Director David Lowery and stars Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel explain their eerie new film.

Mother Mary explained: Unraveling Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel’s haunting pop star ghost story

Director David Lowery and stars Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel explain their eerie new film.

By Tiffany Kelly

Tiffany Kelly

Tiffany Kelly is a staff editor at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Wired, GQ, and Ars Technica.

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April 24, 2026 2:00 p.m. ET

Anne Hathaway in 'Mother Mary'. Credit:

Eric Zachanowich/Courtesy of A24

**This article contains spoilers for *Mother Mary*.**

In *Mother Mary*, David Lowery's haunting new film, a fictional pop star (Anne Hathaway) and a fashion designer (Michaela Coel) dissect their once-close relationship amid an eerie thread that brings them back together.

There's ghosts, a Ouija board, and a gravity-defying performance involved. All of the drama is in pursuit of a new dress and, in turn, a new identity. The A24 thriller, written and directed by Lowery (*The Green Knight*), also includes original songs by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, and FKA Twigs.

But what is *Mother Mary* about, and what happens to the characters at the end of the film? Read on to find out.

What is Mother Mary actually about?

*Mother Mary* is a tale of love and finding your sense of self again. There are also themes about artistic creation woven throughout the film.

"It is about the creative process and the way in which the creative process, whether it's alone or with others, can take so much out of you and then allow you to sort of be reborn like a phoenix, not to sound too cliched, but that is what it sometimes feels like to create something," Lowery tells **.

"And so I really let it rest there, but there's so much more," he continues. "Like so much, my entire life is a creative process. That's all I do. And so every aspect of my life is intertwined with that exchange that occurs when you're trying to make something."

Michaela Coel in 'Mother Mary'.

Eric Zachanowich/Courtesy of A24

What happens in Mother Mary?

The film begins with Hathaway's titular pop superstar, Mother Mary, arriving at Coel's Sam Anselm's door to ask for a new dress, days before her comeback show.

The former best friends have not spoken to each other for years, and we gradually learn how they fell out. Mother Mary stopped turning to Sam to create her intricate performance costumes, each of which included a crown. She also failed to fully credit Sam for her distinct aesthetic in interviews.

Now the usually-glamorous Mother Mary, a fictional pop star loosely inspired by artists like Taylor Swift and Madonna, has come "crawling back" to Sam, looking weary and scared.

After showing off a "possessed" dance to Sam, which Mother Mary plans to pair with a new song called "Spooky Action," the pair delves deeper into their years apart and recalls supernatural events.

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel in 'Mother Mary'.

Eric Zachanowich/Courtesy of A24

Is there a ghost in Mother Mary?

In a flashback scene, Mother Mary and a group of friends participate in a séance led by FKA Twigs' Imogen. The chilling event leads to a spirit, dubbed the Red Woman, coming into contact with Mother Mary. The spirit continues to follow the singer, eventually forcing herself inside her body during a performance, leading Mother Mary to fall backward off an aerial platform.

Mother Mary hasn't felt the same since, which is why she seeks a new costume for her comeback show.

Meanwhile, Sam recounts a ghost story of her own, with the Red Woman appearing in her bedroom, only for Sam to open the door and let her out.

The ghost is shown on-screen as a long, flowing piece of red fabric.

The two realize the connection between their stories; Sam let the Red Woman out of her house, and she eventually found her way to Mother Mary.

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel felt a ‘supernatural energy’ while filming 'Mother Mary'

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What happens at the end of Mother Mary?

Sam creates a summoning circle with chalk and candles to draw out the Red Woman from Mother Mary.

When she doesn't come out, Sam makes an incision in the singer's body, reaches inside, and pulls out the long piece of red fabric.

In the film's metaphorical climax, Mother Mary is freed of her burden, and Sam now has a new piece of fabric that inspires her design for the new dress.

Mother Mary's team finds her in Sam's barn and drags her out in time for her performance. Sam's assistant, Hilda (Hunter Schafer), narrates how Mother Mary will enter the stage, stripping her of her accessories and her past self in the process.

Sam, meanwhile, continues work on her dress, a lush, pleated design. She envisions how Mother Mary will look in the completed piece.

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Michaela Coel in 'Mother Mary'.

Frederic Batier/Courtesy of A24

What happens to the characters after the ending?

Mother Mary and Sam are forever connected, as the Red Woman showed them. But do they see each other again after the events of the film?

"I think that, even if it's true that the answer is they never see each other again, I feel like they are always seeing each other," Coel tells EW. "There is a glue, and this is where we get into all of our quantum physics, and they're always going to be seeing each other, even when the other person is not physically in the room."

"They can never *not* see each other," she adds. "They cannot exist without the other, even if they spend the next 20 years not making a dress."

Hathaway, meanwhile, says she is "terrified" that the friends will not see each other again, but she is hopeful they will at least keep in touch.

"For me, this is a story about somebody who the world came out when they were very, very young and maybe not developmentally ready for it, not necessarily ready to treat other people with the depth of respect that is warranted, especially in creative collaborations," explains Hathaway.

"I'd like to think that Mary makes the attempt to reach out to Sam, and I'm sure she always hopes that Sam reciprocates," she concludes.

Lowery thinks the pair will perhaps go their separate ways, but this time let each other know that "they mean something to one another."

"I find that in my life, almost too often, I have a sense of faith that I always will see someone again," Lowery shares, "so I don't take the time to say, 'I love you,' or even, you know, 'see you soon,' because I just assume they'll be right around the corner."

*Mother Mary* is in select theaters now and will expand nationwide on April 24.

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