I'm sorry, but when I have to choose feral children and the physical embodiment of PMS to move into my home over a life of solitude with my hot Rocker chick girlfriend, I better at least collect some rent money!
Mama
So Mama is obviously another cliche’ January horror film that gets thrown at us at the beginning of every year. I would like to add that Mama is also a January movie, and January is just not the month to say "hey, the theater is the place to be). Yet, going into Mama, you have two positive things to think about. Its not a Possession movie, and its not a found footage movie. Unfortunately the movie is part of the third cliche of the Horror Genre ...
A Haunting Movie!. **FacePalm**
Mama is directed by Andres’ Muschietti, The mastermind behind a film short tilted *Mama*, and
Evita, a musical starring Antonio Banderas and Madonna **FacePalm**
So how does Muschietti handle this movie...surprisingly it is better than most of today’s horror depiction. Mama easily gives viewers one of the most active Apparitions to date. This lady is not spending her time moving furniture, and closing doors for kicks. You are brought into a setting that has potential to get to the nerves. There is a completely unused place in the movie that could have set up a variety of awesome scares. So how does it feel to go into a movie that CAN scare you but ultimately doesn't ? You get Mama.
The movie stars Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), and Megan Carpentier. There is another little girl in the movie but she has no lines and is basically there to be creepy.
The story centers on the relationship between Jessica Chastain’s Character and her development from punk rocker to motherly figure. I gotta add, Megan Carpentier did excellent in this movie I hope to see her in future films. The relationship that is presented to you is not too emotional. You are supposed to care about this family However the story has holes that take away from the experience when you look back at it. The reason you don't care is because it is hard to relate to the characters you have to watch.
The Scares actually work. There are scenes that are naturally suspenseful without the need for jump scares. Mama and these kids are creepy; there is no avoiding the feeling you will get when these three interact. The part that doesn't work is the inclusion of Jessica Chastain’s character. Without giving away the story I can say that this story would have been better if it focused more on these children and their character development into society. The next problem the movie has fails because of its main idea about cute kids that have some kind of One of the things that makes scary movies scary is the feeling that the cast are in danger. Since this isn't a Possession movie, the audience knows that the kids are safe, when the kids are safe, the audience then should worry about the safety of the cast, and the Cast Sucks! When that happens, I am left in a movie with jump scares and no real interest in whether the cast lives or dies . But our biggest issue with this movie is the final act. I won't get into details but a CGI, post op Micheal Jackson corpse is not scary when it's waved around in your face for about thirty five minutes straight. When you shoot a movie with taste, it has to be put together with all the right ingredients you don't stretch your main ingredient, in this case an eight minute long creepy short film, into a bland mess. That is why when you give a taste to Mamma... you realize it,
*NEEDS A LOT MORE SPICES*
