You’ll Like My Mother

Francesca Kinsolving marries Matthew after a short courtship, and she soon learns she is pregnant. Two weeks later, Matthew is killed in a plane crash in Vietnam, leaving her alone and grieving. She writes to his relatives for news, but receives no replies and feels compelled to seek out his family.

With little guidance, she boards a bus headed to rural Northeastern Minnesota to meet Matthew's mother, hoping to be welcomed. She carries the baby’s future and her husband’s memory as she travels away from home. The journey marks the start of a tense confrontation with a family she hardly knows.

Francesca arrives at the Kinsolving mansion expecting warmth, but Mrs. Kinsolving is cold and accusatory. She questions Francesca’s motives and shows no enthusiasm about the baby or the marriage. The welcome she receives is far from what Matthew had promised.

A light snowfall prevents the car from starting, forcing Francesca to stay inside. By morning a blizzard has begun, trapping her at the mansion for several days. The isolation intensifies the tension and fuels Francesca’s suspicions about the family.

Francesca notices inconsistencies in what Matthew told her and what Mrs. Kinsolving says. She questions the claim that Kathleen is Matthew’s sister and wonders why a telegraph about the marriage exists. These discrepancies deepen the sense that something is being hidden.

While exploring, Francesca discovers in the family Bible that Maria died eleven days after Matthew’s death. Letters reveal that ‘Mrs. Kinsolving’ is actually Katherine, Kathleen and Kenny’s mother. A newspaper clipping confirms Matthew’s violent past, painting a chilling portrait of the family.

In the morning Francesca goes into labor, but Mrs. Kinsolving refuses to call for help and sedates her. The baby is delivered by the mother-in-law, and Francesca is left to cope with a lost child. The shocking delivery underscores the cruelty lurking within the house.

After the delivery, Mrs. Kinsolving proclaims the baby is dead and hands the infant over to Kathleen to bury on the grounds. The denial of a living child’s fate adds another layer of horror to Francesca’s situation. The house holds its grim secret in the open.

That night, Kathleen awakens Francesca and reveals that her baby, though believed dead, is alive and hidden in the attic inside a picnic basket. Francesca begins to tend to the baby, creating a fragile bond amid the danger. The attic becomes a crucial space in the struggle for survival.

Francesca learns that Kenny is hiding in the mansion and is being kept inside by Katherine. She overhears a tense exchange between Kenny and Mrs. Kinsolving in the basement laundry room. The plan is to get Kenny out so he can flee the country, placing everyone at further risk.

The storm finally clears enough for a driver to offer a ride into town to catch a bus. Francesca believes she can leave with her baby and return to Los Angeles, escaping the terror of the house. The driver is not what she expects, and the fragile plan begins to fracture.

Francesca uses the pretext of retrieving gloves to escape with her baby, hiding the infant under her coat. She races toward the carriage house, but Kenny pursues her, finally catching up and knocking her out. The baby slips from under her coat as Kenny smiles a cruel victory.

Kathleen lunges at Kenny and stabs him in the back, ending his threat. Mrs. Kinsolving breaks down, cradling her dead son as Francesca holds her alive baby, and Kathleen looks on. Help arrives, bringing a grim resolution to a night of horror in the mansion.