Sorry, this horror flick is for kids

Rating: 5/10 (18 January 2013)

Mama is an unfortunate misfire, a film that's too contrived to be called effective and truly scary. The grim fairy tale aspect of the film just didn't work for me at all and the story though intriguing, sad and startling in the beginning, became scattered and not focused on which direction to take. The CGI ghost was horrible and unintentionally laughable, I rolled my eyes every time it came popping on screen, in a horror movie that is not a good sign. The scares were nothing new and way too predictable and the characters were underdeveloped that there was not much connection to care. Mama could have been one of 2013's scariest horror films, but its solid potential melted away as fast as The Wicked Witch Of The West from The Wizard of Oz.
The performances are the best part of this teetering film, even if the script fails them. Jessica Chastain who plays Annabel, is probably the hardest working actress of today, she gives her all to her roles even if it's as thin as this. She always brings a sense of empowerment mixed with vulnerability to her roles that is always compelling to watch. The real stars of this picture are the child actors Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nelisse who play Victoria and Lilly, orphaned girls that were found living in an abandoned cottage in the woods for years after their dad goes missing and mother dead. Their performance in the movie had so many layers that add some depth to their roles and were engaging, spooky and heartbreaking. I see them as future stars in this business.
Director, Andrés Muschietti who also created the short film Mama that started it all, definitely knows what a horror movie should look like and crafted a haunting atmosphere filled with grotesque images and nightmarish shadows and lighting. The director just doesn't quite know what a scary film should act like, he seems to have a lot of solid ideas and an semi original premise, but somehow got lost from the journey to paper to film. Andres Muschietti has so much potential as a horror movie director; he just needs to create a better script and a more balanced story. Mama just fell short of becoming truly great.
Overall, Mama just wasn't terrifying as one might think. It had fine performances, a startling and fresh premise, some creepy moments, but the CGI ghost was asinine, the scares dull and ineffective and has an unconvincing ending. AN HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!