Summary

• Ma's popularity has spawned numerous funny memes that make the horror movie less terrifying, similar to other internet sensations like The Babadook and M3GAN.
• Octavia Spencer's phenomenal performance in Ma earned her critical acclaim and a Saturn Award nomination, elevating the horror movie.
• The memes inspired by Ma range from placing Sue Ann in movie posters with "Ma" in their titles to creating relatable captions that add humor to the intense scenes.

The pop culture phenomenon Ma has provided source material for multiple funny memes that make the movie way less scary. The horror movie Ma follows a middle-aged woman named Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer), who befriends a group of teenagers, inviting them to her basement house parties with a few rules. First, they have to call her Ma. Secondly, none of them can curse in her home. And lastly, the teens can never go upstairs. Soon, though, Sue Ann becomes obsessed with the teens, terrorizing and hurting the kids she once called her friends.

Ma gained mixed reviews from critics, but they praised Spencer for elevating the horror movie with her phenomenal performance, which earned the actress a Saturn Award nomination. Unsurprisingly, Ma's villain became an internet sensation after the film released in theaters. Sue Ann went viral in memes, just like The Babadook did previously and M3GAN did four years later. The best memes for Ma provide laughs that make the movie less scary.

10 I Am Who I’m Meant To Be; This Is Ma

When Ma came out, one of the most popular meme trends involved placing Sue Ann in the promo photos for movies with "Ma" in their titles. A hilarious example comes in the form of this meme shared by the actress herself. By placing the character Sue Ann in the movie poster, it brings to mind The Greatest Showman's most important song, "This Is Me." This creates ironic humor because the song is about embracing the things that make individuals unique. In the case of Sue Ann, she's unique because she's a lonely middle-aged woman who becomes obsessed with befriending and torturing teenagers.

9 Silently Judging You

While spooky in the movie, Ma includes shots that are hilariously relatable when taken out of context. The GIF in this meme shared by Whitney on Twitter comes from one of the many scenes where Sue Ann stalks the teenagers. The character looks frustrated, judgmental, and extremely intense. Above the GIF, it says "Me: I'm not judgmental, Also me:" This alludes to the common human experience of not itting our flaws. Judging others is a natural part of life. As such, it's easy to laugh at this meme since most people are guilty of it at some point or another.

8 When Friends Have Your Back

This video contains audio distortion that may trigger people with auditory sensitivities.

During the movie Ma, Sue Ann stands behind a brick wall while eavesdropping on the teenagers she befriends. Her little smile seems sinister and spooky. TikTok's TresureTheQueen turned this moment in Ma into an amusing meme. The video includes the text "Me overhearing people talking s**t about me and someone starts defending me" with a heart-eye emoji. Part of the human experience is caring about what others think because the species is evolutionarily community-oriented. It's common for individuals to wonder what people say when they aren't around. The meme affirms the fact that good friends will often defend one another, no matter their proximity to each other.

7 Ma’s Coming To Get You

Continuing the trend of incorporating Ma into other movie posters, this meme shared by Twitter @irsyuflih and Spencer replaces the "J" in Jaws with an "M," making it Maws. The person who made the meme edited the shark to look like its skin is peeling back, revealing a smiling Sue Ann. Considering both the shark and Sue Ann are the villains of their respective horror franchises, it's clever to combine them. Additionally, the smile on Sue Ann's face evokes a sense of joy for hurting others, which fits with the movie Ma.

6 Tonally Inappropriate Horror Music

This video meme points out the fact that the post-production team made a peculiar choice by including the EDM song "Lookout Weekend" by Debbie Deb in ending of Ma, which makes the choice even more bizarre. It's almost like the director just wanted audiences to dance their way out of the theaters.

5 Ma Living In His Head Rent Free

Ma created effective scares by drawing on realistic fears like stalkers and psychological manipulation. It's not a film that leaves the mind easily, and it could haunt viewers late at night when they're trying to sleep. This meme combines this with the idea of relationship insecurity, making it widely relatable on multiple fronts. One partner thinks the other is thinking about someone else outside their relationship. They aren't entirely incorrect because the meme goes on to show that the second partner is thinking about Sue Ann from Ma, making a distressed expression. Clearly, this movie harnessed horror well, successfully creating a lasting impact.

4 Late Nights With Ma

Before she goes off the rails by stalking and hurting people in Ma, Sue Ann seems like a woman who likes to party — albeit with teenagers, which is inherently predatory and creepy. One of the funniest moments from the movie is when she decides to kick a tower of empty beer cans down, as shown in this meme. Above the clip, the meme includes the words "Me: I'm going to bed early tonight, Me at 3 am:" which draws on the fact that nights in don't always go as planned, leading to some of the craziest stories later on.

3 JuMAnji

Spencer had a ball with the memes that Photoshopped Sue Ann into other movies, even holding an unofficial competition to decide the best one. The meme that won the contest included various expressions of Sue Ann from Ma put onto all the characters' faces of Jumanji: Next Level. JillJohnson75, the person who created the meme, even Photoshopped safari hats onto the character, making the image all the more hilarious. "Next Level" takes on a double meaning because it's part of the movie's title, but the phrase also represents the effort put into the meme.

2 Forgetting To Buy An Ingredient

During one scene in Ma, Sue Ann starts crying while driving the car. This not only shows off Spencer's incredible acting skills but also provides the framework for funny memes. These memes used the clip with a caption highlighting mundane inconveniences that occur in everyday life. This meme posted to TikTok by TonyBear1988 provides the funniest, best example. In this case, a crying Sue Ann is put with the caption, "When you're about to start cooking but have to run back to the store because you forgot something." The comments prove how commonly this occurs, with many s saying they'd rather make something else than go back out.

1 The Life Of An Introvert

At one point in Ma, Sue Ann hugs one of the teenagers. She smiles as she leans in, but her face immediately goes flat during the hug. This two-second clip became part of a hilarious GIF meme, including a caption above it that reads, "When you make plans and immediately regret it." For introverts and people-pleasers alike, this meme will resonate due to the dread that sets in after a person realizes they agreed to something without considering their own needs or wants. Like many other Ma memes, this doesn't connect back to the plot, but it does make the movie much less scary in the long run.