MOVIE REVIEW: Mama

Mama

(2013)

IMDB

Summary

Victoria and Lilly were just little girls when their father murdered their mother. In the aftermath of that tragedy, both girls disappeared without a trace. Desperate, their Uncle Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel  searched everywhere for the missing girls. Five years later, Victoria and Lilly are both found living in a derelict cabin deep in the woods. Incredibly, they've managed to survive on their own, though years of isolation have left them both in a feral state, and unable to communicate. Without hesitation, Lucas and Annabel welcome the two frightened girls into their home, and work hard to make them feel comfortable. But when a series of ominous events lead Lucas and Annabel to suspect that Victoria and Lilly share ties to an evil beyond human comprehension, the couple must discern whether the two young girls are merely dealing with the emotional aftershocks of a life-altering tragedy, or have attracted a force that could destroy their family all over again.

Review

First off, 'Mama' does have a couple parts that will make you jump, but don't go in expecting a scary horror movie.  'Mama' is instead more of a creepy and suspenseful horror flick which works since it has a PG-13 rating and PG-13 horror films that are supposed to be scary are usually never any good.  Guillermo del Toro is the Executive Producer here and you can see lots of his inspiration in the directing and visuals (think Pan's Labyrinth).  But the best part of the movie by far is its star Jessica Chastain.  She continues to impress even in a role that's very different from any of her previous work.  I didn't care for her character at first (her being a musician just wasn't believable) but by the time the girls come into play they leave it behind and focus on her struggles with trying to be a mother to the girls and Chastain really shows off at that point.  Now the two young girls, Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse, who play Victoria and Lilly are also very impressive.  The creepiness that their roles demanded, they bring to their characters and it really help sell this movie.  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Lucas, is fine when he is on screen, but this movies is all about its 3 girl stars.  From the get go, I loved the visuals in the opening sequence and remained entertained the entire time.  There are a few jumps throughout and the movie is never predictable, including the ending which I personally liked as it was different than most horror films we see nowadays.
...AND SIMPLY PUT... IT'S A PRETTY GOOD HORROR FLICK WITH A GOOD CAST.
WORTH CHECKING OUT. B+


Cast: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash
Director: Andy Muschietti
Rating: PG-13 for violence and terror, some disturbing images and thematic elements
In Theaters: January 18, 2013
On BLU-RAY and DVD: TBA