A ghost is an emotion bent out of shape by time

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2013)

3 out of 4 B+
Mama continues the happy trend of Horror masters mentoring little monster directors so as to let loose their cinematic spawn upon the world. It's a pretty good system ( it gave us last years underrated Sam Rami backed "The Possession) and it allows us to get another Guillermo Del Toro project as the wait for Pacific Rim becomes increasingly unbearable. Though this one, unlike the underwhelming "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" has flashes of auterism. Andy Musichietti expanding his original 2 and a half minute Spanish language short has crafted a truly gorgeous looking movie that headily juxtaposes cool florescent interiors and trim sharp stylized wood exteriors. I'd say that this modest little film rivals Skyfall, Life of Pi, and Beasts of the Southern Wild as the best looking film of the last 12 months. He builds some excellent scenes (though toward the end it start bordering on self parody with it's large quantity of silly jump scares) and there are two ones that remind me of John Landis ( A chilling dream sequence) and vintage Steven Spielberg ( An quietly frightening sequence involving a blanket). He get's fine performances out of the two cute young girls and brings out a fun performance from Jessica Chastain. He could have used help on the script (which he wrote with his sister and another collaborator) that relies on a bunch of clichéd dialogue and rushed concepts ( the girls transition back to normledom, while well directed, feels really skimped over). But I believe that Musichietti, whom I'd like to see move on from silly horror movies to serious fare, has the chops and distinct and separate style to hit it big. I'll be watching him in the years to come. And overall it's a pretty creepy movie but the very loud teenage girl audience I saw it with seemed terrified so maybe you will be to.