A very well made horror/thriller

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2013)

Movie review:I had to pick one for Mothers day, and since I wanted to see this anyway, it works perfectly. Very good choice. Knowing first off Guillermo del Torro has his name in the mix (he produced it, among other things I am sure) I was aware it was going to be a good film. The story is about a family that is torn apart by a massive collapse in the stock market. Well, that more or less leads into the actual story. When the father of two young girls goes on a murder spree, including his estranged wife, he packs up his children and speeds off to destination unknown where he intends to commit suicide. After crashing off the road, the three wander into a broken down house in the forest and just before he pulls the trigger, a strange "figure" snatches him away, leaving the children to fend for themselves. The oldest daughter, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) catches a glimpse of the "figure" flying out the door with the father in tow, but her glasses were broken, so she could not make out what she saw. The two kids are left alone for 5 years before they are found, but how alone were they to survive on their own? The search was funded by an inheritance from his brother to find them. Now after a short legal battle, it is up to Lucas (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) and Annabel (Jessica Chastain) to raise the girls that had become feral animals that were now under a psychiatrists care. Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash) arranges for the new family to move into a home where he would have access to this mysterious case. The children slowly become accustomed to their "new" parents but also it becomes apparent that "Mama", as the children call her, is also there. Mamas presence is known by an appearance of black moths and electrical disturbances that often go unseen. At first this is playful things like games with the kids, etc. but when Mama gets jealous and pushes Lucas down the stairs, putting him into a coma, it is up to Anabel to raise the kids she was hesitant to do in the first place. As Mama makes her presence more known in the house, she puts "dreams" into Anabels head so she can see what happened. From these dreams, we see Mama stab a nun and running away with a baby (named Lily) she stole. She is followed by the townspeople to a cliff where Mama and Lily dive off to their death. There is more to this which should be seen to put it together without writing all of it out. This may seem like other ghost stories, and in a way it is, but this has so much feeling as to the why Mama is so trapped and engaged with this children. The movie as a whole moves at a very nice pace and uses subtle times to develop the characters without taking up too much time. The use of Mama does start as more of a ghost-type figure but as it progresses, the anguish Mama is going through begins to show through.Since this is a horror movie, I would be failing in not pointing something out, this movie is very creepy. There are visuals and camera-work that are used that will really scare you. The entire production quality of this movie is top notch. Very little, if anything, is left untouched in the story. It was the little things that were done to create the atmosphere in this movie that really pushed it along and made it so enjoyable. All things done, including acting, cinematography, to editing all run us through this tormenting story of Mama and her sheer need for closure. This all leads up to a crescendo that cultivates into the finale of a story that even though may seem like the usual haunting, is nothing but usual at all. So if you are looking for a gorefest, this is not for you, but if you want a very well made horror/thriller that will say more to your mind than any blood splatter will give, this is for you. 7.4/10 IMDb 6.4 Boo, IMDb, I am normally agreeing with ya, but this film is highly recommended by me. ENJOY (as warned to a friend of mine, don't watch this one alone on Mothers Day)