Mama (C or 2/4 stars)
'Mama' (directed by Andres Muschetti, based on his short film from 2008) opens forcefully with an intriguing & macabre prologue. A man, having shot 2 co-workers & his ex-wife, kidnaps his 2 young daughters and flees. He loses control of his car when driving fast on a snowy road & they careen over a cliff. After the crash, he wanders with the girls through the woods 'til they come to a dilapidated cabin. Once inside, as he prepares a double murder-suicide, a 'being' emerges from the dark & pulls him away. The girls are left by themselves with only this 'being' as their overseer/companion. The story picks up 5 yrs. later. The girls, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) & Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), now 8 & 6, have been discovered in the cabin (and not by cops, but by some hicks ... of course).
Feral, distrusting of people, & with a tendency to crawl on all fours, they are brought to an institute where they are studied by a psychiatrist until being released into the custody of their uncle, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) & his goth rocker girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Annabel isn't motherly, so suddenly having 2 kids isn't her idea of fun. And to make matters worse, the girls bring with them "Mama", their seemingly invisible 'being' from the cabin. It doesn't take long before Annabel - alone with the children after Lucas is hospitalized following a mysterious stair accident - realizes that something is terribly, terribly wrong.'
'Mama' follows a pattern that befalls most horror flicks. It starts out strong, using evocative imagery & an unsettling back story, but it's unable to sustain those strengths 'til the end of the film. Plot weakness, stupid character decisions, bad horror tropes, & a weak ending diminishes Mama's effect. On the positive side, the film exhibits a strong emotional component in the relationship that develops btwn. Annabel & the girls {over time}. Jessica Chastain makes Annabel real and, because we accept her relationship with the girls - no matter how improbable this wacky story is - she feels genuine. Their relationship makes it easier to overlook obvious weaknesses in other components of the movie. i.e., the subplot involving the girls' aunt wanting to take them from Lucas & Annabel.
Pacing-wise, 'Mama' devotes a lot of time to soak up the creepy atmosphere, but there's too little story to fill 90ish minutes. Whenever there is a lull, the film relies on tried-&-true jump scares to keep our attention from waning. Interesting subplots introduced in the early-on are either ditched or quickly concluded. Worst of all, characters start doing 'STUPID horror things'. Most horror movies have a certain amount on inherent dumbness, and it's no different here. i.e., why would someone (and it happens several times) venture to a haunted house at nighttime by themselves? And why would a psychiatrist work hard to figure out who "Mama" is, then see her in the house, leave the house, wave goodbye to Annabel who lives there, not say anything about what he saw, & just drive away? Grr.
And the last 10 minutes - while shot with impressively spooky lighting/color saturation - are its weakest. Resolutions - like the one, here - that expedite any supernatural explanation so as to get to the finish are a shame to watch in horror films. Annabel's emotional connection with the girls lends some heft to the crazy final sequence, however, much of what actually happens doesn't make sense. And the special effects work on 'Mama' is fairly atrocious. And so, 'Mama' has a good cast (the girl actresses are great at trying to start a new life with the fear of letting go of the old), the film offers a few good scares, & it has too many inspired visual and thematic stretches to dismiss as "bad". But it all goes down a stupid path, and I am pretty darn disappointed by how the story plays out in the end.
Feral, distrusting of people, & with a tendency to crawl on all fours, they are brought to an institute where they are studied by a psychiatrist until being released into the custody of their uncle, Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) & his goth rocker girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Annabel isn't motherly, so suddenly having 2 kids isn't her idea of fun. And to make matters worse, the girls bring with them "Mama", their seemingly invisible 'being' from the cabin. It doesn't take long before Annabel - alone with the children after Lucas is hospitalized following a mysterious stair accident - realizes that something is terribly, terribly wrong.'
'Mama' follows a pattern that befalls most horror flicks. It starts out strong, using evocative imagery & an unsettling back story, but it's unable to sustain those strengths 'til the end of the film. Plot weakness, stupid character decisions, bad horror tropes, & a weak ending diminishes Mama's effect. On the positive side, the film exhibits a strong emotional component in the relationship that develops btwn. Annabel & the girls {over time}. Jessica Chastain makes Annabel real and, because we accept her relationship with the girls - no matter how improbable this wacky story is - she feels genuine. Their relationship makes it easier to overlook obvious weaknesses in other components of the movie. i.e., the subplot involving the girls' aunt wanting to take them from Lucas & Annabel.
Pacing-wise, 'Mama' devotes a lot of time to soak up the creepy atmosphere, but there's too little story to fill 90ish minutes. Whenever there is a lull, the film relies on tried-&-true jump scares to keep our attention from waning. Interesting subplots introduced in the early-on are either ditched or quickly concluded. Worst of all, characters start doing 'STUPID horror things'. Most horror movies have a certain amount on inherent dumbness, and it's no different here. i.e., why would someone (and it happens several times) venture to a haunted house at nighttime by themselves? And why would a psychiatrist work hard to figure out who "Mama" is, then see her in the house, leave the house, wave goodbye to Annabel who lives there, not say anything about what he saw, & just drive away? Grr.
And the last 10 minutes - while shot with impressively spooky lighting/color saturation - are its weakest. Resolutions - like the one, here - that expedite any supernatural explanation so as to get to the finish are a shame to watch in horror films. Annabel's emotional connection with the girls lends some heft to the crazy final sequence, however, much of what actually happens doesn't make sense. And the special effects work on 'Mama' is fairly atrocious. And so, 'Mama' has a good cast (the girl actresses are great at trying to start a new life with the fear of letting go of the old), the film offers a few good scares, & it has too many inspired visual and thematic stretches to dismiss as "bad". But it all goes down a stupid path, and I am pretty darn disappointed by how the story plays out in the end.