Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have released the first trailer for the upcoming thriller Ma, which marks a departure for The Help and The Girl on the Train director Tate Taylor. The original thriller stars Octavia Spencer as a lonely woman who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. When she’s asked by a teenage girl to buy some booze for her and her friends, Spencer’s character instead offers them the chance to hang out in her basement and avoid drinking and driving. But as Spencer’s character lays down some odd ground rules and her hospitality turns into obsession, the teens realize they’re in way over their heads.

If you're already intrigued by the premise or setup, I would actually advise not watching this trailer. It appears to give away a lot of the film's twists and turns, and I'm kind of surprised Universal is showing so much of the movie in this debut trailer. That aside, this looks to be a terrific acting showcase for Spencer to really get weird with it, in the vein of James McAvoy in Split or Allison Williams in Get Out, and I'm certainly excited to watch her knock it out of the park.

Check out the Ma trailer below. Written by Taylor and Scotty Landes (Who Is America?), the film also stars Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Luke Evans, McKaley Miller, Missi Pyle, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianni Paolo, and Dante Brown. Ma opens in theaters on May 31st.

Here’s the official synopsis for Ma:

Everybody’s welcome at Ma’s. But good luck getting home safe.

 

Oscar^® winner Octavia Spencer stars as Sue Ann, a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town (Diana Silvers, Glass), to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.

 

She offers the kids the chance to avoid drinking and driving by hanging out in the basement of her home. But there are some house rules: One of the kids has to stay sober. Don’t curse. Never go upstairs. And call her “Ma.”

 

But as Ma’s hospitality starts to curdle into obsession, what began as a teenage dream turns into a terrorizing nightmare, and Ma’s place goes from the best place in town to the worst place on earth.