Mama

A Mother's Love is Forever

Information: Release date January 18, 2013.  Genre: horror.  Directed by Andres Muschietti.  Starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Synopsis: At the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, a man named Jeffery kills his business partners and wife, and takes his three and one year old daughters.  While driving fast on snow and ice, the car goes off the edge and into the woods. Surviving, Jeffery takes the girls into the woods until they come to a cabin.  In there he breaks down and is about to kill the girls when a shadowy figure kills him.  Through opening credits we learn that the shadowy figure takes care of them.

Five years later the girls are found and taken to a clinic. Their uncle Lucus (their father’s brother) takes them in with his girlfriend Annabel to a house –supplied by the girl’s psychologist –to live a “normal life”.  There’s just one problem, the shadowy figure has followed the girls.  The girls talk to her and call her mama.

Pros:

This movie has a fairy tale aspect to it and even opens up with “Once upon a time….”  There are series of pictures made by the girls that help tell the story of their survival. Even when the girls are found they look like woodland anorexics.  Who can blame them when all they’ve lived off was cherries?  The idea that two sisters are taken in by a mother spirit/monster shows that there is a comfort in where they are.  When removed from that place the girls break off in two ways.  Victoria, the older sister who is eight, is ready to go back to the “normal life” that she remembers.  Lily, who is only six, has only known the cabin and Mama.  There is this tug of war between them as to whether they should stay with Mama or their uncle.

Annabel, who plays in a band and is not ready to be a mother, could almost play off as the wicked stepmother.  Yet there are moments when she truly shows mother-like love and tenderness to the girls and eventually cares for them as her own. 

This horror movie can easily be seen as a fairy tale about a mother’s love and sibling struggle.  With all that pop-ups of Mama, strange and freaky movements of Mama’s body (seriously messed up movements) you’ll get a thrill and may even scream over this spooky ghost story.

Cons:

It’s just another movie dressed up in American clothes and accents. Yup, it’s based on Andres Muschietti’s 2008 Spanish-language short film of the same name.  While that’s not all that important, however, some people would be irritated that Hollywood has to be inspired by other works (foreign films, books or stories).  The only thing about this is that Muschietti directed both, so really he just recycled an idea/story and made it longer.  Most people wouldn’t see this as a con but some would.

There’s no blood and gore (at least none seen that could make you gag).  Only in pictures by the girls do we see any blood and even that is childlike and unreal.  Since a lot of Mama’s appearances are pop-ups and quick scares, there’s nothing really new to this movie that hasn't  in some way or another, been done by someone else.

Final verdict:

I went a day after the opening and the theater was a full house (the movie sold out in minutes).  During the movie three girls got up and left, one saying “F*** this movie” right after a scary scene.  I will admit myself that I wanted to leave; only I needed to use the bathroom and wanted to come back.  But I stayed for the whole film and even laughed at a few things the girls did.  There was humor and lots of scare in this movie, along with characters you could believe.  My only problem with the movie was the end. The bizarre twist that I didn’t see coming and the abrupt ending (yes, a WTF ending) left me unhappy.  I would have been fine with the predictable ending but this twist just made me want to scream, “Why?”

Aside from my unhappiness with the end –which I’m sure, will grow on me in time –this movie was really good and worth checking out.  I’d have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.