I had a rare chance to go to the movies yesterday (wait till you have kids) and since Django had already left our local cinema (WTF?), I took in this new horror film.

I am a big fan of the del Toro horror "brand", with Devil's Backbone, The Orphanage, and Pan's Labyrinth (see any of these that you haven't), and while Mama is not on the same level as these previous efforts, it is ahead of the curve for horror fans seeking something apart from the hack-and-slash that saturates the American multiplex.

The story involves these really young girls who lived on their own in some desolate cabin in the woods for five years. How did they even survive?  That is where Mama comes in. These feral girls are taken in by their uncle and his reluctant girlfriend, and we slowly learn (not really a spoiler here) that Mama is along for the ride.

The young girls are handled super well. Not annoying at all, and every bit as creepy as they are supposed to be.  And while I thought I would hate the "goth-girlfriend" character, she grows on you and ends up the most well-drawn of the lot. A good actress, and this actually ends up being her story in many ways, as she adjusts to these freaky kids that get tossed into her life.

The first half of this is suspenseful and taut -- just great, really -- but it breaks down (for me) a bit once we actually meet Mama. My problem here is how the film falls back on the J-horror conventions of sped-up, herky-jerky movements and swirly black hair.  I mean, this stuff was pretty shocking the first time we saw it all those years ago, but enough already.  It has become its own trope by now, and I was disappointed to find it in this context.

For my tastes, we actually spend too much time with Mama.  The effects are great, but by the end, we have seen too much of her. The little girls in this film are what will creep you out, and that would have actually made a stronger film, I think.  Less Mama and more of these freaky-deaky little kids.

What intrigued me initially about this movie is that del Toro got involved based on the strength of the short film that inspired it.  Nifty, inspiring stuff for us lower-level movie-geek types -- brief details on that cool story here:

http://screenrant.com/mama-short-film/

Anyway, decent for those who like "suspense" horror that eventually ends up with a monster in it. Worth a ticket and popcorn (just barely) for fans of that stuff -- and certainly worth the time checking it out later on DVD for everyone else.

I'd recommend this one in theatre if at all. The roughly one million jump scares get a little old, but at the same time, it was great seeing the audience react to this one. Lots of screams, and fortunately/unfortunately, lots of laughter, some with the movie, lots at it. But my audience had a great time.

I'd characterize this one as shitty good fun. The first half makes a strong promise which, as Bert notes, is let down by the second half's relatively uninspired J-horror stuff which veers between familiar-but-effective and downright laughable (Aunt Jane and the Evil Hair Mop was a particularly unfortunate bit of stupidity). It's a simple ghost flick with some great performances from the little girls and some largely uninteresting work from the talented Ms. Chastain -- though she looks particularly sexy with that hair, in my opinion. She's also at about 35% believability as a rough-edged punk rocker. Still, I'd definitely agree with Bert that this one is a cut above most horror flicks that make it to the theatre, at least until Evil Dead swallows our souls in April.

A special screenwriting note -- the scene near the end where Chastain and her boyfriend meet up on the road near the cabin is one of the most excellently terrible exposition-catch-up moments in recent memory. Garbage day.

Hmmmm...  Moma.  This is one of the first horror trailers in recently memory that's made me think "that might be worth seeing." ( Okay - that and 'John Dies at the End', but for different reasons.)

I actually like the visuals of J horror.  Though I don't think it can stand alone without a great story.  Last good horror I saw was Grave Encounters 1.  Not mind blowing, but  entertaining and solidly written.

Dunno if Moma will live up to the trailer.  But I'm not turned off by it, and that's saying something in a world where Texas Chainsaw Massacre actually managed to get distributed to mainstream studios...

Quoted from Grandma Bear As far as TCM goes, it was probably an easy sell since it's a franchise and comes with a built in fan base. Some return on the money would be guaranteed.

True. Sad but true (and economically understandable.)

Saw the Scriptshadow review.  Hmmm.. Intelligent horror making a comeback?  One can hope!!   ;D

Checked out the Scriptshadow review. Definitely on point, although I was not quite so bowled over.

One thing that makes me a little sad about the review is that it sorta indicates how low the base standard for movies is. I mean, here's what the review suggests is amazing about the film:

- One of the main characters has a strong goal
- The movie forces conflict over the main character's major flaw
- There are subplots
- It has two children, not one, and so is not clich�
- The two children want different things, which creates conflict

Now I agree with those points, and they contribute to making Mama a cut above the horror average. But it's a shame what that says about the horror average, and about movies in general. Because one would hope that the elements of the above list would be absolutely standard in every film.

Quoted from Heretic Checked out the Scriptshadow review. Definitely on point, although I was not quite so bowled over. One thing that makes me a little sad about the review is that it sorta indicates how low the base standard for movies is. I mean, here's what the review suggests is amazing about the film: - One of the main characters has a strong goal - The movie forces conflict over the main character's major flaw - There are subplots - It has two children, not one, and so is not clich� - The two children want different things, which creates conflict Now I agree with those points, and they contribute to making Mama a cut above the horror average. But it's a shame what that says about the horror average, and about movies in general. Because one would hope that the elements of the above list would be absolutely standard in every film.

True, but you could always look at the upside. Include all that good stuff and yours is probably better than 90% of what's out there. The tough part is getting above the last 10% that has the same stuff yours has...

I just finished watching this and I enjoyed so much of it, but I'm on the same page as you Bert.  Great opening sequence that makes it SO fresh, builds a great mystery and unexpected characters I actually cared about.  Then all is revealed so quickly and Mama tried to steal the show, but Mama forgot that nobody gives a shit.  Haha, maybe I can't speak for everyone, but I know I didn't.

It's worth the bucks.  ;D

Dunno why I seem to be on an island here, But I thought the ending was a major strong point. Maybe it's because I've seen so much horror that takes a major turd in the end that I found this surprisingly satisfying.

This wasn't Guillermo' s first hand work. He was executive. Never been sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure a check was written in process.

I did not find this scary at all. I just thought it was a good story for a horror film these days. It's truly an original idea, which so rarely come around anymore.

I will agree with Bert as to when Mama enters the picture it loses some intrigue, but at the same time they amp up the tension. I will always have my nitpicks though. Why does a wronged spirit get to continue on in life and take life? Shouldn't be anything but a faded image in the occasional photo.

Worth a view, Jessica Chastain is slowly becoming one of my favorite actresses and I expected to hate her in this.

James

I saw this with my mom and we both enjoyed it. It was a fun, scary ride, and I felt as though that the Mama creature was really well done. I like the J-horror herky-jerky movements, especially when it's compiled with sounds of bones popping and crunching because it just really adds to the effect (if done right. Or maybe I just get grossed out easily with that sound because broken bones disgust me).

For me, the ending was pretty hokey. I mean, it was sweet, I GUESS, but I like horror movies that end with horror. Not, like, "Oh we'll leave this ending open for a sequel!" horror, but just like everything sucks at the end of the movie for the characters. Everyone is dead or just something really horrible happens at the end. Maybe that's just me, but dramatic endings kind of ruin the story a little bit. But I digress...

Did you guys know that the person who played Mama is a guy? He was the same actor who played the Medeiros girl at the end of [REC] and [REC]2. You can see a test video of the actor doing the movements for the Mama character here. It's pretty...interesting.

Anyway. I liked it. And I'd recommend it. Though I do agree that they showed Mama too much. At the end she just became a weird-looking ghost woman. But, I guess sooner or later you'd really have to show her if you wanna get personal with her.

Sean

Finally got around to seeing this last night.  The Blu-ray had been sitting here for over a week, which isn't like me - I guess my interest level and anticipation was low here.

First of all, let's look at the real highlights here - a $15 Million Budget and a WW take of over $146 Million.  I doubt anyone is gong to be saying this movie lost money.

I think my big problem going in, was the PG13 rating.  I just don't think horror movies should be produced in PG13 territory.  I'm sure others feel exactly the opposite, but for me, horror equals some gore and R rated material.

I guess I liked this overall, all things considered, but it's far from being a good movie...in any way, really.  The writing is piss poor for the most part, with many laughable plot points.  The FX work, although good in many ways, definitely isn't great, and the more Mama was shown, the more hokey the movie got.  Acting was great by the little people, but, IMO, pretty piss poor by everyone else not named Jessica Chastain, and her only saving grace was an underplayed dull character, who did show real fear as well as care and love.

I enjoyed the first half of the film, even though I was rolling my eyes at many of the audacious plot points.  Like others, once Mama showed herself, full bore, things really fell apart and got downright goofy.  It was then that I started thinking about the ridiculousness going on in terms of the story and plot.

I will also say that things were handled well early on and IMO, it was genuinely creepy and even scary.  BUT, stories such as these have an Achilles heel, and it's very difficult to end on a high note when ghosts are involved.  This baby died quickly after Mama's first whole reveal, and when "everyone" went back to the cabin, it was rather silly, preposterous, goofy, hokey, and just not good.

Better than it should have been, but not nearly as good as it could have been.

I'll give it a solid C, and it's highly unlikely there's anything here that would make me watch again.

Hmmm....I actually disliked this one. I watched in on Vudu last night. I hate Vudu, so maybe that had something to do with my less than positive feel for this film.

Th pro's first. Erhm. Hmm... Uhhh. Actually can't think of anything. Maybe the premise.

The con's. There were plenty of things I didn't like. Everything seemed old hat to me. I admit that I had a couple of beers while watching. Maybe that's why the jump scares didn't even work, I don't know.

I'm terrible with the reviews, but I'm probably closest to Jeff's thoughts on this one. Read his and James'. I was also watching Silent Hill while on the treadmill yesterday. Broad daylight and excersicing and I can honestly say, I dug that one more even if I only made it halfway through.