A creepy and dark fairy tale of sorts that succeeds in its goal

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2013)

I really looked forward to seeing Mama. The trailers intrigued me and I'm always looking for a really good horror flick. The tone for Mama is set almost immediately. Its dark and creepy and sad and full of intensity. It has all the ingredients of a great horror flick including some cheap thrills that made me gulp and jump (something horror movies rarely do to me anymore.) I would have loved to have seen this in the theatre because watching it at home loses some of those thrills. Still, the movie is perfectly creepy and makes your skin crawl. The mystery of the story and the meaning behind it all keeps you on the edge of your seat. I thought the film did drag more than a little towards the end and they struggled to really find new material to keep it at the customary feature length. Mama felt like a one trick pony at times and I expected more from it at times. My only other complaint is the actual monster that is Mama looks very fake at times. I'm not a big fan of overusing blatant CGI and instead of keeping Mama more mysterious and in the shadows they opt to use really obvious CGI special effects. Now don't get me wrong, because this was a decent horror flick with a good story and some good performances but it didn't blow me away.
Let it be known that I can't stand Jessica Chastain! Unfortunate for me since she's in every movie that gets released anymore. I don't understand why critics and fans alike think she's so great? She was deplorable in Zero Dark Thirty (an over-rated film anyways) and whoever cast her in this needs their head examined. Granted, she doesn't completely butcher the role (shockingly) but why would they cast her as a wild young "punk" chick with edge? She isn't believable at it and I think a younger actress could have done this much better. Still she finds her footing towards the end and actually turns in a decent performance. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau is good as the determined Uncle. My only complaint here is that I think he is underused and I would have rather the story focused on him than Chastain but I am biased I suppose. His chemistry with Chastain is okay but nothing miraculous. The performances that are noteworthy in this film belong to two young girls. Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse are absolutely fantastic! They are dark and creepy and full of emotion. Nélisse especially gives a performance that should go into the horror annals right up there with Linda Blair in The Exorcist. They are such a vital part of the story and they hold their own in a big way. Daniel Kash is decent in his role as Dr. Dreyfuss but sort of underused as well like Coaster-Waldau.
Mama is a sight to behold in many ways. There are some incredibly creepy and well done scenes that you won't soon forget. The controversial ending (and I say controversial because many did not like it) seems at first to be overdone in many ways. It suddenly feels like a sci-fi epic instead of a horror flick and the music, and the cataclysmic climax on a cliff side at night, all feels almost too much for a horror flick but then at the same time I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Somehow in the context of this story, it worked. Director Andres Muschietti knows his story and how he wants to tell it and does it in a terrific way. Mama will keep you constantly guessing and constantly freaked out and that's the best you can ask for from a creepy movie. I am normally the first one that would encourage sequels especially to horror films but I'm not sure they could ever do another one of this and do it justice. 8/10