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Before I purchased this movie, I read a number of critic reviews and found them to be extremely mixed. Many critics liked the film; many disliked it. All called it derivative.
I can't say I agree. I really enjoyed this little creeper of a film! It may not be the best horror film in the whole wild world, but it certainly scared the crap out of me and my girlfriend. That's not bad for a PG-13 movie!
The story goes that a father goes on a murderous rampage, then kills his estranged wife and naps his two daughters. He drives off at crazy speeds and spins off the road. Surviving the accident, he wanders with his daughters through a cold, isolated woods until he discovers a seemingly unused cabin.
Flash forward five years. The kids' uncle has been looking for them all these years, and his investigators find them still living in the cabin; daddy is nowhere to be found. How the heck did those two little feral girls survive all that time on their own?
Or WERE they on their own?
This movie wasn't exactly subtle. It wasn't as if I couldn't foresee many of the plot twists, but it still scared the snot out of me. No tiny feat that! It reminds me of that other little horror gem Darkness Falls. Not a big movie. Not a perfect movie. But a damned good movie.
I highly recommend this flawed but thrilling film!
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Good acting, a monster that I don't see too little, good effects (even if it is all just CGI) and a story I can swallow...we have a winner! This movie is nothing epic nor did it have the best scares I've seen in a while, but it's a horror movie that "works."First time feature director Andrés Muschietti (writer/director of the short film Mamá) does a solid job with atmosphere and "creepy." The story gets moving when two orphaned girls are discovered in an abandoned cabin in the woods after five years somehow surviving on their own (now they're about 9 and 7 years old-ish). Their eyes are cold and scared yet somehow predatory, their hair and skin far beyond wildly filthy, and their movement is so unnatural that it reminds me more of a Silent Hill monster than an animal. More disturbing was the degeneration of their oral skills with the exception of whispering "mama."
Much to my surprise, the maternal poltergeist Mama was not a kept mystery. Mama, her appearance, what she's capable of and her relationship with the girls are all presented to us right away. So when the feral Victoria (Megan Charpentier; Resident Evil: Retribution, Red Riding Hood, Jennifer's Body) and Lilly are taken in by uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain), the movie doesn't rely on us wondering when Mama will pop up and reign terror on the new foster parents. Instead we watch the girls maintain a secret relationship with Mama while remaining emotionally distant from Lucas and Annabel.
But once their child psychologist and the new parents catch on to Mama's presence, simply a psychological manifestation or even a home invader by their perception, Mama feels threatened. And once the girls begin to open up to the doctor or feel affection for their new parents, Mama gets pissed! So we find ourselves not only nervous when we're "normally" nervous in these movies (e.g., walking in dark halls, opening the ajar closet door, looking over your shoulder to see what the girls are looking at), but we're also nervous when things wouldn't normally be unnerving...like when we see Annabel desperately hugging a thrashing Lilly, who starts to find the embrace comforting...I wonder if Mama is watching.
What's interesting is how this movie has such a simple story with one simple revelation toward its end, no red herrings and no real surprises--yet, it really works. I thought they had some trouble making the finale at the end come together, actually I thought it was too drawn out and a bit weak, but overall I was VERY pleased with this movie.
We start out feeling edgy about the girls, and as they normalize we start feeling edgy about Mama (Javier Botet; creature actor of all three [REC] films). And Mama is worth feeling edgy about. She looks quite contorted, distorted and disturbing, moves like a bipedal yet quadriplegic demon on meth, and manifests an aura of decay. I felt effectively continuously worried about what this apparition was going to do next, and the pace of the movie never disappoints.
I feel like we've been trained to find piss poor acting to be totally acceptable when it comes to horror. But Mama's cast features nothing but competency and a few pleasant surprises. Of course, no one should be shocked that Jessica Chastain pulled off the stand-offish girlfriend turned hesitant parent. But what about young Megan Charpentier? As the reserved older sister Victoria and her stone cold portrayal of The Red Queen in the latest Resident Evil installment she has all the makings of both one of the youngest Scream Queens ever, but also a talented young actress!
This movie was a pleasure with good characters, a monster that I don't see too little, good effects (even if it is all just CGI) and a story I can swallow. I look forward to watching this with an easily scared date on my couch in the dark. ;)
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Mama is a good semi-creepy horror movie about two young children who spend five years alone in the woods and are later found and adopted by their uncle (the Kingslayer actor from Game of Thrones) and his wife (the always great Jessica Chastain in full goth mode, trading in her trademark red hair for black and sporting tattoos). Of course, something the children call "Mama" comes home with them and thus the horror begins. Maybe a little too much CGI used, but most of it looked okay. All in all, this is a well made ghost story that packs a few scares and has good acting throughout.Honest reviews on Mama (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2013)
I'm a unique horror movie watcher: I'm utterly terrified/disgusted by gore and gratuitous violence, but I don't mind a good dose of morbidity and twisted metal states. This movie was a perfect balance because it had the quick cuts and jumps to get you gasping, but there was no gore or useless chainsaws. The story was morbid but plausible (who doesn't love a 19th century insane asylum ghost?) and the added unsettling concept of two little girls being raised in the words for five years without human contact, and how twisted that simply makes them, ghost aside, was great.Good acting, great combination of jumping scares and a legitimately terrifying ghost in Mama; she was just my sort of horrifying: tattered shroud, distorted features, HAUNTED eyes, nightmarish voice. I'd suggest you watch this in a heartbeat. Definitely a nice surprise after a lot of mediocre horror flicks.
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You might be wondering what acclaimed actress Jessica Chastain ("Zero Dark Thirty") is doing in a goofy-named horror flick. She's actually in good company with award winning stars like Nicole Kidman ("The Others") and Naomi Watts ("The Ring" 1 & 2) to name a couple. Here Chastain plays Annabel, a Suzi Quatro-like bassist in a punk rock band, complete with short dark hair and tatted up arms. She is the main squeeze of Lucas, a starving artist type played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, perhaps best known as the incestuous prince on "Game of Thrones."The story begins with the twin brother of Lucas going on a killing rampage that includes fellow workers and his wife. He takes his 2 young daughters out into the country with similar intent. Before he can commit the deed a mysterious apparition intervenes. Five years later Lucas is still trying to find out what happened to his brother and nieces.
Ultimately found, the girls have somehow managed to survive but are little more than wild animals. Director Andres Muschietti manages to provide enough suspense to keep viewers on the edge on their seats using quick cuts and lighting. At the same time, he also resorts to the usual "gotcha" moments complete with a jolting sound effect.
Annabel is the main focus in the story however as the girlfriend who reluctantly has to take over child care duties after Lucas is hospitalized thanks to an induced fall down a flight of stairs. Chastain is excellent in the role and proves her dramatic range. "Mama" is an above average horror film that relies on suspense rather than gore for chilling effects. For me the ghostly presence's transformation to a CGI manifestation in the final act was unnecessary and changes the tone of the film somewhat. Still this is a pretty scary ghost story and worth a look.
