Tonally Unsound

Rating: Null/10 (22 December 2013)

This movie does not have a clear tonal goal. While works produced by Guillermo del Toro can possess the ability to juggle a variety of tonal material effortlessly (Pan's Labyrinth, for example), this movie was neither able to commit to a genre nor gracefully shift between tone. What started as a creepy and fairly well done horror film took a sudden shift towards fantasy drama.
This clunky transition occurred during the final quarter of the movie. The ghostly visage of Mama was overexposed to the audience, revealing her as nothing but a wisp of CGI. When seen in flashes, Mama can have a pretty startling effect, but after a few seconds of exposure has her disturbing effect downgraded to mildly unsettling.
This was likely intentional, as the movie's tone switches more towards the desire to save the two nieces and the angst of separation. However, the audience is only inclined to follow this theme after Mama suddenly becomes a dull computer rendering.
If the tonal shift was less abrupt and not reliant on the novelty of an effect wearing off, Mama could have been an excellent movie. Unfortunately, it's at best, a passable horror film with a tonally unsatisfying finale.