Mary (2019 film)

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Mary (2019) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Goi and written by Anthony Jaswinski. It stars Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Stefanie Scott, Chloe Perrin, Douglas Urbanski, Jennifer Esposito, and Owen Teague.

Plot
Sarah and her two daughters, Lindsey and Mary, sail on a salvaged boat named Mary. The trip, meant to mend their strained family after Sarah’s affair, quickly turns eerie. Mary talks about an imaginary friend who seems to live on the boat, and she starts making sinister drawings. After a disturbing incident, Sarah and David (Mary’s father) realize something is very wrong.

As the voyage continues, the family uncovers a dark history: previous owners disappeared on similar trips, all heading to the same destination. They suspect the boat is possessed by the spirit of a witch who wants to replace her drowned children. Tensions rise as Mary’s drawings, nightmares, and other strange phenomena intensify. David’s nephew Tommy briefly lashes out, ends up in a mental institution, and later dies by hanging, further deepening the mystery.

Desperate, they decide to turn back, but a crew member named Mike falls under the witch’s control and sabotages the boat. A ferocious storm hits, and David is killed. Sarah fights to keep her family alive, helping Lindsey and Mary reach safety as the boat explodes. Sarah is later interrogated by police, who believe she murdered her family, but video evidence reveals she was possessed by the witch. The final shot shows the police station amid a raging storm, suggesting the danger may still be present.

Production and release
- Development began in 2016 when writer Anthony Jaswinski was announced to pen the script, with Tucker Tooley producing.
- The cast was announced in 2017, including Gary Oldman, Emily Mortimer, Owen Teague, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Stefanie Scott, and Chloe Perrin; Jennifer Esposito joined in 2018.
- RLJE Films acquired distribution and set the release for October 11, 2019, after an early screening at FrightFest on August 24, 2019.
- Running time is 84 minutes. The film is in English and was produced in the United States.
- Box office: $709,528.

Reception
Mary received largely negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a small approval rating, and on Metacritic it has a score indicating generally unfavorable reviews. Critics broadly felt the movie wasted strong talent and failed to deliver a cohesive or scary supernatural story.