Mama

¨A ghost is an emotion bent out of shape, condemned to repeat itself time and time again.¨

Another South American director has made his splash on Hollywood after the successful debut of Mama in theaters this year. Argentinean director, Andres Muschietti, made over 70 million dollars in the box office and received decent reviews for this horror/suspense film based on a short 3 minute movie he directed in 2008. That short film garnered the attention of movie executives such as Guillermo Del Toro who decided to produce and present this film. The fact that Del Toro's name was used here and that the coveted Jessica Chastain signed on to play the main character gave Muschietti the tremendous possibility of debuting on a high note. The formula worked pretty well because critics and audiences seemed to enjoy this film alike, and we could be heading to the start of a new horror franchise. I enjoyed most of the movie, and loved Jessica Chastain's performance, but the ending just ruined the entire film for me. It is kind of the same problem pretty much every ghost story film has. I feel like most of the endings in this genre are pretty unsatisfying and ruin the entire suspense the film has been building throughout the story. There is no denying that Japanese films have heavily influenced the genre with films such as The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water, and One Missed Call which have all been remade, but the truth of the matter is the only film that really worked with critics was The Ring. They have tried to imitate its success, but I haven't been scared like I was with The Ring, which had a pretty satisfying ending compared to the rest. I do prefer this type of psychological horror more than the gory slasher films, but I find it troubling that they can't find a satisfying ending. My favorites in this genre will always be the first two I saw: Zemeckis's What Lies Beneath and The Ring. The rest have all fallen short. Mama was close to achieving that similar success in my opinion, but the ending really hurt it.

The film centers around two girls named Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse) and Victoria (Megan Charpentier) who are abandoned in a cabin in the middle of the woods after their father murdered their mother and was attacked by some presence inside the cabin. Five years later the search finally pays off and their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) finds them. To everyone's surprise the two girls have managed to survive on their own, but they live like animals crawling around the floor and talking to walls. Lucas and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain) decide to raise the kids with the help of Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) who continues to treat the girls in order for them to make the transition from their isolated lives to a normal and nurturing family life. Annabel soon discovers that these girls might have never been on their own and that somehow the presence that was with them in the cabin might be in their home as well. Several suspenseful and horrifying events begin to take place while the girls continue to talk to shadows in the walls and call out for Mama.

The film has several thrills and suspenseful moments with a great performance from Jessica Chastain. It was good to see her try out a different role and she proves she can do about everything. It's hard to find good performances in horror films, but this may be one of the best. The movie also has its weaknesses like pretty much all horror films do considering the protagonists always seem to make stupid decisions, but that is what makes the genre so entertaining at times. They are clichés which we have learned to accept. The two girls were also surprisingly good, they had strong performances as well. I really enjoyed everything about the movie up to the last 15 minutes which pretty much ruined everything. Psychological thrillers usually have this impact: they begin with a lot of promise but end up on the wrong note, and that is exactly how I felt about Mama along with Sinister, a similar movie I got to see a few months ago. The film is above average thanks to Jessica Chastain, and Guillermo Del Toro's influence in the production of the movie, but that is about it.

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I really liked this movie and the concept for it was original. I think this film makes the viewer think about what the characteristics are of being a mother. What sort of instincts we as woman can display and what kind of connections can be made with a child, even if you're a terrifying ghost.

Del Toro will always put his name on a good thriller surrounding small children. This movie had all the thrills of a scary movie and the elements fright used in the film had everyone in my theater on the edge of the seat. The movie waist no time getting into the meat of the story.

There are flaws in the film and it does have to do with plot holes. The director could have worked these holes out with other writers......like Del Toro perhaps. The back story had the hugest gap of all.

Regardless, it was better than 'Don't be Afraid of the Dark', and I will be seeing this film again.

I am a big fan of horror but recently i cant remember a movie which i enjoyed to my heart but then i saw MAMA and it was like a fresh air which u asked from a long long time. What makes MAMA special and different is it's Story and Acting.Not many horror movies has it now a days but MAMA has it all..a beautiful and emotional film with great horror elements to back it.The performance from Jessica Chastain is mind blowing.when the movie starts I didn't seem to connect with her character but as soon as the movie progressed she just blown my mind with her screen presence and screen fit performance.

Mama (2013)

*** (out of 4)

A couple (Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) take in their two young nieces five years after they were kidnapped by their father and spent the majority of that time alone and in the wilderness. The two girls slowly start to come out of their state but it doesn't take long for the couple to realize that there's something else with them. MAMA is a feature length version of a short film by the director and for most part it's a successful horror film. There are a few problems that we'll get to but for the most part I thought director Andres Muschietti did a fine job at really creating a dark atmosphere that hangs around the entire film. He also managed to use this atmosphere and make it very effective during many of the scenes, which were quite creepy at times. I thought that really made the film stand out compared to so many other stories was the character played by Chastain. In most films like this you have the good person doing good deeds to protect the ones she loves. That's not the case here because her character doesn't want these girls, doesn't like how they've changed her life and there's not really any cute scenes. The character development here is something quite rare in horror films but I think it really works itself out nicely. As for Chastain, it's good that some of her caliber is here because a great performance really helps bring credit to the events in the film. The supporting players are good too and this is especially true of the two actresses playing the girls. Now, what really doesn't work in the film is the CGI "mama" character. I'm sorry but I really don't see why you have to have poor looking CGI bring a film down. Not only is the CGI rather poor but the ghost creation just does so many unrealistic things that you can't help but not be frightened of it. The director does a good job at building up the tension but once the creature actually comes it goes away. Still, MAMA is a pretty strong horror film that's not perfect but it's certainly good enough to watch.

The title may be tacky, but this Canadian-Spanish co-production, with Guillermo del Toro lending his name as producer, is one of the better horror films to have come out from the West in recent years, despite being filled with the usual clichés, actually contain a proper story, and delivered really well in terms of chills, thrills and everything that's necessary to creep you out and make you jump at your seat. Co-written and directed by Andres Muschietti, Mama shows how it boils down to story, building upon his short film of the same name some 5 years ago, and a solid cast to gloss over the expected bag of tricks.

Many of the clichés were put to good effect, which in some ways you'd come to expect certain things to happen in a certain way, and they did. While it may be blunted in terms of anticipation and build up, it didn't shy away from delivering that sucker punch when required, and kept good work in framing and editing for maximum impact when the moment called for the unabashed dip into tried and tested elements. One thing you'll note is how assured Muschietti's direction is, as if doing it all for the very first time, with the aim of wanting to stir up its scares really well. Liberal use of CG also helped, but never done in slip-shoddy fashion, which added a layer of positive production values to the film.

I mean, there's creepy children, a ghoul that gate-crashes a reunion of sorts, and the usual spooky house no thanks to noises during strange timings, and the rote blinking of lights. All ingredients that you've seen utilized to the death in various horror film productions, but coming together really well in Mama, playing to the strengths of these elements while fiercely ignoring the negativity associated with lazier filmmakers who just slap these elements together, expecting them to work. It's not a special effects extravaganza when it's not required, and Mama showed just how its story and characters were allowed to lead, rather than to have strangely illogical moments, even for a horror film, fall coincidentally into place.

Jessica Chastain may be the latest IT girl in Hollywood, and it's encouraging to note she's really going all out to take on various roles in different genres, despite her more recent art house leanings of late. Here, she's the quintessential scream queen, albeit only just, given her role of Annabel being a rock star wannabe, sporting almost full body tattoos that betray a rather soft demeanour, when her maternal instincts get called upon to look after the nieces of her boyfriend Lucas (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau). They were found after having disappeared for five years, which the opening sequence and credits would have pointed to an unnatural upbringing under the hands of the titular Mama ghoul. Battling for custody, it is with reluctance that the couple take the children under their wing, probably because Annabel knows she'll eventually be dumped with the kids, which did happen.

And the entire middle act is when the fun begins, for fans of horror films forking out good money to be entertained with the roller coaster ride of scares. Muschietti and his story collaborators Neil Cross and Barbara Muschietti managed to keep an entire back story up their sleeves, to reveal them in teasing fashion, which worked to keep you engaged throughout. And credit must go to Muschietti and his DP Antonio Riestra for having framed the initial introduction to the ghoulish elements that went for maximum WTF surprises, especially with sleight of hand techniques that didn't jar the narrative, nor relied on the necessity of a jump cut edit to hammer home its creepier moments. It grows, slowly, and that's one master stroke Mama had that worked wonders.

This is the second film in a row that had its child actors provide top notch performances. Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nelisse play sisters, who with the aid of CG move around complete with unnatural mannerisms, having it in term to creep you out, before having to develop their characters into emotional cores that added a lot more depth to this film as it steamrolls its way to the finale. Andres Muschietti is the name to watch now for taking something that's expected to be cliché in a horror film, but fulfilled more than you'd bargain for. A definite recommend!