Mama

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.

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.

This is meant in a genuine and not at all malicious way. 'Mama' is not a bad film. It's also (this is all personal opinion, not objective) not a great film. It very nearly was and its potential was enormous, but this is one of the most frustrating recent examples of films of two halves.

'Mama' is absolutely great in the first half. It's genuinely unnerving with a good deal of suspense in the ambiance and build-ups, beautifully timed jolts and spine-tingling scares without resorting to cheap gratuitous gore to make their mark. There are many horror influences here but not in a cheap or predictable way, almost in an affectionate homage sort of way without it meaning to be. The titular character is an ominously creepy presence for most of the film, there is a real sense of danger lurking around the corner at any time. There is something very beautiful and poignant about the story-telling too, underneath the horror was something more than that with at first characters one could connect with and a vulnerable edge that comes over movingly.

On the most part, 'Mama' looks good. It's suitably unsettling but also beautifully shot with creepy and audacious production design and splendidly macabre and sometimes inventive visuals. For the first half of the film, a lot of thought went into the visual effects. The direction from Andy Muschietti shows successful attempts at taking risks rather than over-blowing things or taking it too safe, there is a lot of visual panache and a seeming appreciation for film not just of the horror genre but in general (some of it actually almost thriller-like).

Always look out for a good music score in film, being a musician and growing up in a musical family music is of great importance to me when watching film, television etc. 'Mama' has that, a lot of it is truly haunting while not being over-bearingly used.

Jessica Chastain may not convince as a punk rocker but gives a performance of intensity, steel and vulnerability. Have noticed that both here and in Muschietti's latest film 'IT' that he brings the best out of child-acting, something that has wildly varied in film throughout history. Because 'Mama' is one of the finer recent examples of child acting that is remarkably mature, poised, natural, affecting and sometimes frightening. All of which achieved by Isabelle Nelisse and particularly Megan Charpentier. Daniel Kash makes the most of his problematic nearly pointless plot-device role, while Mama herself is voiced to unnerving effect and even more so in action with Javier Botet.

Which is why it is such a pity that at the midway point 'Mama' feels like a different film altogether with a second half that brings things down. The scares become less frequent, the pace lacks its tautness, the dialogue gets confused and things start becoming predictable and contrived. Due to plot devices not properly followed through, things that don't add up sense-wise and some illogical character decisions.

The less frequent the scares got, Mama also diminished in the scare factor and was almost cartoonish and the effects start to lack finesse. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau does his best but he is used terribly to the point that he is nearly completely wasted, despite his role in the story being important it's not treated as importantly as ought and fairly indifferently done in execution.

Faring least is the ending, which was unsatisfying on every level as has been said. It is just far too ridiculously outlandish, feels tacked on and it's also very vague in that it leaves questions without fully if at all answering them.

In conclusion, great first half but really disappoints in the second with a slap-in-the-face ending. A small 6/10, was very torn in what to give it having been so disappointed with its unevenness but its good elements and the first half were so well done that being too hard on it was a no-no. Bethany Cox

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.

Horror has been one of the least appreciated film genres nowadays for relying nothing more than the excessive amount of violence and repetitive jump scares, plodding the storytelling by its completely lifeless characters who are ready to get killed. Mama is something else however it still has those horror movie clichés, like those easy loud jump scares and some ghostly pathos, but there is a fascinating concept behind the scares that leaves the audience a beautiful story than just a cheap horror shock. It also has a set of strong performances and solid production. It could have been much genuine in being scary than simply loud but Mama is still one of the great horror films we got in a while.

Unlike most modern horror films, this movie's ambition is to tell a compelling story. Obviously there is a hidden emotion beneath the concept, but before we get to that, it explores around the characters and the gloomy atmosphere. Rather than throwing a horrific death scene to show fear, it scatters some symbolic objects that indicate the presence of the titular monster. It's a fascinating trick of manifesting its mysteries and fear. What defy the odds of the genre are the characters. They are not only ought to get scared. This is a rare set of modern horror characters that possesses a genuine soul. The performances handle them terrifically. There is a lot of remarkable performance to talk about but anyway. It's not only about the scares. It finely balances the drama to the darkness of the story. Personally, it's kind of more interesting when it simply tells the story of the two kids and the Mama ghost even though it features a horror cliché of ghosts telling their past to the central character. In the end, we'll realize the film actually offers more to the picture.

The only largest misstep they had is the excessive amount of loud jump scares. Though, they can be effective at some point. They still used some other ways of scaring the audience, like mimicking the clever horror trick of "The Orphanage" and letting the character be alone exploring the creepiness going on. It could have lingered on those parts to feel the danger of the characters, but instead they immediately send off a loud jump scare because it works to everyone. The film uses some CGI which made the monsters look a bit awkward but they are decent enough. Everything looks great in general. The cinematography and the production are a total pay off. It's just beautiful to look at.

Mama turns out to be pretty good. At glance, it doesn't look like the kind of horror film we usually thought about but furthermore we get to realize it is beyond than we should expect. The clichés still exists but they are used in a better way. Putting aside those cheap scares, it's a refreshing story that is indeed worth telling. It's still far from classic but it is also far from generic and annoying like most horror films we get these days. The performances and the filmmaking give more to the experience. Mama is the kind of horror film that abandons the gruesome acts and rather shows its dark aspects in a quite endearing way.