Some minor flaws, but this is often terrifying

Rating: 8/10 (21 October 2013)

Quite good mainstream horror flick. There are plenty of flaws, and it has the tendency to go too big at times. At its best, though, it's absolutely terrifying, easily the scariest movie I've seen so far this month. Its greatest assets are the two little girls who star in it, Megan Charpentier and (particularly) Isabelle Nelisse. They're both awesome, and, man, Nelisse really nails the creepy little kid thing about as well as anyone ever has. Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau star (though Coaster-Waldau, so awesome in Game of Thrones, might as well not have, since he's sidelined for 90% of the picture for no good reason; why even waste the money?) as a couple who adopt Coaster-Waldau's two nieces, who have been lost in the forest for five years. They were supposedly alone, though they claim they were taken care of by someone (or something) they call Mama (spoiler: ). The film wisely keeps Mama offscreen for most of the movie, only giving you hints. When it does reveal her in more detail, well, it's damned scary. It's CGI, which I usually hate, but it's still freaky.