Typical Horror that takes no chances

Rating: 5/10 (11 February 2013)

"Could have been worse is the only complaint I could give this film other then giving me the chance to see Chastain go even more outside of her comfort zone trying a horror film from producer Guillermo del Toro"
My first film released in 2013 being a January horror film seems strange for me because usually I never try to watch modern horror films because they usually add nothing new to the genre and this is just another example of the horror genre being nothing really. The main plot of the film revolves around two little girls Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nélisse) are abounded by their father and found out in the woods five years later to be taken care by their uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain). The difference with the many years is the girls seem to depend on a spirit called Mama, this one spirit causes many problems for the home which sets up the aim of the film.
As I said above horror movies never bring me to the cinema because they try to scare and none of these attempts ever pay off for me. This film depends on some visual effects to try get the horror jump and I'm sure these scares would have worked better for me if the effects were not truly awful and badly done. The story is quickly told and for a long time we spend our time watching looks into the distant and underscore stopping abruptly. Directed and written by first time feature film director Andrés Muschietti I believe he adds nothing to make this film interesting even when he try's to take a risk and add some visual flourishes to the flat story. I'm sure if I liked horror films I would fall more in love with this film but I cannot handle but laugh at their attempts to scare me.
Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain plays Annabel and she truly as an actress adds so much to nearly every performance she has given on the big screen. It is not one of her greatest performances but still surviving the horror of starring in the film this bad shows the screen talent Chastain has to make every character she plays interesting to listen to and watch. Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau plays both Jeffrey and Lucas and he is not in the film as much as the women in the film, he plays two characters but I kept forgetting he was in the film. Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse play the little girls in this film and for actresses as young as they are they do a fine job reacting to their unreal surroundings.
A horror movie I accept can never be made different or have any innovation nowadays but still if I was going to watch a horror movie I want to have fun watching it. Chastain deserves better then this film (which she has gotten) but still she shows she has true movie star potential to be the best thing about nearly every movie she is starring in.
MOVIE GRADE: D- (MVP: Jessica Chastain)