is something very unsettling in it.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 12, 2022

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Cambridge Day

The supernatural foundation is laid out like “Hereditary” (2018). Tsidi’s worst nightmare is falling under the spell of the lie that Diane is “family.”

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Cass Clarke

Slashfilm

Prepare for a crescendo-like pace from a film that asks you to turn off your phone, settle in, and listen carefully.

Oct 4, 2022

Full Review

Eve Tushnet

Patheos

This is definitely worth a watch if you’re at all interested in the setting or in servant-horror/horrors of class division and colonialism.

Aug 12, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Tsidi, a single mother, is forced to move in with her estranged mother Mavis, a live-in domestic worker caring obsessively for her catatonic white 'Madam'. As Tsidi tries to heal her family however, a sinister spectre begins to stir.

Director: Jenna Cato Bass
Screenwriter: Babalwa Baartman, Jenna Cato Bass, Chumisa Cosa, Nosipho Mtebe, Kamvalethu Jonas Raziya, Sanda Shandu, Khanyiso Kenqa, Chris Gxalaba, Peggy Tunyiswa, Sizwe Ginger Lubengu, Siya Sikawuti, Steve Larter
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 14, 2022
Runtime: 1h 32m