MAMA Review

Mama is a film that could easily sway in either direction depending on the type of movie you like and the type of film you were expecting going into it. I, on one hand, wasn't necessarily wanting or hoping for a film that was downright terrifying but instead I was looking for something with a little more weight to it. Given that Guillermo del Toro was producing and has delivered acclaimed genre pictures such as Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage along with the fact it starred Jessica Chastain (The Help, Zero Dark Thirty) it was not out of the question to expect a little more than what typically might be given in a January release with lesser credentials. If you were expecting a downright thriller though, a truly scary film you will likely be disappointed as Mama is not necessarily even the scariest film I’ve seen in the last few months. What the film does do nicely though is track its story in a lovely progression and documents these developments with inventive camerawork from first time feature director Andrés Muschietti (who also wrote the script) and is performed to a credible degree not only by Chastain but from her supporting cast as well. Mama does a fine job of distracting from its lack of scares by pulling the audience in through the backstory surrounding its main antagonist and title character, but is still able to throw in a good amount of jump scares that will keep the teens who have no doubt rushed out to see this satisfied and more than willing to recommend it to their friends. It may not exactly be the type of high caliber art that del Toro's other projects have earned the status of but it more than serves its purpose and offers a nice bit of haunting escapism in these cold and bitter months when the warmth of the holidays is wearing off.