Beloved film maker and self proclaimed fanboy, Guillermo Del Toro has produced a new horror film called Mama. From writer/director Andrés Muschietti, the film is based on a three minute short that Muschietti shot in Spain in 2008 (check it out below).
Mama tells the story of two little girls who, through a set of tragic events, are left alone to fend for themselves in a remote cabin in the woods. The question is, how did they survive?
Ah, family…
After being rescued and delivered to their uncle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), and his girlfriend, Anabel, played by Academy Award Nominee Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), the real story begins. The challenges of dealing with two small girls who can barely communicate, who prefer eating big juicy moths and sleeping on the floor are not what Anabel signed up for. The young children, Lily and Victoria crawl creepily along the floor and play in strange, disturbing, and unnatural ways, but when Anabel starts hearing and seeing something called Mama, the story really gets spooky.
Adding another element to the story is a psychologist, Daniel Kash (Alphas), who proclaims that Victoria is exhibiting a split personality; but is he to be believed? Nosing around historical documents and hypnotizing Victoria, the doctor’s story line helps to lend more depth to the film. His motivations become more clear when Anabel discovers what he really is researching.
The film relies heavily on story, and less on gore than most of today’s horror films, probably lending to its reasonable PG13 rating. With its fair share of knee jerks and breath holding moments that are paced evenly throughout, I found the film holding my attention fairly well for the entire 100 minute running time. One thing that sets it apart and makes it better than average is the caliber of the acting from Jessica Chastain. She plays a reluctant step-mom who really isn’t ready or prepared for motherhood.
Anabel, played by Jessica Chastain
The younger and the more feral of the girls, Lily, has a scene where she is playing with something that you can’t quite make out while the oblivious Anabel nearly walks in on the situation. The tension and suspense created during the scene seem more like something you would see from a veteran film director and not the rookie director Muschietti.
With several twists the story moves along with some predictability but is forgivable enough to be enjoyed. The ending is strong and somewhat unexpected making for a nice twist. Jessica Chastain as Anabel was well cast and a lucky score for first timer Muschietti, that he was able to land her in his horror film.
Mama scores a respectable 3.5/5.
