Mama

Starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nelisse, Daniel Kash, Javier Botet, Jane Moffat, Morgan McGarry
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Thriller
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) takes in his nieces (Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nelisse) after a tragedy. His girlfriend (Jessica Chastain) struggles with the change and a seemingly sinister presence surrounding the girls.

Review:

Tim: With Mama, Andy Muschietti delivers a surprisingly effective horror movie that gets under your skin. It has flaws, undoubtedly, but there are brilliant moments throughout that suggest the talent and potential Muschietti has. I walked away from this horror movie impressed- it could have been another run-of-the-mill, throwaway horror flick. Instead, it's memorable and frightening.

That's really where I want to start. I've seen a lot of horror movies over the years. Like, a lot. And so I know the nuances of the film, the expectations. Most horror movies I've watched make me feel so little. I get incredibly annoyed at jump scares, one of the cheapest and most outplayed ways to "scare" an audience. If a horror movie makes me feel something, I'm impressed. And, Mama did that. I was honestly scared watching this movie. I watched it at night and I seriously considered pausing it multiple times to finish it in the light. That's truly high praise here. I never lost sight that this was all a fiction, that I was watching actors, but even still, Muschietti created a creepy, uncomfortable film that had me glancing around the room, peering in the corners and behind doorways. That is the mark of an effective horror film. There's a lot that went into this- we needed to care about the characters enough to become invested. He needed a memorable antagonist. And, perhaps hardest, he needed to create the atmosphere and unpredictability around the story to get us to feel just a bit paranoid and uncomfortable. He achieves all these things with this film.

I have to say, the design of Mama was fantastic. The budget limited the visual effects to a certain extent, so I can't claim that she looked "real". That didn't matter. Her flowing hair, her ability to be there and then not, the sinister, demonic power she held over the children- she is truly frightening. I found myself tensing up whenever I sensed she was about to make an appearance. Muschietti really leverages this- he doesn't overuse her, but we get a lot of screen time with Mama and it's almost all frightening and uncomfortable. That design, the visual depiction of this entity, were major plusses and big reasons why I liked the movie so much.

The cast was good, too. I liked how Jessica Chastain was the headliner, then it seemed like she was just a supporting character. As the film progresses, she moves from a supporting character to the main one. It was deftly done and it held my attention. I don't think this is Chastain's best work, but she is a talented actress and that shows up in every scene here. She sells the performance and I believed her work. I really liked seeing Nikolaj Coster-Waldau here. He's a good actor and played his role exceptionally well. I wish he had more screen time and I wish he had more opportunities to interact with Chastain, but they made a great pairing. Every time they got screen time together, it was a plus for this film. Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nelisse both gave memorable performances as the two nieces. As a whole, the entire cast works well together.

The story here does follow the basic horror film formula. It's not especially unique or subverting expectations. That's okay. It might bring the film's ceiling down some, but Muschietti's execution is what makes this film feel so effective. I was riveted with the story and anxiously looking out for the next appearance of Mama. She's such a sinister force, the characters are likeable enough for us to be invested in their story, and children's lives are at stake- everything was done well enough so it's easy for us to care and stay focused on the story. That might seem basic, but a dozen horror movies fail at this attempt nearly every year.

While Mama has some flaws and the climax doesn't quite deliver the intended blow, I still found the film to be effectively made. It's one of the scariest movies I've seen in recent years and a success. More critics liked this movie than not, but too many of them missed a film deserving our praise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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