‘Masterpiece’ horror film with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score finally lands UK streaming release

An award-winning horror film with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score is coming to Amazon Prime Video in a matter of weeks.

Mother of Flies is the latest film made by The Adams Family, a group of filmmakers made up of married couple Toby Poser and John Adams, and their daughters Zelda and Lulu Adams.

The deeply emotional folk horror film follows Mickey (Zelda), who, after a terminal cancer diagnosis, visits healer Solveig (Toby Poser), turning to necromancy when conventional medicine fails her.

Mickey’s father, Jake (John Adams), is skeptical that Solveig can help his daughter, but goes along for the ride that soon proves to be more tumultuous and gruelling than previously thought.

After eagerly awaiting its UK release, horror fans will be able to watch the film from the comfort of their own home when it arrives on Shudder on January 23, available through Amazon Prime Video.

Mother of Flies had its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival last year, where it scooped the Cheval Noir Jury Awards for Best Film and Best Score.

It dazzled critics and festival audiences alike during its run, including FrightFest 2025 in London.

The deeply personal film is based on the family’s history with cancer, with both John and Toby having their own experiences with the disease.

Mother of Flies has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Nashville Scene writing in their review: ‘Mother of Flies is a modern folk-horror masterpiece about a family pushed to the brink by the one-two punch of cancer and the domestic health care system and driven to explore more witch-based treatment possibilities.’

Screen International lauded the film as ‘A polished horror yarn that leads to a satisfying conclusion, and leaves the impression there is more than enough material here for a potential prequel or an extension of Solveig’s story.’

RogerEbert.com added: ‘These creators are talented in every way one can use that word, and that would be true even if they weren’t working with their most loved ones.’

Variety wrote: ‘A densely textured, quite gorgeous dive into folkloric witchiness that avoids nearly all anticipated clichés, finally arriving at something not so much terrifying as unexpectedly poignant.’

Who are the Adams Family?

John, Toby, Lulu, and Zelda made their debut in 2013 in Rumblestrips, directed by John and Toby and starring Lulu and Zelda.

While Lulu is yet to step into the director’s chair, Zelda directed her first film, Noble, in 2018, before going on to co-direct The Deeper You Dig the following year with her parents.

Speaking to The Wee Review about their daughters stepping into the creative process, Toby said: ‘They were six and 11 when we made our first film in 2010. And you know, our film shared a lot of the same DNA. John and I were just saying this morning that if we look at all of them, not a lot has changed in terms of how we shoot.

‘It’s a real democracy. Zelda, in particular, when she became 14, I think when we were shooting The Deeper You Dig, she really started to become involved thematically. She’d always been holding the camera and getting better and better at that.

‘But by then she was co-directing, and now she’s helping to write, and she’s very she’s very keen behind the camera and as director.’

They then went on to create hit genre films Hellbender, Where the Devil Roams, and 2024’s Hell Hole.

Addressing the potential difficulties of working with your family in an interview with Filmhounds Magazine, John said working with his wife and children is ‘a dream come true.’

‘We’re just enjoying each other’s company and doing something that we really like. We’re equals and always have been even though the kids started when they were five and 10,’ he continued.

‘We all started together and didn’t know what the hell we were doing so we learned together. We’re incredibly lucky.’

Lulu continued: ‘It’s not what I think people would want for a reality TV show, because there really isn’t that kind of drama with us. When we first started, none of us had done films before, but we’d all done a bit of acting. So we all started equal, which I think gave us that dynamic of working as friends and equals together.

‘We all loved travelling already, and we grew up camping and doing road trips together, which helps with filming in different locations. We were all interested in art of some form, and we got to build this idea together. Getting to do it together makes it really comfortable and safe to lean on each other.

Many of their films are super low budget, and created in their own home and land surrounding it, in keeping with the intimate themes they often cover.

‘I mean, where we’re from is remote. It is a particular slice of America. It’s not the hip, cool part, but to us it’s really special,’ John continued to The Wee Review.

‘So I think we kind of celebrate where we’re from, which is a small town and a small area that’s a little bit remote, and it’s got a particular rough around the edges community.’

Not only do the family make and act in their own films, but they also create their unique scores in the punk band they play in, H6LLB6ND6R.

‘Music has always been a huge part of our lives. I’ve had bands with both of my daughters, and now we all have a band together,’ John explained to Filmhounds.

‘Luckily, the audience that likes our films has gotten used to the fact that we always have our music in it. And, in one sense, we play with the whole idea that we’re making musicals with our kids. We’re allowed a lot of artistic freedom with our music and enjoy the process of trying to write music that best suits the visuals of the film.

‘Each movie has a certain sound to it that we worked really hard to try to achieve together. We had a lot of conversations about it and listen to a lot of bands. We come from different genders, sexualities, and ages, so everybody has a different influence.’

Mother of Flies will be available to stream on Shudder via Amazon Prime Video on January 23

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