Mama. I have been looking forward to this movie since I saw the first preview in theaters. I came in expecting your basic apparition house haunting movie; Mama gave me WAY more than that. This thrilling horror film shows the strength of human survival, addresses the question of nature vs. nurture (which I’m sure my Psych teacher in college would have LOVED), and gives you Possibly the most eerie horror movie quote for the new year…. *whispers* “…Mama”
~The Acting: The acting was awesome. You either really connected with some of the characters OR you felt a real purposeful disconnectedness with the character that shows GREAT writing. The opening scenes gets right into the thick of it. There is no “wait and see” paranormal effect here. They hold no punches in throwing in the paranormal abilities of “Mama.” The opening credits of this film is depicted with childlike pictures that tells a sad story of abandoned feral children that will Definitely tug on your heart strings. The two girls in this movie Deserve some credit. You feel for their loss in human life, loss of humanity, lack of social skills, etc. On the other hand, they pull off being so innocently devious and creepy. Children of the Corn, you have some competition. The adoptive mother, you see a gradual change. You start off the movie hating this girl. Shes absent, void, selfish, childish buttttttt she grows to be one you root for in the end. A solid A-
~Jumpability: This isn’t your traditional jump scare movie that I had expected. There are definitely some “Oh My Dayum!”-moments. EVEN THE ONES YOU EXPECT leave you scuddling in your chair as you think to yourself “wtf, I knew it was coming, I knew it. Whyyy did I jump.” While it has its jumps, this movie has more of a creeping suspicion and suspense filled “DONT DO THAT.. DONT GO IN THERE.. STOP STOP STOP..” way of fear to it.
~SWB Moments: There are actually very few SWB Moments! What are the Odds! The characters don’t blindly walk into the proverbial darkness; instead, you see them follow their gut instincts and pass up near-death opportunities. If ANYONE personifies a SWB in this movie, it is the Psychologist. I won’t give anything away buttt lets just put it this way: if you’ve ever heard “if you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back into you”… that sums up the dark path this psychologist treads. Whenever you’re dealing with the supernatural, it is in YOUR best interest to go blindly and skip on taking chances.
~The Scare Factor: Lets face it, this movie IS a scare factor. You have Gollum-like feral children who you look at and think “THERE IS NO WAY THEY COULD EVVVVER BE REHABILITATED.” you KNOW there will always be this dormant creepy wild side that makes these kids dangerous… throw in an overprotective ghostly murderous apparition and you’ve got a concoction for horror. The weird thing is that, while “Mama” is supposed to be the essence of scare factor in this movie.. the TRULY eerie parts come from the LITTLE GIRLS. Their strong emotions Or lack there of make you think “hmm… nope, they’d be in an orphanage.” You don’t even feel they are a threat, but they have an aura to them that gives a disturbing vibe to them.
To be honest, the ONLY thing that holds BACK this movie’s scare factor IS MAMA! The “Mama” figure is shown entirely too much during this film. Her ongoing presence is supposed to give off a lurking evil to it, but instead it kills the suspense. Example: Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter is in this movie all of about 16 minutes.. HE MADE THE MOVIE. Friday the 13th- Jason is shown at the last few minutes and people remember him as the scene stealer of the movie. Hellraiser: Pinhead is only revealed at the end AND HEEEE IS THE MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTER. Mama… she is in the movie within the first 5 minutes. No build up, no wondering, no suspense.. andddd when she is FINALLY shown in her full form… shes kind of disappointing. Maybe its just because I’ve been watching FaceOff too much buttt I feel the reveal of the “monster” can Make or Break the movie. For me, she definitely gave the movie a step back. Very cartoonish, Tim Burton Claymation/CGI-ish. The ending also leaves the movie in a kind of slump. They took an artistic liberty with it and I’m not sure it hit well with the audience. My mom when blabbing it to people coming to the next showing saying “dont watch it, the ending sucks” lol. I didnt think it sucked butttt there are a few parts where you have to kind of chuckle to yourself then scratch your head like “are you for serious?”
Because of these factors I can only award this 3 out of 5 skulls. While it is a GREAT movie I would recommend, it was held back by the Mama figure and the ending. Its one of those movies you’d watch once for a thrill and quote “Mama” all night buttt you wouldnt feel like watching again. IT DOES HAVE A MORAL TO THE STORY: “you are what you eat…” If you don’t understand, watch the movie and you’ll have an “ohhh yeahhhhh” moment.
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